Elder Law § 261 · Article 3. Identifying and Reporting Self Neglect, Abuse and Maltreatment In Healthcare Settings
Guidelines for identifying and reporting suspected self neglect, abuse and maltreatment
Text — Law content up to date as of August 21, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)
§ 261. Guidelines for identifying and reporting suspected self neglect, abuse and maltreatment. The director, in conjunction with the commissioner of the department of health and the commissioner of the office of children and family services, shall develop guidelines to assist healthcare providers and others working in healthcare settings to identify suspected self neglect, abuse and maltreatment of an older adult. Such guidelines may be tailored to specific healthcare providers or industries and shall include, but shall not be limited to:
1. Common signs and symptoms of self neglect, abuse and maltreatment;
2. Screening questions and tools that can be used during a visit to help detect whether self neglect or abuse and maltreatment may be occurring;
3. Training materials for distribution to healthcare providers and others working in healthcare settings regarding appropriate interventions and suggestions for discussing the possibility of self neglect, abuse and maltreatment with older adults; and
4. Information regarding options for reporting suspected cases of self neglect or abuse and maltreatment and available resources for older adult victims.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Law content up to date as of August 21, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)
- Official file
- https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/laws/ELD261
- Text hash
- sha256 5c78c054961e82dc7ade50c0c7324d521a1f2898075de352d5b8755852f26da8
- Composed by
- gen_ny_statutes.py 2026-11-10: the Senate's Open Legislation law tree (GET /api/3/laws/<ID>?full=true) read in document order; the Senate's PDF of the whole law (GET /pdf/laws/<ID>?full=true), read with PDFium, prints the same words in the same order
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.