Establishes a direct support professional worker registry of persons who have successfully completed a direct support professional worker education or training program approved by the commissioner of mental health.
This bill amends the mental hygiene law to create a direct support professional worker registry within the Office of Mental Health. The registry would list people who have successfully completed an approved direct support professional education or training program and would be made available on the agency’s website, with limited public access also available by toll-free phone. The registry is intended to help providers, people in self-direction programs, and the public verify training completion and related employment information for direct support professionals.
The registry would contain identifying and employment-related information, including name, address, date of birth, contact information, training program completion details, work history in direct support services, and certain final findings involving abuse, mistreatment, neglect, or employment disqualification determinations. The bill also requires the registry to include a list of approved training programs, to be updated at least monthly, and directs providers and training entities to submit and update information as needed. The bill phases in implementation for existing workers and authorizes the commissioner to adopt regulations to carry out the new system.
The bill would add a new section to the mental hygiene law and shift the existing section numbering accordingly. It would create new administrative duties for the Office of Mental Health and the State Education Department to maintain and update the registry, establish access controls and security mechanisms, and manage information submissions from training programs, providers, and workers. It also limits what personal information is publicly accessible and provides that no charges may be imposed for registry-related costs. The measure would affect direct support professional workers, provider agencies, training programs, and individuals enrolled in self-direction programs by creating a centralized verification system for workforce credentials and certain disciplinary history.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment appears neutral to supportive in purpose. The measure is framed as an administrative and workforce-support tool aimed at improving transparency, credential verification, and consumer safety in the direct support professional workforce. Its structure suggests an effort to balance public access with privacy protections and phased implementation for affected workers and providers.
The main areas of potential contention are privacy, administrative burden, and the scope of information collected and disclosed. The bill requires inclusion of sensitive personal data such as home address, date of birth, employment history, and certain adverse findings, which may raise concerns among workers and privacy advocates even though some fields are shielded from public access. Providers, training entities, and the state may also object to the reporting and update obligations, while supporters are likely to emphasize the registry’s role in screening workers, protecting vulnerable individuals, and improving workforce accountability in developmental disabilities and related services.