35-20-115.

35-20-115.

35-20-104. Department to coordinate services; rules and regulations.

(a) The department shall:

(i) Coordinate a protective services program consistent with this act, with the goal of ensuring that every vulnerable adult in need of protective services will have access to protective services;  (ii) Adopt rules, regulations and standards for services provided by the department necessary to effect the provisions and purposes of this act;

(iii) Develop and maintain statistical data which set forth referrals by type of incidence and disposition pursuant to this act but which do not contain personally identifiable information;

(iv) Provide appropriate training to all investigative agency personnel;

(v) Assign designated workers for adult protective services within the department to carry out the activities of this chapter;

(vi) Develop, facilitate and participate in local multidisciplinary community-based adult protection teams that discuss adult protection issues.

35-20-105. Protective services; no services without consent; responsibility for costs.

(a) The department may furnish protective services in response to a request for assistance from the vulnerable adult, his caregiver, conservator, guardian, guardian ad litem or agent, or a family member. The department shall not serve as a caregiver.

(b) Except under conditions provided for in W.S. 35-20-106 no vulnerable adult shall be required to accept protective services without his consent or, if he lacks the capacity to consent, the consent of his caregiver, conservator, guardian, guardian ad litem or agent, or a family member.

(c) Costs incurred to furnish protective services, including but not limited to fees for the services of a guardian ad litem, guardian or conservator, may be paid by the department unless:

(i) The vulnerable adult is eligible for protective services from another governmental agency or any other source, taking into consideration any personal assets or financial resources and services that can be provided under Medicaid or any other available indigency program for which the vulnerable adult may qualify; or  (ii) A court appoints a guardian ad litem, guardian or conservator and orders that the costs be paid from the vulnerable adult's estate.

35-20-106. Petition by department when caregiver refuses to allow services; injunction.

(a) When a vulnerable adult needs protective services and the caregiver refuses to allow the provision of those services, the department, through the attorney general or the district attorney, may petition the court for an order enjoining the caregiver from interfering with the provision of protective services.

(b) The petition shall allege facts sufficient to show that the vulnerable adult needs protective services, that he consents or lacks the capacity to consent to receive the services and that the caregiver refuses to allow the protective services.

(c) If the court finds the allegations of the petition to be true by a preponderance of the evidence, it may:

(i) Enjoin the caregiver from interfering with the provision of protective services; and

(ii) Order the department to assist in facilitating the coordination of community resources, including service providers, churches and individuals or agencies to provide protective services to the extent those protective services are available.

35-20-107. Emergency services.

(a) If an emergency exists and the department has reasonable cause to believe that a vulnerable adult is suffering from abuse, neglect, self neglect, exploitation, intimidation or abandonment and lacks the capacity to consent to the provision of protective services, the department, through the attorney general or the district attorney, may petition the court for an order for emergency protective services.

(b) The court shall give notice to the vulnerable adult who is the subject of the petition at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the hearing. The court may dispense with notice if it finds that immediate or reasonably foreseeable physical harm to the vulnerable adult will result from the twenty-four (24) hour delay and that reasonable attempts have been made to give notice.

(c) The allegations of the petition shall be proved by a preponderance of the evidence. If the court finds that the vulnerable adult has been or is being abused, neglected, exploited, intimidated or abandoned, or is committing self neglect, that an emergency exists and that the vulnerable adult lacks the capacity to consent to the provision of services, the court may order the department to provide protective services on an emergency basis. The court shall order only those services necessary to remove the conditions creating the emergency and shall specifically designate the authorized services. The order for emergency protective services shall remain in effect for a period not to exceed fourteen (14) days. The order may be extended for up to an additional thirty (30) day period if the court finds that the extension is necessary to remove the emergency. The vulnerable adult, his agent, his court appointed representative or the department, through the attorney general or the district attorney, may petition the court to set aside or modify the order at any time.

(d) The vulnerable adult may be placed by the court in a hospital or other suitable facility which is appropriate under the circumstances. The person, hospital or facility in whose care the vulnerable adult is placed shall immediately notify the person responsible for the care and custody of the vulnerable adult, if known, of the placement. Notification shall not be required if the alleged perpetrator is the person responsible for the care and custody of the vulnerable adult unless the court orders the notification.

35-20-108. Records confidential; exception.

Except as provided under W.S. 35-20-116, records of the department or other agency or the court pertaining to a vulnerable adult receiving protective services under this act are not open to public inspection. Information contained in those records shall not be disclosed to the public in any manner that will identify any individual. The records may be made available for inspection only upon application to the court pursuant to W.S. 35-20-112 for good cause shown.

35-20-109. Repealed By Laws 2002, Ch. 86, § 3.

35-20-110. When access to vulnerable adult denied; injunction. If access to the vulnerable adult is denied to law enforcement or the department seeking to investigate a report of abuse, neglect, exploitation, intimidation, abandonment or self neglect of a vulnerable adult, the investigator may seek an injunction to prevent interference with the investigation. The court may issue the injunction if it finds that the person whose duty it is to investigate the report is acting within the scope of his duty and has been unreasonably denied access to the vulnerable adult.

35-20-111. Duty to report.

(a) The duty to report imposed by W.S. 35-20-103 applies without exception to a person or agency who knows, or has sufficient knowledge which a prudent and cautious man in similar circumstances would have to believe, that a vulnerable adult has been or is being abused, neglected, exploited, intimidated or abandoned, or is committing self neglect.

(b) Any person or agency who knows or has sufficient knowledge which a prudent and cautious man in similar circumstances would have to believe that a vulnerable adult is being or has been abused, neglected, exploited, intimidated or abandoned, or is committing self neglect, and knowingly fails to report in accordance with this act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or both.

35-20-112. Confidentiality of records; penalties; access to information.

(a) All records concerning reports and investigations of vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, exploitation, intimidation, abandonment or self neglect are confidential except as provided by W.S. 35-20-116 and except that the record shall be available to the vulnerable adult who is the subject of the record, his legal guardian, an agent under an advance healthcare directive as provided in W.S. 35-22-403, a healthcare surrogate as provided in W.S. 35-22-406, the personal representative of a deceased vulnerable adult or a decedent's wrongful death representative appointed to bring an action for the benefit of the vulnerable adult's beneficiaries. Names of other vulnerable adults shall be redacted from the records prior to disclosure pursuant to this subsection. Records shall not be disclosed, however, to any person named as a perpetrator of abuse, neglect, exploitation, intimidation or abandonment of a vulnerable adult. Any person who intentionally violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both.

(b) The following records are confidential and not subject to disclosure under W.S. 16-4-201 through 16-4-205:

(i) A report of abuse, neglect, exploitation, intimidation, abandonment or self neglect under this act;

(ii) The identity of the person making the report; and

(iii) Except as provided by this section, all files, reports, records, communications, and working papers used or developed in an investigation made under this act or in providing services as a result of an investigation.

(c) Upon application made in the manner and form prescribed by the department, the department may give access to records otherwise confidential under this section to any of the following persons or agencies for purposes directly related with the administration of this act:

(i) A local adult protective agency;

(ii) A law enforcement agency, guardian ad litem, conservator, guardian, adult protection team or attorney representing the vulnerable adult who is the subject of the report;

(iii) A physician or surgeon who is treating a vulnerable adult; and

(iv) Court personnel who are investigating reported incidents of adult abuse, neglect, exploitation, intimidation or abandonment.

(d) Motions for access to records concerning vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, exploitation, intimidation, abandonment or self neglect held by the state agency or local protective agency shall be made with the district court in the county where the vulnerable adult resides. A court may order disclosure of confidential records only if:

(i) A motion is filed with the court requesting:  (A) Release of the records; and

(B) A hearing on the request for release of the records; or

(C) All interested parties stipulate to the release.

(ii) The motion for hearing is served on the department or investigating state agency and each interested party; and

(iii) The court determines after the hearing and an in-camera review of the records that disclosure is necessary for the determination of all issues, in which case disclosure shall be limited to an in-camera inspection, or specifically limited disclosure, unless the court finds public disclosure is necessary.

(e) The department or investigating state agency may establish procedures to exchange with another state agency or governmental entity records that are necessary for the department, state agency or entity to properly execute its respective duties and responsibilities to provide services to vulnerable adults under this act or other law. An exchange of records under this subsection does not affect whether the records are subject to disclosure under W.S. 16-4-201 through