Committee Hears Bills to Expand Abuse Registry and Strengthen Disabled Persons Protection Commission

Members of the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities heard testimony Thursday urging expansion of the state's abuser registry and updates to the Disabled Persons Protection Commission's (DPPC) enabling statute to improve protections for adults with disabilities.

Supporters said expanding "Nikki's Law" to require MassHealth-funded day habilitation and day rehabilitation programs to check the registry and tightening DPPC's statutory tools would close gaps that leave people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at risk.

Senator John Keenan, sponsor of Senate 139 and House 243, told the committee the bill would streamline DPPC referrals, allow online reporting for non-emergencies, eliminate duplicate written-report requirements, and codify confidentiality for medical and clinical material used in investigations. "These changes will modernize and streamline the DPPC's enabling statute," Keenan said, and he asked the committee for a favorable report.

Nancy Alterio, executive director of the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, said DPPC receives more than 15,000 abuse reports annually and that statutory updates would give the commission tools to investigate and remediate abuse more effectively. "Changes in this bill will, while seemingly small, improve vital areas of the DPPC's operations," she said.

Several family members and advocates described how gaps in the current law have allowed abusive caregivers to move between programs. Cheryl Ryan Chan, mother of a survivor known as Nikki and an early advocate for the registry, described her son's repeated abuse at a day program and urged lawmakers to expand the registry's coverage beyond DDS-funded settings. "If we do not continue to expand the protections that Nikki's law provides, we have failed to complete the critical mission of simply exercising our responsibility to protect those who need protection," Chan said.

Paul Joyce, who worked on the original registry implementation, told the committee the registry is already being used: "At last count, there were 148 individuals on the register" and agencies have performed more than 112,000 searches, he said. But Joyce added that day program staff are not required to check the registry before hiring and called for that to change.

Testimony also described operational needs: more DPPC investigators, intake specialists and IT support, and statutory authority to treat certain acts as "abuse per se" to lower evidentiary burdens in obvious cases of abuse. Rick Glassman, representing advocacy groups, argued the DPPC's authority should include a statutory underpinning for abuse-per-se categories such as the withholding of communication devices.

Advocates said the bills require no additional appropriation for statutory changes but acknowledged DPPC has hired staff to implement the existing registry and that additional operational funding may be needed if duties expand.

The committee did not take votes at the hearing. Witnesses including families, DPPC leaders and disability advocates urged the committee to report the bills favorably so the measures can proceed through the legislative process.