Esta ley enmienda la Ley Núm. 300 de 1999 para modificar la terminología y ampliar las prohibiciones para los proveedores de servicios de cuidado a niños y ancianos en Puerto Rico. Se sustituyen los términos "aged" o "old people" por "elderly" y se añade como prohibición para ejercer como proveedor de servicios de cuidado a niños o ancianos, o en centros de cuidado, a cualquier persona que haya sido convicta o se haya declarado culpable de fraude, malversación o apropiación indebida de fondos en cualquier jurisdicción de los Estados Unidos. La ley busca proteger a los sectores más vulnerables de la sociedad, asegurando que los proveedores de cuidado no tengan antecedentes de ciertos delitos, incluyendo aquellos relacionados con la corrupción.
(Approved January 8, 2004)
To amend Sections 1, 2 and subsections (3), (4) and (7) of Section 3 of Act No. 300 of September 2, 1999, known as "Criminal Record Verification Act of Care Service Providers for the Children and the Elderly of Puerto Rico" with the purpose of substituting the words "aged" or "old people" for "elderly"; to add a new clause (29) to subsection A of Section 4 of Act No. 300 of September 2, 1999, known as "Criminal Record Verification Act of Care Service Providers for the Children and the Elderly of Puerto Rico," in order to include among the prohibitions to engage in the providing of services for child or elderly care, multiple activities center, or care centers, in all services to which Act No. 94, of June 22, 1977, as amended, applies, as well as in asylums, health houses, hospices, home health care; to wit; any other facility that provides services to children and the elderly, to any person who has been convicted or has plead guilty of a crime that constitute fraud, embezzlement or misappropriation of funds in a state or federal court or in any other jurisdiction of the United States of America,; and for other purposes.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has the ministerial duty of identifying the most effective legal tools to prevent and eradicate the alarming problem of physical, psychological and mental abuse against our children, as well as against our elderly. Precisely, when providing care options to children and the elderly in Private Homes, Centers and Institutions, we intend to remove these people from an environment that is hostile and adverse for their optimum development as citizens. Moreover, to protect them from suffering damaging practices at a vulnerable stage of their lives.
Through Act No. 300 of September 2, 1999, a procedure was established to certify providers of care services to children or the elderly in the country, by establishing guidelines or strict requirements in order to be certified as such, establishing express prohibitions of persons convicted of violent sexual crimes or child abuse. Specifically, a prohibition included a list of crimes that give evidence of conduct that is potentially damaging to the child or the elderly in these Care Centers. We understand that these requirements are very prudent, and in accordance with the fact that it is a primary responsibility of our Government to protect our children and the elderly from this type of abusive and violent environment at all cost.
On the other hand, upon the approval of Act No. 458 of December 29, 2000, an obligation was established so that no head of a Government Agency or Instrumentality, public corporation or municipality, should adjudicate any bid or contract to perform services, or the sale or delivery of goods, to a natural or juridical person who has been convicted or found guilty in a state or federal court, or in any other jurisdiction of the United States of America, of certain crimes involving fraud, embezzlement or misappropriation of public funds. That is to say, that this conduct that constitutes corruption is incorporated to the legal system as a valid cause to rescind contracts, or a legal impediment for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to grant them.
Pursuant to the above, it is necessary to amend Act No. 300, supra, in order to include a new subparagraph (29) to paragraph A of Section 4, to prohibit that any person convicted or has been found guilty in state or federal courts, or in any other jurisdiction of the United States of America, of crimes constituting fraud, embezzlement or misappropriation of public funds, may be certified as a purveyor
of services in a Children or the Elderly Care Centers. Thus, we temper said Act No. 300, supra, to said legal principle which does not allow the contracting between the government and people found guilty of crimes of corruption involving public funds.
All of the above, taking into consideration that acts of government corruption are detrimental to our society and that they constitute a more than sufficient impediment to prevent any other contracting opportunity. Even more so, if said contracting should be with an institution that the State itself would be certifying as apt and responsible for the care of our children and the elderly.
Section 1.- Section 1 of Act No. 300 of September 2, 1999, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 1.- Short Title This Act shall be known and can be cited as "The Puerto Rico Crime Record Verification of Care Service Providers for Children and the Elderly Act."
Section 2.- Section 2 of Act No. 300, of September 2, 1999, is amended to read as follows: "Section 2.- Statement of public policy It is hereby declared as the public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to adopt, promote, and to put in effect through all means at it disposal, a comprehensive system to prevent the mistreatment or physical or sexual abuse of children and the elderly in Puerto Rico, whether in their own homes or in care centers. In view of the danger represented by a person who has been convicted of certain crimes, including those constituting mistreatment or physical or sexual abuse, that may again incur the same type of conduct, and because of the serious
harm that can be caused by a person with a record of mistreatment or physical and mental abuse, in the provision of care services to children, patients and elderly people, it is imperative to adopt and implement effective preventive measures to fight, avoid and counteract such events, so that even the possibility that such people might endanger the physical and mental safety of children and the elderly, in their own homes as well as in care centers is prevented. The modalities adopted and implemented in this Act are not punitive, but they exclusively pretend to protect the safety and welfare of the sectors that are most vulnerable and most deserving of protection in our society.
Section 3.- Subsections (3), (4) and (7) of Section 3 of Act No. 300, of September 2, 1999, are hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 3.- Definitions The following terms shall have the meaning stated below: (1) ... (2) $\ldots$ (3) "Provider of care services" - is any natural or juridical person that provides care services, whether institutionalized or ambulatory or only during the day, or house visits, to children or the elderly in Puerto Rico, including, but without limitation to, care centers, child care centers, housekeepers, homes for the elderly, convalescence homes, intermediate care installations, rehabilitation facilities, centers for psychiatric care or treatment, installations for the care or treatment of people with physical or mental impediments, or care or treatment of people with mental retardation, and private residences in which such services are provided, as well as any other individual or
juridical person that provides such services on private residences of the users or beneficiaries thereof; this definition does not include hospitals, clinics, diagnostic and treatment centers, medical offices nor medical-hospital facilities of any type, whether round-the-clock or day care, or ambulatory services are provided, nor does it include correctional facilities, in which medical-hospital or diagnostic and treatment services may be provided incidentally. (4) "Elderly" - is any person aged sixty (60) years or more. (5) ... (6) ... (7) "Provider" - is the natural person who provides care services to children or to the elderly in Puerto Rico, regardless of whether such services are provided for pay or other remuneration, or voluntarily, on their own account, or by virtue of an employment contract with an entity that provides care services, which employment, contractual or voluntary service involves, includes or implies direct or economic contact, whether routine or incidental, supervised or not, with children or with the elderly. (8) ... (9) ... (10) ...
Section 4.- A new subparagraph (29) is hereby added to paragraph A of Section 4 of Act No. 300 of September 2, 1999, to read as follows: "Section 4.- Prohibition for providers and certification
(A) No person shall perform as a care services provider, in any service to which Act 94 of June 22, 1977, as amended, applies, as well as hospices, rest homes, asylums, home health; to wit, any other modality that offers services to children or the elderly, nor shall provide such services within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, unless a prior certification has been requested and obtained stating that said person does not appear in the Registry of persons convicted for sexual crimes and child abuse, created by Act No. 28 of July 1, 1997, as amended, nor in the Criminal Justice Information System, created by Act No. 129 of June 30, 1977, as amended, as convicted for any violent sexual crime or child abuse nor for any of the following felonies: (1) Murder, in any of its degrees or modes. (2) Homicide, in any of its degrees or modes. (3) Abetting suicide. (4) Aggravated assault, in any of its degrees or modes. (5) Mayhem. (6) Throwing acid on a person. (7) Rape, in any of its modalities. (8) Seduction. (9) Sodomy. (10) Brutality. (11) Indecent exposures. (12) Lewd propositions. (13) Pandering, pimping, or trafficking of people.
(14) Incest. (15) Restraint of freedom, in any of its degrees or modalities. (16) Kidnapping, in any of its modalities. (17) Abandonment of minors. (18) Kidnapping. (19) Illegal depriving of custody. (20) Adoption for money. (21) Child Perversion. (22) Public mendicancy by minors. (23) Theft. (24) Extortion. (25) Abuse in detriment of minors and the disabled. (26) Imposture. (27) Arson, in any of its degrees and modalities. (28) Depravity. (29) Misappropriation, fraud or embezzlement of public funds, also including those cases in which the person has been found guilty in the state or federal court or that of any other jurisdiction of the United States of America. (B) The certification required in paragraph (A) of Section 4 of this Act, shall be issued by the Police of Puerto Rico. The Police Superintendent shall adopt and promulgate the regulations needed to put the provisions of this Act with regard to the requesting and issuaning of said certification into effect. Said regulations may include the requirement for the applicant to fill out a form with
detailed personal information and provide a photograph of himself and prints of his fingerprints to the Police of Puerto Rico. The Superintendent may retain said forms, photographs and prints and use them for investigative purposes."
Section 5.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 12 (H.B. 3874) of the $6^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Sections 1, 2 and subsections (3), (4) and (7) of Section 3 of Act No. 300 of September 2, 1999, known as "Criminal Record Verification Act of Care Service Providers for the Children and the Elderly of Puerto Rico" with the purpose of substituting the words "aged" or "old people" for "elderly"; to add a new clause (29) to subsection A of Section 4 of Act No. 300 of September 2, 1999, known as "Criminal Record Verification Act of Care Service Providers for the Children and the Elderly of Puerto Rico," in order to include among the prohibitions to engage in the providing of services for child or elderly care, etc., has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today 2nd of May of 2005.
Luis E. Fusté-Lacourt Director