Monitoring of Referrals, Concurrent or Joint Investigations, and Agency Deferral

(1) All adult protective services (APS) investigations which are referred by the Commission to other agencies to be conducted pursuant to M.G.L. c. 19C shall be conducted subject to the Commission's oversight authority and subject to the Commission's authority to conduct its own investigations. (2) The Commission shall exercise its authority in this matter as follows: (a) The Commission shall monitor the APS investigation conducted by any referral agency to ensure such an investigation is completed in accordance with M.G.L. c. 19C, § 5, and 118 CMR 5.00: Investigations. If the Commission determines that the best interests of the person with a disability require that the Commission conduct a staff investigation in place of, concurrently with, or jointly with that of the referral agency, the Commission shall so inform the referral agency and commence such an investigation; and If, based upon the circumstances of the case, the Commission determines that the Commission should conduct its staff investigation under M.G.L. c. 19C prior to or in place of that of the referral agency, the Commission shall inform the referral agency to defer its investigation under M.G.L. c. 19C until further notice from the Commission. All criminal investigations which are referred by the Commission to its Special Investigations Unit, the Attorney General, the appropriate District Attorney or the local police department in the municipality in which the criminal activity allegedly occurred shall be coordinated with any APS investigation being conducted pursuant to M.G.L. c. 19C and shall be conducted so as to ensure the safety of the victim with a disability. (4) Where the Commission has agreed to defer or delay the APS investigation being conducted pursuant to M.G.L. c. 19C during the pendency of a criminal investigation, the Commission shall monitor the progress of the criminal investigation and shall determine, after consultation with the Special Investigations Unit and/or the law enforcement agency(ies) conducting the criminal investigation, when or whether the Commission's investigation should be initiated or resumed. While an investigation conducted by or on behalf of the Commission pursuant to M.G.L. c. 19C, and 118 CMR is independent of an investigation conducted by any agency within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services pursuant to the respective statutory and regulatory authority of each such agency, in all cases in which an investigation is being conducted by or on behalf of the Commission (the M.G.L. c. 19C investigation), the referral agency within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services shall take reasonable steps to avoid unnecessary, unwarranted or counterproductive duplication between any investigation or inquiry being conducted by said agency and the investigation being conducted by or on behalf of the Commission by utilizing the M.G.L. c. 19C investigation in lieu of an investigation conducted by said agency. While an investigation conducted by or on behalf of the Commission pursuant to M.G.L. c. 19C, and 118 CMR is independent of an investigation conducted by the police, the District Attorney, or the Attorney General, the Commission may establish policies and procedures pertaining to such investigations to avoid unnecessary, unwarranted, or counterproductive duplication of investigatory efforts.