(a) The Department of Social Services shall establish, within available appropriations, a fall prevention program. Within such program, the department shall:

(1) Promote and support research to: (A) Improve the identification, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of older persons and others who have a high risk of falling; (B) improve data collection and analysis to identify risk factors for falls and factors that reduce the likelihood of falls; (C) design, implement and evaluate the most effective fall prevention interventions; (D) improve intervention strategies that have been proven effective in reducing falls by tailoring such strategies to specific populations of older persons; (E) maximize the dissemination of proven, effective fall prevention interventions; (F) assess the risk of falls occurring in various settings; (G) identify barriers to the adoption of proven interventions with respect to the prevention of falls among older persons; (H) develop, implement and evaluate the most effective approaches to reducing falls among high-risk older persons living in communities and long-term care and assisted living facilities; and (I) evaluate the effectiveness of community programs designed to prevent falls among older persons;

(2) Establish, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Health, a professional education program in fall prevention, evaluation and management for physicians, allied health professionals and other health care providers who provide services for older persons in this state. The Commissioner of Social Services may contract for the establishment of such program through (A) a request for proposal process, (B) a competitive grant program, or (C) cooperative agreements with qualified organizations, institutions or consortia of qualified organizations and institutions;

(3) Oversee and support demonstration and research projects to be carried out by organizations, institutions or consortia of organizations and institutions deemed qualified by the Commissioner of Social Services. Such demonstration and research projects may be in the following areas:

(A) Targeted fall risk screening and referral programs;

(B) Programs designed for community-dwelling older persons that use fall intervention approaches, including physical activity, medication assessment and reduction of medication when possible, vision enhancement and home-modification strategies;

(C) Programs that target new fall victims who are at a high risk for second falls and that are designed to maximize independence and quality of life for older persons, particularly those older persons with functional limitations; and

(D) Private sector and public-private partnerships to develop technologies to prevent falls among older persons and prevent or reduce injuries when falls occur; and

(4) Award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, organizations, institutions or consortia of organizations and institutions deemed qualified by the Commissioner of Social Services to design, implement and evaluate fall prevention programs using proven intervention strategies in residential and institutional settings.

(b) In awarding any grants or entering into any agreements or contracts after October 1, 2017, the Commissioner of Social Services shall determine appropriate data and program outcome measures, including fall prevention program outcome measures, as applicable, that the recipient organization, institution or consortia of organizations and institutions shall collect and report to the commissioner and the frequency of such reports.

(Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-5, S. 52; P.A. 13-125, S. 7; P.A. 17-123, S. 3; 17-202, S. 56; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 291.)

History: Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-5 effective October 5, 2009; P.A. 13-125 replaced references to Department and Commissioner of Social Services with references to Department and Commissioner on Aging, effective July 1, 2013; Sec. 17b-33 transferred to Sec. 17a-303a in 2015; P.A. 17-123 designated existing provisions re establishment of fall prevention program as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re commissioner determination of appropriate data and program outcome measures the organization, institution or consortia of organizations and institutions receiving any grants or entering into agreements or contracts are required to collect and report to commissioner; P.A. 17-202 replaced “adults” with “persons” and amended Subdiv. (2) to replace “the elderly” with “older persons”; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 replaced references to Commissioner on Aging with references to Commissioner of Social Services and replaced references to Department on Aging with references to Department of Social Services, effective October 31, 2017.