2006 New York Code - Incident Reporting Procedures

 
  § 29.29 Incident reporting procedures.
    The   commissioners  of  the  offices  of  mental  health  and  mental
  retardation and  developmental  disabilities  of  the  department  shall
  establish  policies  and uniform procedures for their respective offices
  for the compilation and analysis of incident reports.  Incident  reports
  shall,  for  the purposes of this chapter, mean reports of accidents and
  injuries affecting patient  health  and  welfare  at  such  departmental
  facilities.    These policies and procedures shall include but shall not
  be limited to:
    1. The establishment of a patient care and safety team at the facility
  level which shall include but not be limited  to  a:  physician,  nurse,
  social  worker  and  therapy  aide,  to  investigate  and  report to the
  facility director on:
    (i) suicides or attempted suicides;
    (ii) violent behavior exhibited by either patients or employees;
    (iii) frequency and severity of injuries incurred by  either  patients
  or employees;
    (iv)  frequency and severity of injuries occurring on individual wards
  or in buildings at such facility;
    (v) patient leave without consent; or
    (vi) medication errors.
    2. The establishment of cumulative record keeping of incident  reports
  which identifies patient and employee involvement.
    3.  A  compilation  of  uniform and measurable information, first on a
  facility basis, then on an office-wide basis, that will  indicate  where
  the greatest number and types of incidents of violence and injury occur.
    4.  That  each  facility  shall  aggregate  its  data  monthly for the
  director and that aggregated information shall be  submitted,  at  least
  semi-annually  to  the  commissioner  of  the office of mental health by
  facilities  listed  in  section  7.17  of  this  chapter,  and  to   the
  commissioner  of  the  office  of  mental  retardation and developmental
  disabilities by facilities listed in section 13.17 of this chapter.
    5. Such commissioners shall transmit a copy  of  any  report  received
  pursuant  to subdivision four of this section to the state commission on
  quality of care for the mentally disabled.
    6.  Such  commissioners  shall  promulgate  regulations   establishing
  standards  for the protection of children in residential care from abuse
  and  maltreatment,  including  procedures  for:  (a)   consistent   with
  appropriate  collective  bargaining agreements and applicable provisions
  of the civil service law, the review and evaluation of  the  backgrounds
  of  and information supplied by any person applying to be an employee, a
  volunteer or consultant, which shall include but not be limited  to  the
  following  requirements:  that  the  applicant  set  forth  his  or  her
  employment history,  provide  personal  and  employment  references  and
  relevant  experiential  and  educational  information  and, sign a sworn
  statement whether, to the best of his or her knowledge, he  or  she  has
  ever been convicted of a crime in this state or any other jurisdiction;
    (b)  establishing  for employees, minimal experiential and educational
  qualifications  consistent  with   appropriate   collective   bargaining
  agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service law;
    (c)  assuring  adequate  and  appropriate  supervision  of  employees,
  volunteers and consultants;
    (d) demonstrating that appropriate  action  is  taken  to  assure  the
  safety  of  the  child  who is reported to the state central register as
  well as other children in care, immediately  upon  notification  that  a
  report  of  child  abuse or maltreatment has been made with respect to a
  child's custodian in a residential facility;
    (e) removing a child when it is determined that there is risk to  such
  child if he or she continues to remain in a residential facility; and
    (f)  appropriate  preventive and remedial action to be taken including
  legal  action,  consistent  with   appropriate   collective   bargaining
  agreements  and  applicable  provisions  of  the civil service law. Such
  standards shall also establish as a priority that:
    (i) subject to  the  amounts  appropriated  therefor,  administrators,
  employees,  volunteers  and consultants receive training in at least the
  following:  child  abuse  prevention  and  identification,  safety   and
  security   procedures,   the   principles   of  child  development,  the
  characteristics of children in care and techniques of  group  and  child
  management  including  crisis  intervention,  the  laws, regulations and
  procedures  governing  the  protection  of  children  from   abuse   and
  maltreatment,  and other appropriate topics provided, however, that such
  offices may exempt administrators and consultants from such requirements
  upon demonstration of substantially equivalent knowledge or  experience;
  and
    (ii)  subject  to  the amounts appropriated therefor, children receive
  instruction, consistent with their age, needs and circumstances as  well
  as  the  needs  and  circumstances  within  the  facility or program, in
  techniques and procedures which will enable  such  children  to  protect
  themselves from abuse and maltreatment.
    The  commissioners  shall take all reasonable and necessary actions to
  assure that employees, volunteers or  consultants  in  residential  care
  facilities  are  kept  apprised  on  a current basis of all policies and
  procedures of the respective  offices  relating  to  the  protection  of
  children  from  abuse  and maltreatment, and shall monitor and supervise
  the provision of training to such administrators, employees, volunteers,
  children  and  consultants.  Standards  developed   pursuant   to   this
  subdivision  shall,  to  the  extent  possible, be consistent with those
  promulgated by other state agencies for such purposes.
    7. Such commissioners shall provide necessary assistance to the  state
  commission  on  quality of care for the mentally disabled in the conduct
  of investigations pursuant to  section  45.07  of  this  chapter,  shall
  consider  its  recommendations  for  appropriate preventive and remedial
  action  including  legal  actions,  and  shall  provide  or   direct   a
  residential facility licensed or operated by the office of mental health
  or  office  of  mental  retardation  and  developmental  disabilities to
  provide  written  reports  thereon  to  the   commission   as   to   the
  implementation of plans of prevention and remediation.
    8.   Such   commissioners   shall  provide  for  the  development  and
  implementation of a plan of prevention and remediation with  respect  to
  an  indicated  report  of child abuse or maltreatment. Such action shall
  include: (a), within ten days of receipt of an indicated report of child
  abuse or maltreatment, development  and  implementation  of  a  plan  of
  prevention  and  remediation  to be taken with respect to a custodian or
  residential facility in order to assure the continued health and  safety
  of children and to provide for the prevention of future acts of abuse or
  maltreatment;  and  (b)  development  and  implementation  of  a plan of
  prevention and remediation, in the event an investigation of a report of
  alleged child  abuse  or  maltreatment  determines  that  some  credible
  evidence  of abuse or maltreatment exists and such abuse or maltreatment
  may be attributed in whole or in part to noncompliance by  the  facility
  with provisions of this chapter or regulations of the respective offices
  applicable  to  the  operation of such residential facility. Any plan of
  prevention  and  remediation  required  to  be  developed  pursuant   to
  paragraph  (b)  of  this  subdivision by a facility supervised by either
  office shall be submitted to and approved by such office  in  accordance
  with   time   limits   established   by   regulations  of  such  office.
  Implementation of the  plan  shall  be  monitored  by  such  office.  In
  reviewing  the  continued  qualifications  of  a residential facility or
  program  for  an  operating  certificate,  the office having supervisory
  responsibilities shall evaluate such facility's compliance with plans of
  prevention and remediation developed and implemented  pursuant  to  this
  subdivision.