Abuse Prevention Policy
Purpose:
Gateway is committed to providing safe and respectful environments that support the health and well-being of all people receiving our services. Gateway seeks to institute guidelines and resources for staff and enforce zero tolerance for those actions which may jeopardize the health, safety or welfare of any person receiving services.
Policy:
This policy establishes guidelines for abuse prevention, zero tolerance for actions that constitute abuse, and responsibilities as a mandated reporter.
DEFINITIONS
Custodian: employees, volunteers, interns, directors, and operators of covered facilities and programs. External staff who have regular and substantial contact with the people being served.
Mandated Reporter: all staff and volunteers at Gateway are mandated reporters and are held to the Protection of Person’s with Special Needs Act (PPSNA) regulations regarding mandated reporters.
REPORTABLE INCIDENTS
Physical Abuse
Conduct by staff that is intentional or reckless, causing physical injury or serious or protracted impairment of the physical, mental or emotional condition of the vulnerable person or causing the likelihood of injury or impairment. Examples: hitting, kicking, biting, slapping, shoving, throwing, punching, dragging, shaking, choking, smothering, burning, cutting, or the use of corporal punishment.
Note exception: Physical abuse shall not include reasonable emergency interventions necessary to protect the safety of any person.
Psychological Abuse
Conduct by a staff (Verbal or non-verbal) that is intentional or reckless that adversely affects and results in or is likely to cause a substantial diminution of the vulnerable person’s emotional, social, or behavioral condition, Examples include, but are not be limited to, taunts, derogatory comments or ridicule, intimidation, threats, the display of a weapon or other object that could reasonably be perceived by a person receiving services as a means for infliction of pain or injury, in a manner that constitutes a threat of physical pain or injury. Non-verbal conduct, a substantial diminution of a person receiving services’ emotional, social or behavioral development or condition, supported by a clinical assessment performed by a physician, psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, licensed clinical or master social worker or licensed mental health counselor, or causing the likelihood of such diminution
Sexual Abuse
Conduct by staff that constitutes certain crimes under the New York Penal Law. Examples include rape (forcible compulsion or physical helpless or incapable of consent), forcible, inappropriate touching, indecent exposure, sexual assault, prostitution offenses (such as promoting, compelling, or permitting prostitution), and “sexual performance” offenses (such as inducing a person receiving services to engage in sexual conduct in any play, motion picture, photograph, or any other visual representation before an audience).
Note: A person with a developmental disability who is or was receiving services and is also a staff or volunteer of a service provider shall not be considered a staff if he or she has sexual contact with another person receiving services who is a consenting adult who has consented to such contact.
Deliberate misuse of restraint or seclusion
Use of a restraint when the technique that is used, the amount of force that is used or the situation in which the restraint is used is deliberately inconsistent with a person receiving services’ individual treatment plan or behavioral intervention plan, generally accepted treatment practices and/or applicable federal or state laws, regulations or policies. A “restraint” shall include the use of any manual, pharmacological or mechanical measure or device to immobilize or limit the ability of a person receiving services to freely move his or her arms, legs or body. Note/Exception: When the restraint is used as a reasonable emergency intervention to prevent imminent risk of harm to a person receiving services or to any other person it is not abuse.
Controlled Substances
Administration (by staff) of a controlled substance without a prescription; or other medication not approved for any use by the federal food and drug administration, by a staff to a vulnerable person. Staff unlawfully using or distributing a controlled substance at the workplace or while on duty is also covered. Controlled substance is defined by article thirty-three of NYS public health law.
Aversive conditioning
The application of a physical stimulus with the intent to induce pain or discomfort in order to modify or change the behavior of a person receiving services. Examples: Aversive conditioning may include but is not limited to, the use of physical stimuli such as noxious odors, noxious tastes, blindfolds, the withholding of meals, the provision of substitute foods in an unpalatable form and movement limitations used as punishment, including but not limited to helmets and mechanical restraint devices. The use of aversive conditioning is prohibited by OPWDD.
Obstruction
Conduct by staff that impedes the discovery, reporting or investigation of the treatment of a person receiving services by: falsifying records related to the safety, treatment or supervision of a person receiving services; actively persuading a mandated reporter from making a report of a reportable incident to the statewide vulnerable persons’ central register with the intent to suppress the reporting of the investigation of such incident; intentionally making a false statement; intentionally withholding material information during an investigation into such a report; intentional failure of a supervisor or manager to act upon such a report in accordance with governing state agency regulations, policies or procedures; or a mandated reporter who is a staff as defined above, failing to report a reportable incident upon discovery.
Neglect
Any breach of staff’s duty, which includes action, inaction, or lack of attention on the part of the staff that results in or is likely to result in physical injury or serious or protracted impairment to the person’s physical, mental, or emotional condition of the vulnerable person. Examples include failure to provide: supervision resulting in conduct between persons receiving services that would otherwise constitute abuse as defined above if committed by a staff; adequate food, clothing, shelter as required by rules and regulations; adequate healthcare (e.g., medical, dental, optometric or surgical care) as required by rules and regulations; and access to an educational instruction as required by rules and regulations or the individual’s Individualized Education Program (IEP)
SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT
Any incident, other than an incident of abuse or neglect that because of its severity or the sensitivity of the situation may result in, or has the reasonably foreseeable potential to result in harm to the health, safety or welfare of a person receiving services and shall include, but shall not be limited to:
OMH
Financial Exploitation
Injury of unknown origin
Missing Patient
Sexual Assault
Suicide Attempt
Wrongful Conduct
Adverse Drug reaction
Verbal Aggression by Patients
Intentional, Improper use of Medication
Inappropriate use of Time out
Assault
Falls by Patients
Fights
Self-Abuse
Death
Crime
Fire Setting
Mistreatment
OPWDD
Mistreatment
Missing Person
Choking, with known risk
Self-abusive behavior with injury
Serious Notable
Choking, no known risk
Death
Sensitive Situation
Theft or Financial Exploitation
Unauthorized absence
Injury, with hospital admission
TRAINING
The following trainings are provided within the first month of hire and annually thereafter to ensure that staff understand what constitutes abuse and how to safeguard themselves against it, their responsibilities to protect people receiving services from abuse and neglect as defined above, and their responsibilities as a mandated reporter.
INTERACTIONS AND CONDUCT
Gateway’s Standards of Conduct outlines expectations for board members, employees, volunteers, contractors, and all others associated with Gateway to exercise safe, responsible and respectful behavior in their interactions with people receiving services. The agency culture modeled by all levels of management reinforces the Standards of Conduct. The following standards are meant to further guide staff during their interactions with people receiving services. These guidelines do not and cannot outline every situation encountered while on the job, thus requiring staff to act with a certain degree of personal discretion. Because a certain action is not prohibited in this section does not mean it is acceptable behavior. Gateway reserves the right to take disciplinary action against staff whose actions are found to be inappropriate regardless of whether they appear in this section.
Respectful Interactions:
Social Boundaries:
Physical Boundaries:
Sexual Boundaries:
Alcohol/Drug Use:
If, for any reason, a staff makes an exception to the above guidelines, they discuss it with their supervisor as soon as possible. Any reportable incidents are reported in accordance with reporting requirements and protocol. Supervisors document and address circumstances that do not rise to reportable incident but fail to follow the above, or other established agency guidelines.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND PROCESS
Mandated Reporter Requirements:
Social Service Law Section 491 outlines a mandated reporter’s duty to report allegations of reportable incidents to the NYS Justice Center via the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register (VPCR) as soon as possible, within 24 hours of discovery, at any time of the day or night and on any day of the week, by telephone to the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register toll-free hotline at 1-855-373-2122, TTY: 1-855-373-2123.
All custodians in facilities or programs operated or certified by OPWDD and OMH are “Mandated Reporters” and are required to report reportable incidents to the VPCR unless: he or she knows that the report has already been made by another mandated reporter and that he or she has been named in that report as a person with knowledge of the incident.
Internal Reporting Protocol:
Staff are to respond immediately to the discovery of an incident by ensuring immediate safeguards are put in place for the individual including calling 911 or providing medical care if warranted. Management is to be promptly notified to ensure safeguards are in place and that appropriate entities investigate reportable incidents when they occur. The Mandated Reporter will complete an internal incident report as well.
Protections:
The law provides protections against the disclosure of a reporter’s identity, subject to limited exceptions such as consent from the reporter, or in the event of a court order. The law grants immunity to voluntary reporters and Mandated Reporters from any legal claims which may arise from a good faith act of providing information to the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register. An employer or agency is prohibited from taking any retaliatory action against a person who has made a good faith act of providing information to the hotline.
Regulation Reference (if applicable): PPSNA, Title 14 NYCRR Part 624, Title 14 NYCRR Part 524
Related Policy(ies): HR 106 Employment Clearances, HR 702 Drug Free Workplace, HR 703, Sexual Harassment and Other Forms of Harassment, Corporate Compliance Plan, Regulatory and Training Policy
Effective Date: 7/1/17
Review Date:
Revision Date:
Next Scheduled Review Date: 7/1/19