"Support, Encouragement, Empowerment"

Employees - Policy 2.1

A. MANDATORY REPORTING

All Kokua employees are considered “mandatory reporters” and are required by law to report observed or suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of any vulnerable adult. Kokua employees must follow this policy in reporting abuse or neglect. Failure to report known or suspected abuse or neglect is a gross misdemeanor punishable by law (RCW 74.34.055).

B. REPORTING ABUSE

Any employee that suspects or observes abuse, neglect or exploitation of a client must report that abuse or neglect within 24 hours. The report of abuse should include a description of the incident, the name of the victim, the name of the alleged perpetrator, the address and telephone of the victim, the name of the client’s DD case manager and any other information that the investigator may ask. A staff person has the right to request anonymity when making a report. The report should be phoned to Residential Care Services (RCS) at 1-800-562-6078 (TTY 1-800-737-7931.).

C. INCIDENT REPORT

The staff person who witnessed or suspected the abuse must also fill out an incident report prior to leaving his/her shift. Incident reports must be delivered to the Kokua office at the beginning of the next business day. Incident reports need to be faxed to DDD within 24 hours. If an incident of abuse or neglect happens on a weekend or a holiday, the incident must be phoned in to DDD and a hard copy faxed on the next working day. The emergency pager system must also be used to alert management of the incident.
Client Service Coordinators or other staff providing follow-up to an incident of suspected abuse or neglect should fax the follow-up material to RCS at 725-2644 or to APS at 664-2644.

D. APS INVESTIGATIONS

Staff persons are prohibited by law from releasing any information regarding an ongoing abuse/neglect investigation. This prohibition includes discussing the report with anyone, even the client’s guardian. If a guardian or family member requests information, they are to be given only the name and phone number of the social worker conducting the investigation.

E. EMERGENCY PROTECTION OF CLIENTS

In any emergency, the first priority must always be protection of the client. Emergency protection includes, but is not limited to:

  1. Immediate face-to-face contact at the scene.
  2. Locating and transporting the client to a safe location.
  3. Contacting 911
  4. Contacting the client’s case manager.
  5. Contacting the Kokua Executive Director
  6. Assuring any alleged perpetrator no longer has access to the client or to any other client of Kokua.
  7. Ensuring any immediate medical needs have been met.
  8. Contacting the guardian or family of the client involved.
  9. Preserving any evidence at the site and documenting all communications regarding the reported incident.
  10. Notifying Adult Protective Services.

F. PROTECTION OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

Gather all documentation or physical evidence of suspected abuse and safeguard such evidence until such time as it can be examined by the investigating authority.

G. COOPERATION WITH APS INVESTIGATION

Any time that a social worker from APS or RCS comes to a client’s home to do an investigation, staff are to cooperate fully. For the safety of the clients, verify the identity of the investigator by asking for picture identification and a business card. Make note of the investigators name and phone number in the daily log. Assist the worker by providing a private area for the social worker to speak to the client in a confidential manner.