Reporting Abuse of Elders and Dependent Adults

This section sets out the standing under which this policy is issued, who owns it, who is bound by it, and how it is kept current. It is not itself a procedure. The obligations begin at Section 1.

This policy makes sure that every suspected or known abuse of an elder or dependent adult client is reported by the person who knows of it, quickly and to the right agency, as California law requires, and that Sample Agency, LLC (the "Agency") keeps a copy of every report for the Department and protects the client and the reporter.

This policy applies to abuse of any elder or dependent adult that staff observe, learn of, are told about or reasonably suspect in their work, whoever the person suspected is (a family member, a friend, a neighbor, another provider, an Agency employee, or the client's own self-neglect) and wherever the client lives.

For the purposes of this policy:

Every employee of the Agency is a mandated reporter of elder and dependent adult abuse (W&I Code §15630(a)). Anyone who, in their work, observes or has knowledge of an incident that reasonably appears to be reportable abuse, is told by a client that it happened, or reasonably suspects it, reports it personally "by telephone or through a confidential internet reporting tool, as authorized by Section 15658, immediately or as soon as practicably possible. If reported by telephone, a written report shall be sent, or an internet report shall be made through the confidential internet reporting tool established in Section 15658, within two working days." (W&I Code §15630(b)(1))

"The reporting duties under this section are individual, and no supervisor or administrator shall impede or inhibit the reporting duties" (W&I Code §15630(f)). Telling a supervisor is not a report.

The Agency keeps a copy of each suspected abuse report and makes it available for review by the Department during normal business hours (HSC §1796.42(e)).

• Every employee and volunteer reports what they personally know or suspect. Each person signs the mandated reporter statement (Form CA-HC-HR-02-B) before starting work, as W&I Code §15659 requires, and the Agency keeps it.
• When two or more mandated reporters know of the same incident, they may agree that one of them makes a single report (W&I Code §15630(d)). As the Agency's own standard, each of them confirms with that person, the same day, that the report was made. Anyone who learns that the agreed report was not made must report.
• The licensee and the Administrator report as well, and make sure every report is copied for the Department (HSC §1796.42(e)).

Other harm, such as threats, humiliation or emotional abuse, may also be reported (W&I Code §15630(c)(1)). As the Agency's own standard, staff report it too. You do not need proof. Report what you saw or heard, or what made you suspicious.

1. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911 first.
2. If the client lives in their own home or the abuse happened anywhere other than a long-term care facility, report "to the adult protective services agency or the local law enforcement agency" (W&I Code §15630(b)(1)(F)): the county Adult Protective Services agency (statewide line 1-833-401-0832, which connects to the county APS for the ZIP code entered, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) or the local law enforcement agency; call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger. Make the report by telephone or through the confidential internet reporting tool, immediately or as soon as practicably possible.
3. If you reported by telephone, send the written report on Report of Suspected Dependent Adult/Elder Abuse, form SOC 341 (California Department of Social Services) (https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/Additional-Resources/Forms-and-Brochures/2020/Q-T/SOC341.pdf), or make an internet report, within two working days (W&I Code §15630(b)(1)). County agency addresses are in https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/APS/aps-county-contact-list.pdf.
4. If the abuse happened in a long-term care facility, make a verbal report to local law enforcement immediately, or as soon as practically possible, and no longer than two hours after you observed, learned of or suspected it, and send a written report within 24 hours to the long-term care ombudsman (1-800-231-4024 (Long-Term Care Ombudsman Hotline, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)), local law enforcement and the state licensing agency for that facility (W&I Code §15630(b)(1)(A)(ii)).
5. If the abuse in a long-term care facility was caused by another resident who has a physician’s diagnosis of dementia, and there is no serious bodily injury, send a written report within 24 hours to the long-term care ombudsman and local law enforcement (W&I Code §15630(b)(1)(A)(i)).
6. If you also suspect a crime involving a Medi-Cal provider, or abuse in a facility, you may contact California Department of Justice, Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse, Complaint Intake Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, CA 94244-2550; (800) 722-0432; online at https://oag.ca.gov/dmfea/reporting. This never replaces the report above.

Give what you know; do not delay the report to find out more. W&I Code §15630(e) lists, if known: your name; the name and age of the client; where the client is now; the names and addresses of family members or other adults responsible for the client's care; the nature and extent of the client's condition; the date of the incident; and anything else that led you to suspect abuse. Write down the name of the person you spoke to, the date and time, and any case number.

1. After you have made your report, tell the Administrator, or the Alternate Administrator, the same day. This internal step helps the Agency protect the client and keep the copy the law requires; W&I Code §15630(f) allows internal procedures that help reporting and keep supervisors informed, but they never replace or delay your report.
2. Give the office a copy of your written report (Form SOC 341 or the internet report confirmation), or the details of your telephone report if the written report is not yet sent.
3. The office records the report on Form CA-HC-ANE-01-A and files the copy in the restricted abuse report file. The file is "available for review by the department during normal business hours" (HSC §1796.42(e)).
4. The client record notes only the date and that a report was made (Policy CA-HC-REC-01).
5. If you are unsure whether to report, report. If a supervisor tells you not to report, report anyway and tell the Administrator or the governing body.

• Do not investigate, question the client in detail or try to get proof before reporting. Ask only enough to understand what happened, and write down the client's own words.
• Do not confront the person you suspect or tell them a report was made.
• Do not promise the client that you will keep it a secret. Tell the client kindly that you have to tell people who can help.
• Do not clean up, move or throw away anything that may be evidence, unless the client’s safety requires it.
• Do not wait until your next shift or for someone else to report.

• The supervisor contacts the client, and the representative if the representative is not the person suspected, to check that the client is safe and that services continue. Services are changed only to keep the client safe (Policy CA-HC-SP-02).
• The Agency cooperates fully with APS, law enforcement, the ombudsman and the Department, and gives them the records they ask for (Policy CA-HC-PRV-01).
• If an Agency employee is the person suspected, the Administrator follows Policy CA-HC-ANE-03 at once.
• If financial abuse is suspected, the supervisor also follows Policy CA-HC-ETH-02, Section 9.
• When the Department receives a report of suspected or known abuse, it cross-reports to local law enforcement and APS (HSC §1796.52(e)). This does not replace any report in this policy.

• "The reports made pursuant to Section 15630, 15630.1, 15630.2, and 15631 shall be confidential" (W&I Code §15633(a)). Staff do not discuss a report with anyone except the agencies handling it and the Administrator. A violation of that confidentiality is a misdemeanor (W&I Code §15633(a)).
• "No person making the report shall be subject to any sanction for making the report" (W&I Code §15630(f)). The Agency never disciplines or retaliates against anyone for making a report in good faith.
• Failing to make a required report, or impeding or inhibiting a report, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in the county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both; a willful failure to report abuse that results in death or great bodily injury is punishable by up to one year in the county jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both (W&I Code §15630(h)). A staff member who fails to report also faces discipline up to dismissal.

As the Agency's own standard, each client and representative receives Form CA-HC-ANE-01-B at the start of services, with the client rights information (Policy CA-HC-CR-01). It explains what abuse is, how to report it to APS, law enforcement, the ombudsman or the Department, and that the Agency's staff are required to report.

Accountability under this policy is allocated as follows.

The Agency keeps, in a restricted file at the licensed office: Form CA-HC-ANE-01-A for every report; a copy of each suspected abuse report (HSC §1796.42(e)); and records of follow-up. Signed mandated reporter statements are kept in personnel files (W&I Code §15659; Policy CA-HC-HR-06). As the Agency's own standard, abuse report copies are kept for seven years after the report.

Each quarter the Administrator checks that every report on the log has a copy on file and that every written report was sent within two working days, and reports the number and types of reports, without names, to the governing body (Policy CA-HC-QM-01).

Every employee is trained on this policy and signs Form CA-HC-HR-02-B before starting work. Abuse reporting is part of orientation, and annual training includes how to report, prevent and detect abuse and neglect, one of the annual training areas of HSC §1796.44(c) (Policy CA-HC-HR-05). Training is recorded in the training log (Form CA-HC-HR-05-B).

This policy implements the following authorities.

• Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code §15630, Mandated reporting of elder and dependent adult abuse
• Cal. Health & Safety Code §1796.42(e), Licensee reports abuse and keeps a copy of each report
• Cal. Health & Safety Code §1796.52(e), Department cross-reporting
• Cal. Health & Safety Code §1796.44(c), Annual training
• Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code §§15610.17, 15610.23, 15610.27, 15610.30, 15610.57, 15610.63, Definitions
• Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code §15633, Confidentiality of reports
• Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code §15658, Report form and confidential internet reporting tool
• Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code §15659, Signed mandated reporter statement
• Form HCS 281 (12/21) §B3, Personnel policies: abuse reporting procedures

The following documents are read together with this policy.

This policy is adopted by the governing body of Sample Agency, LLC. The effective date, the person who approved it, and the date of approval are shown in the header block and recorded in the signature lines below.

Every version of this policy, the date it took effect, a summary of what changed, and who approved it is recorded below. Where a law or Department notice cited in Section 17 is amended, the amendment is recorded in this table and a new version of this policy is issued.