II. Adult protective services

07/13/2018

Adult protective services (APS) as defined in 411-020-0015 are available for:

· Adults aged 65 and older;

· Adults aged 18 and older who have a physical disability;

· Anyone living in a nursing facility when they are reported to be a victim of abuse.

Eligibility for protective services is not dependent on income or source of income.

ORS 410.020 (3)(d) provides the Department shall protect the older citizens and disabled citizens from physical and mental abuse and from fraudulent practices. ORS 410.280 (4) requires Type B agencies provide protective services within available resources.

A. Complaint investigation reports

The APS screening and referral process varies by branch office. All calls reporting potential abuse should be forwarded to APS screening at the local office.

All facility APS reports are completed on the SPD web-based 723 Facility Report Writing System or other Department approved system. All APS community reports are written in Oregon ACCESS or other Department approved systems.

Community APS reports are stored in the APD section of Oregon ACCESS. Community APS reports are confidential and cannot be released or viewed except under certain circumstances. Requests for community APS reports should be referred to a supervisor.

1. Nursing facility reports

Copies of the nursing facility (NF) APS reports are the only type with an Initial Status Report (ISR). Supporting documents and the original report are maintained in the hard file at the local office in a secure confidential file.

One copy each of the ISR (first page of the printed 723) is distributed as follows:

1. Central Office:

Office of Licensing and Regulatory Oversight (OLRO)

Human Services Building

500 Summer St NE E-13

Salem, OR 97301

2. Client Care Monitoring Unit (CCMU):

Tualatin CCMU Office

7740 SW Mohawk St

Tualatin, OR 97501; or

Fax to Screening and Triage: 800-550-6788

3. Long Term Care Ombudsman's Office (LTCO)

3855 Wolverine St NE #6

Salem, OR 97305-1251

4. The nursing facility;

5. The resident/victim or their designee;

6. The complainant.

Close the report on the web version of the 723. Central Office is notified electronically when the report is closed.

• Exception: Lane Co. will continue to mail paper copies.

Once the Letter of Determination (LOD) or Notification of Findings (NOF) is received by the local office, the LOD or NOF and the public copy of the report is placed in the facility’s public disclosure file. The confidential report and LOD or NOF is maintained in a secure confidential file.

2. Amended complaint report requests:

In some cases, Safety, Oversight and Quality (SOQ) or Office of Training, Investigations and Safety (OTIS) APS will request an APS specialist amend a report.

If the amendment does not involve a change of conclusion, the report is modified as requested, closed, and the amendment is submitted electronically through the web 723. APS will notify the corrective action coordinator the amendment is complete, via e-mail.

If an amendment request does includes a request for a change of conclusion, the request will be sent by OTIS APS program coordinators. The amended report is then closed and the corrective action coordinator is notified via e-mail.

Following a corrective action review, a Letter of Determination (LOD) or a Notification of Findings (NOF) is distributed by Central Office with a copy of the report. This will be filed at the local office and a public copy will be placed in the public disclosure file maintained by the local office.

B. Public disclosure files

1. Maintaining files

Public disclosure files are to be maintained at the branch for the following:

• Nursing facilities (NF);
• Residential care facilities (RCF);
• Assisted living facilities (ALF);
• Adult foster homes (AFH);
• Room and board (R&B) facilities registered through the Office of Licensing and Regulatory Oversight (OLRO);

o Room and board facilities are subject to Adult Protective Service (APS) investigations.

NOTE: Public disclosure files are not the same as confidential files.

Copies of APS investigation reports are included in public disclosure files and are available to the public.

• Names of the complainant(s), victim(s), witnesses, and perpetrators are confidential and are not included in the public files;
• A redacted copy of any correspondence sent by a complainant or licensee in an AFH, ALF, R&B, or RCF written as a response to an APS draft report is maintained in this file;
• Other correspondence from parties involved with the case is also redacted with the original in the confidential file and a redacted copy in the public disclosure file;
• Additional information regarding a particular facility is also available to the public and may be retained in the same public disclosure file or in a separate file. This information includes license applications and any annual inspection surveys.

File storage

All public disclosure files must be kept chronologically by year in an unlocked accessible cabinet. Files must be kept locked when unattended; confidential files are kept in a locked filing cabinet at all times.

A log book is recommended for recording the files viewed by the public. The log book should have the following:

• Date and time file is taken out;
• Name and address of person reviewing the file;
• Name of the facility; and
• Time the file was turned back in.

2. Requests to view

The public disclosure files are available for viewing at the local office only and are not to be removed from the branch. The public may request copies of any documents included in the public disclosure file.

A public records request should be e-mailed to: spd.prrequests@state.or.us or mailed to:

Public Records Custodian

500 Summer St E-13

Salem, OR 97301

• Note: Public disclosure files are to be retained for ten (10) years.

3. Terminology and abbreviations

Disposition of investigations will be one of the following:

• Substantiated: After considering the evidence which is complete and relevant, a reasonable person can objectively conclude with a preponderance of evidence, it is more likely than not wrong doing occurred.
• Unsubstantiated: After considering the evidence which is complete and relevant, a reasonable person can objectively conclude with a preponderance of evidence, it is less likely wrongdoing occurred.
• Inconclusive: After a careful analysis of the evidence gathered in an investigation, a determination of whether wrongdoing occurred cannot be reached by a preponderance of the evidence.

Abbreviations used:

• RV: Reported victim;
• RP: Reported perpetrator;
• C: Complainant;
• I: Investigator;
• W: Witness.

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