II. Adult protective services
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.
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.
If the conclusion is changed, the
licensee/administrator and complainant are sent a second copy of the draft report
with a letter to notify the parties of the change and an opportunity to review
and respond to the change within ten (10) days.
If the conclusion does not change, the report is closed
on the web 723 system which electronically transfers data and alerts the corrective
action coordinators the report is ready to be processed.
Any response, from the licensee, provider, or the
complainant is kept in the hard file with the confidential report and is
redacted and maintained in the public disclosure file.
3.
Amended complaint report requests:
In some cases, Safety, Oversight and Quality (SOQ) or Office of Adult
Abuse Prevention and Investigation (OAAPI) 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 OAAPI 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.
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.
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.