Md. Code Regs. 10.01.18.06 - Reporting Requirements for State Facilities
A. This regulation applies to State
facilities.
B. For purposes of this
regulation, "discovery" means staff observes, receives a complaint from an
individual or other source, or otherwise has reason to believe that
inappropriate sexual behavior has occurred.
C. A State facility shall comply with the
reporting requirements of:
(1) COMAR
07.02.16.04;
(2) COMAR
07.02.07.04;
(3) This chapter; and
(4) Any other applicable law or regulation
requiring the reporting of inappropriate sexual behavior.
D. Policies and Training.
(1) The facility shall adopt and enforce
written policies and procedures for the reporting and investigation of
inappropriate sexual behavior in accordance with the requirements set forth in
this regulation and Regulation .03 of this chapter.
(2) The facility shall provide training to
staff members, upon hire and annually thereafter, regarding facility policies
and procedures governing the prevention, reporting, and investigation of
allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior in accordance with this regulation
and Regulation .04 of this chapter, including:
(a) Understanding the provisions of the
memorandum of understanding;
(b)
Transporting individuals for medical care or to a SAFE exam, including how to
support the individual during transportation and actions that may be taken to
avoid the use of restraint;
(c)
Preservation of evidence; and
(d)
Counseling alleged victims, including regarding emergency contraception,
prophylaxes for HIV or other sexually transmitted infections, and follow-up
medical care or appointments.
E. Reporting and Investigation of
Inappropriate Sexual Behavior.
(1) Facility
staff members shall notify the administrative head of the facility, or the
designee, of an allegation of inappropriate sexual behavior, immediately, but
no later than 24 hours, from staff's discovery of the allegation.
(2) The notification required in §E(1)
of this regulation shall be made on the form or in the manner designated by the
Department.
(3) Upon receipt of the
notification in §E(1) of this regulation, the administrative head of the
facility, or their designee, shall, within 24 hours of staff's discovery of the
allegation, provide written notice of the allegation to the:
(a) Office of Health Care Quality;
(b) Central coordinator;
(c) State-designated protection and advocacy
agency;
(d) Treatment teams of the
individuals involved in the allegation; and
(e) Appropriate law enforcement agency as set
forth in §F of this regulation.
(4) If the administrative head of the
facility or the central coordinator has a conflict of interest in receiving the
notification, facility staff members shall report the incident to another
individual designated by the facility in the event of such conflict of
interest.
F.
Notification to Law Enforcement.
(1) The
facility shall notify the appropriate external law enforcement agency, within
24 hours of discovery by the facility, of:
(a) An allegation of sexual assault occurring
on the facility premises or at any off-premises activity sponsored by the
facility between individuals served by the facility or an individual served by
the facility and another individual; or
(b) An allegation of inappropriate sexual
behavior between a staff member and an individual served by the State facility,
regardless of the location of the incident.
(2) Except as provided in §F(1)(b) of
this regulation, allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior that are not
criminal shall be reported to the Department's police force for further
investigation.
(3) The Department's
police force shall refer the allegations to the administrative head of the
facility for further investigation as appropriate.
(4) An individual shall be permitted to
report an allegation of inappropriate sexual behavior that is not criminal to
an external law enforcement agency or complete a statement of charges with the
District Court commissioner.
(5) The
Department police force may not investigate a report of inappropriate sexual
behavior made to an external law enforcement agency in accordance with
§F(1) of this regulation unless the external law enforcement agency
declines to investigate the report or requests the assistance of the Department
police force.
(6) Upon the receipt
of the notification made under §E of this regulation, the treatment team
or teams of the alleged victim and alleged perpetrator, if applicable, shall:
(a) Review and, if appropriate, update the
risk assessment screens and protection plans of the individuals involved in the
allegation in accordance with Regulation .07G of this chapter;
(b) Review and, if appropriate, revise the
plans of care of the individuals involved in the allegation in accordance with
Regulation .07G of this chapter;
(c) Notify the central coordinator of the results of the treatment
team's review and assessment under this subsection;
(d) Take other appropriate action to ensure:
(i) The safety, privacy, and emotional
support of the individual or individuals involved; and
(ii) That any medically appropriate and
necessary care is provided to the individual or individuals involved;
and
(e) Document the
reported allegations and the results of any investigation of the allegations in
the record of the individuals involved.
(7) The facility and Department police shall
investigate allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior in accordance with the
following requirements:
(a) A facility staff
member or Department police officer may not participate in, or conduct, an
investigation of an allegation of inappropriate sexual behavior if that staff
member or officer, or the staff member's immediate family member, was involved
in the incident or incidents underlying the allegation; and
(b) The facility shall comply with
applicable laws and regulations governing the confidentiality of an
individual's information.
(8) Promptly after completing an investigation of a report of
inappropriate sexual behavior, the facility shall report the results of the
facility's investigation to the:
(a)
Appropriate unit of the Department as required by applicable statutes or
regulations;
(b) Office of Health
Care Quality; and
(c) State's
designated protection and advocacy agency.
G. Regional Institutes for Children and
Adolescents.
(1) Allegations of inappropriate
sexual behavior on the premises of a regional institute for children and
adolescents that are not criminal shall be referred to the administrative head
of the regional institute for children and adolescents for further
investigation.
(2) Allegations of
sexual assault and inappropriate sexual behavior between an individual and a
staff member shall be reported under §F(1) of this regulation.
(3) The regional institute for children and
adolescents shall report allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior to Child
Protective Services pursuant to COMAR 07.02.07.
H. Annual Report.
(1) The central coordinator shall report
annually to the Deputy Secretary for the unit within the Department which
oversees the operations of each State facility on the following:
(a) Development of polices and materials to
implement the requirements of this regulation and Regulation .07 of this
chapter;
(b) Suggested revisions to
the uniform assessment and reporting forms required in this regulation and
Regulation .07 of this chapter;
(c)
Compliance with the assessment and reporting requirements of this regulation
and Regulation .07 of this chapter;
(d) Compliance with the training requirements
of this regulation and Regulation .07 of this chapter;
(e) Identification of barriers to compliance
with the requirements of this regulation and Regulation .07 of this chapter;
and
(f) Recommendations to improve
prevention, detection, and response by State facilities to inappropriate sexual
behavior.
(2) A copy of
the report shall be provided to the State designated protection and advocacy
agency.
Notes
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