If you are unsure or have a question, contact your Supervisor or a State Staff Member.
Reporting Issues to report and NOT Investigate
- Elder Abuse
- Disabled Abuse
- Child Abuse
Dealing with the Need to Report
- If you must report, you will report – we will comply with the law.
- You must report within 24-48 hours.
- Not under obligation to investigate or probe. Best not to – let those trained do any investigation.
- If person makes you aware of abuse that happened when they were a child:
- Empathize
- What happened is not their fault
- Good for them to bring this forward
- Not a counselor but want to support
- If they share details, you will have to report to authorities – designed to help protect other potential victims.
- Offer to support as they report to authorities
- Suggest they seek counseling and direct to resources.
Who to Report to
- FIRST – report situation to State Staff and Regional Leadership.
- Local Authorities
- Child Protective Services
Document the Report
- Who contacted the authorities.
- When the report was made
- Get case number and name of person you made the report to.
Investigating Issues to Investigate
- Inappropriate behavior (Adult to Adult)
- Sexual Harassment
- Discrimination
- Conflicts between people (employee and non-employee)
When Investigating, Use CPR To.......
- Protect confidentiality as much as possible.
- Stabilize the situation – assess for immediate action
- Take time to do it right!
- Show empathy but don’t take sides
- Include other BSM leaders in the investigation (witness).
- Communicate with STATE STAFF to develop investigation plan.
- Document all discussions and outcomes. With care, communicate results to person bringing the complaint and any accused
Investigation and Reporting Guidelines for BSM Staff Incident Reporting Document for BSM Staff |
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