10A NCAC 70G .0513      CRITICAL INcIdENTS

(a)  The agency shall have written policies and procedures for reporting critical incidents.

(b)  The agency shall follow policies and procedures for handling any suspected incidents of abuse or neglect of a child involving staff, subcontractors, volunteers, interns, or foster parents in a foster home supervised by the agency. The policies and procedures shall include:

(1)           a provision for reporting any suspicion of abuse or neglect to the appropriate county department of social services for investigation;

(2)           a provision for recording any suspected incident of abuse or neglect and for reporting it to the executive director or to the governing body;

(3)           a provision for notifying parents, guardian, or legal custodian;

(4)           a provision for preventing a recurrence of the alleged incident pending the investigative assessment;

(5)           a policy concerning personnel action to be taken when the incident involves a staff member, subcontractor, volunteer, or intern;

(6)           a policy concerning the action to be taken when the incident involves a foster parent;

(7)           a provision for submitting a critical incident report to the licensing authority within 72 hours of the incident being accepted for an investigation by a county department of social services; and

(8)           a provision for submitting written notification to the licensing authority within 72 hours of the case decision by the county department of social services conducting the investigative assessment.

(c)  Critical incident reports shall be submitted to the licensing authority by the executive director or his or her designee on a form provided by the licensing authority within 72 hours of the critical incident. Critical incidents involving a child in placement in a foster home supervised by the agency shall include the following:

(1)           a death of a child;

(2)           reports of abuse and neglect;

(3)           an admission to a hospital;

(4)           a suicide attempt;

(5)           a runaway lasting more than 24 hours; and

(6)           an arrest for violations of state, municipal, county or federal laws.

(d)  Documentation of critical incidents shall include:

(1)           the name of child or children involved;

(2)           the date and time of incident;

(3)           a brief description of incident;

(4)           the action taken by staff;

(5)           a need for medical attention;

(6)           the name of staff involved and person completing the report;

(7)           the name of child's parent, guardian or legal custodian who was notified and the date and time of notification; and

(8)           the approval of supervisory or administrative staff reviewing the report.

(e)  If there is a death of a child in placement in a foster home supervised by the agency, the executive director or his or her designee shall notify the parent, guardian, or legal custodian and the licensing authority within 72 hours of the death of the child.

(f)  Critical incident reports shall be maintained in manner consistent with the agency's risk management policies and shall include clinical decisions and activities undertaken to identify, evaluate, and reduce the risk of injury to clients, staff, and visitors and reduce the risk of loss to the agency and shall be made available to the licensing authority upon request.

(g)  When a foster parent determines that a foster child under the age of 18 is missing, they shall notify the appropriate law enforcement authority within 24 hours.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 131D-1; 131D-10.5; 131D-10.5A; 143B-153; P.L. 113-183;

Eff. October 1, 2008;

Amended Eff. August 1, 2017; November 1, 2009;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. October 3, 2017.