Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) The following
agencies and hotlines are authorized to receive reports of abuse, neglect,
financial exploitation, or self-neglect:
1)
the Department on Aging's toll-free 24-hour Adult Protective Services
Hotline;
2) the Department on
Aging's Senior HelpLine;
3)
regional administrative agencies; and
4) APS provider agencies.
b) An APS provider agency
receiving a report of abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, or self-neglect
will assign a priority to the report in accordance with the following:
1) Priority 1 reports are reports of abuse,
neglect, or self-neglect in which the alleged victim is reported as being in
serious physical harm or in immediate danger of death or serious physical harm.
Priority 1 reports include, but are not limited to, the following:
A) physical abuse or self-neglect causing
injuries such as fractures, head injuries, internal injuries, or burns, when
the injury is of a serious nature, such as to require medical
treatment;
B) threats of serious
injury or death;
C) passive neglect
or willful deprivation involving a lack of basic physical necessities severe
enough to result in freezing, serious heat stress or starvation;
D) immediate medical attention is needed to
treat conditions that could result in irreversible physical damages such as
unconsciousness, acute pain, or severe respiratory distress;
E) alleged sexual abuse that has occurred in
the last 72 hours;
F) threats of
sexual abuse where the alleged abuser has access to the alleged victim;
and
G) punishment by the alleged
abuser, such as locking the alleged victim in the closet.
2) Priority 2 reports are reports of abuse,
neglect, financial exploitation, or self-neglect in which the alleged victim is
reported as being abused, neglected, or exploited, or is self-neglecting, and
the report taker has reason to believe that the consequences are less serious
than Priority 1 reports. Priority 2 reports include, but are not limited to,
the following:
A) physical abuse or
self-neglect involving scratches or bruises;
B) verbal threats of physical harm;
C) passive neglect or willful deprivation
involving inadequate attention to physical needs, such as insufficient food or
medicine;
D) unreasonable
confinement; and
E) probability of
liquidation or depletion of an alleged victim's income and assets.
3) Priority 3 reports are reports
of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation in which the alleged victim is
reported as the target of emotional abuse by a caregiver or the alleged
victim's financial resources are being misused or withheld and the report taker
has reason to believe that there is no immediate threat of harm to the alleged
victim.
c) If a report
includes allegations or conditions of more than one priority, the report taker
that has received the report assigns it to the higher priority.
d) An agency that is not an APS provider
agency shall forward the reports of abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, or
self-neglect to the appropriate APS provider agency within two hours.
e) The APS provider agency is directed to
respond to reports of abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, or self-neglect
within the time frames indicated in subsection (f), including making a good
faith attempt to conduct a face-to-face visit with the alleged
victim.
f) The applicable time
frames for each priority are: for Priority 1 reports, 24 hours from the receipt
of the report; Priority 2 reports, 72 hours from the receipt of the report; and
for Priority 3 reports, seven calendar days from the receipt of the
report.
g) The following exceptions
shall apply and extend the time frames specified for that priority:
1) The alleged victim of the Priority 1
report has been admitted to the hospital, in which case the response time for a
face-to-face visit is extended from 24 hours to the following work
day.
2) The report is a Priority 2
or Priority 3 report, the APS case worker is likely to be in danger, and a
police officer or another appropriate individual is called to investigate or
escort the worker. An appropriate escort may be, but is not limited to, a
mental health professional, health professional, or significant relative. The
response time for a face-to-face visit is then extended until such a time as
the police officer or appropriate escort is available, not to exceed three days
beyond the response time established for that priority.
3) The alleged victim does not wish or
consent to a face-to-face visit within the time frame.
