Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A.
1. Any person having cause to believe that an
individual's physical or mental health or welfare has been or may be further
adversely affected by abuse, neglect, exploitation, or extortion shall report
that knowledge or belief. These reports can be made to:
a. Adult Protective Services;
and/or,
b. any local or state law
enforcement agency.
2.
Reports of abuse, neglect, exploitation and extortion shall be processed
through the DHH Office of Aging and Adult Services, Division of Adult
Protective Services' central intake system. Reports should be made/forwarded
to: Adult Protective Services, P.O. Box 3518, Bin #11, Baton Rouge, LA 70821.
The local telephone number is (225) 342-9057. The state-wide, toll-free
telephone number is 1-800-898-4910.
B. Intake. Incident reports received by APS
shall be screened to determine eligibility, and shall be assigned a priority
status for investigation as described in
§17121 of this Chapter. When reports are
not accepted by APS, the reporter shall be advised why his/her report was
rejected for investigation. Such reports will be referred to other social,
medical, and law enforcement agencies, as deemed appropriate or required by
law.
C. Priorities. In order to
assure the timely delivery of protective services and to eliminate the
potential danger of prolonging an abusive situation, a priority system for case
response has been established. At the time a report of abuse is received in
Adult Protective Services, the report will be prioritized and assigned for
investigation. In making assignments, the following categories will be used.
1. Priority One
a. Priority One reports are those which
allege the individual in need of protection is abused, neglected, exploited, or
extorted, and has suffered or is at imminent risk of suffering serious harm or
serious physical injury which, if untreated, may result in permanent physical
damage or death.
b. Examples of
Priority One reports include but are not limited to head injuries, spinal
injuries, severe cuts, broken limbs, severe burns, and/or internal injuries and
sexual abuse where there is danger of repeated abuse, situations where medical
treatment, medications or nutrition necessary to sustain the individual are not
obtained or administered, as well as over-medication or unreasonable
confinement.
c. Staff must respond
to Priority One cases within 24 hours of receipt by Adult Protective Services.
For purposes of this Section, "case response" means that the investigator must
attempt a face-to-face visit with the individual in need of protection within
this 24-hour period.
2.
Priority Two
a. Priority Two reports allege
the individual in need of protection is abused, neglected, exploited, or
extorted, and as a result, is at risk of imminent serious physical injury, or
harm.
b. Priority Two reports may
include, but not be limited to, those situations in which there is failure to
provide or obtain mental health and medical treatment which, if untreated, may
cause serious harm to the individual. This includes self-abusive behavior and
failure to treat physical ailments. It could also include inadequate attention
to physical needs such as insufficient food, medicine, inadequate heat or
excessive heat, unauthorized use, and/or exploitation of the victim's income or
property.
c. Staff must respond to
Priority Two cases within five working days of receipt by Adult Protective
Services. For purposes of this Section, "case response" means that the
investigator must attempt a face-to-face visit with the individual in need of
protection within a five working day period, so long as the investigation of
Priority One cases is not delayed.
3. Priority Three
a. Priority Three reports include all other
allegations in which the individual in need of protection is alleged to be
abused, neglected, exploited, or extorted which do not involve risk of imminent
serious physical injury, or harm and pose no immediate threat of serious injury
or harm.
b. Staff must respond to
Priority Three cases within 10 working days of receipt by Adult Protective
Services. For purpose of this Section, "case response" means that the
investigator must attempt a face-to-face interview with the individual in need
of protection within this 10 day working period, so long as the investigation
of Priority One and Two cases are not delayed.
4. When APS is not staffed sufficiently to
respond promptly to all reported cases, APS shall set priorities for case
response and allocate staff resources to serve those adults with disabilities
with the most immediate need for protection.
D. Reporting Requirements
1. Allegations of known or suspected abuse,
neglect, exploitation, or extortion shall include:
a. the name and address of the alleged
victim;
b. the name and address of
the person providing care to the alleged victim, if available; and
c. the name of the person(s) suspected of
abuse, neglect, extortion or exploitation, where different from item b above,
if available; and
d. other
pertinent information.
2. Allegations of abuse, neglect,
exploitation or extortion made by the alleged victim shall not be considered to
be any less credible than allegations made by others and shall be reported
according to procedures established in this Chapter.
3. All allegations of physical or sexual
abuse shall be reported to the chief law enforcement agency of the parish in
which the incident is reported to have occurred. This report is to be made by
the end of the business day subsequent to the day on which the report is
received.
E. Failure to
report, false reporting, or obstructing reports or investigations may be
reported by APS to law enforcement or other regulatory agencies.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
36:254,
R.S.
14:403.2 and
R.S.
15:1501-15:1511.
