Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) In accordance
with New York State Law and guidance issued by the Justice Center, the death of
any individual who had received services operated or certified by OPWDD, within
thirty days preceding his or her death, and the death did not occur under the
auspices of any agency, must be reported to the Justice Center for the
Protection of People with Special Needs (Justice Center), as follows:
(1) The initial report must be submitted, by
the agency's chief executive officer or designee, to the Justice Center death
reporting line, in a manner specified by the Justice Center.
(2) The death must be reported immediately
upon discovery and in no case more than twenty-four hours after
discovery.
(3) Subsequent
information must be submitted to the Justice Center, by submission of the
Report of Death in IRMA within five working days of discovery
of the death.
(4) The results of an
autopsy, if performed and if available to the provider agency, must be
submitted to the Justice Center within sixty working days of discovery of the
death. (The Justice Center may extend the timeframe for good cause.)
Note: The requirements in this subdivision do not apply to
the death of an individual who received only OPWDD funded services (such as
community habilitation or supported employment services) provided by a
voluntary-operated agency, rather than services that are operated or certified
by OPWDD, to the death of an individual who resided in an OPWDD certified or
operated residential program (see paragraph 625.2(a)(1) of this Part), or when
the death occurred under the auspices of any agency.
(b) All deaths that are reported
to the Justice Center must also be reported to OPWDD.
(1) A death that occurred under the auspices
of a provider agency (see paragraph 625.2(a)(1) of this Part) must be reported
as a serious notable occurrence in accordance with Part 624 of this
Title.
(2) A death that did not
occur under the auspices of any agency (see paragraph 625.2(a)(2) of this Part)
must be reported in accordance with subdivision (c) of this section.
(c) The death of any individual
who had received services certified, operated, or funded by OPWDD, within
thirty days of his or her death, and the death did not occur under the auspices
of any agency, must be reported to OPWDD as follows:
(1) All deaths must be reported immediately
upon discovery to OPWDD by telephone or other appropriate methods. Immediate
entry of initial information into the OPWDD Incident Report and Management
Application (IRMA) is not sufficient to satisfy this requirement.
(2) The agency must submit an initial report
about the death in IRMA within twenty-four hours of discovery of the death, or
by close of the next working day, whichever is later, in the form and format
specified by OPWDD.
(3) The agency
shall submit subsequent information about the death by submission of the
Report of Death in IRMA within five working days following
discovery of the death.
(d) If more than one agency provided services
to the individual, there must be one responsible agency that is designated to
report the death of the individual to the Justice Center and/or OPWDD. The
agency responsible for reporting in accordance with this paragraph shall be the
provider of the services to the individual in the order stated:
(1) OPWDD certified or operated day program
(if the individual received services from more than one certified day program,
the responsible agency shall be the agency that provided the greater duration
of service on a regular basis);
(2)
MSC or PCSS (only OPWDD operated services report to the Justice
Center);
(3) HCBS Waiver services
(only OPWDD operated services report to the Justice Center);
(4) Care at Home Waiver services (only OPWDD
operated services report to the Justice Center);
(5) Article 16 clinic services;
(6) FSS or ISS services (only OPWDD operated
services report to the Justice Center);
(7) Any other service operated or funded by
OPWDD.
(e)
Investigations into deaths that did not occur under the auspices of an agency.
(1) The Justice Center has the right to
investigate or review the death of any individual who had received services
operated or certified by OPWDD, even if the death did not occur under the
auspices of the agency. The agency must provide Justice Center reviewers or
investigators with all relevant records, reports, and other information
pertaining to the event or situation. Individuals receiving services, staff,
and any other relevant parties may be interviewed in pursuit of any such review
or investigation.
(2) OPWDD has the
right to investigate or review, or to request a provider agency to investigate,
the death of any individual, even if the death did not occur under the auspices
of the agency. The agency must provide OPWDD reviewers or investigators with
all relevant records, reports, and other information pertaining to the event or
situation. Individuals receiving services, staff, and any other relevant
parties may be interviewed in pursuit of any such review or investigation.
(3) If the Justice Center or OPWDD
is responsible for the investigation, the agency must fully cooperate with the
assigned investigator.
