State and federal regulations require that providers develop a policy on client abuse and neglect and investigation of complaints. There are many regulations that you will need to be familiar with to develop your policy. Refer to the Code of Federal Regulations, the California Code of Regulations, Title 22 and 17.
Review of the facility’s policy on neglect, abuse and complaints is known as the Task Two Protocol by surveyors.
The Code of Federal Regulations, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Appendix Q PDF is taken from the surveyor’s manual and it contains the recommended key components of a systematic approach to preventing abuse and neglect. Refer to the section on the right side of the chart (Appendix Q, linked above) for information specific to ICF/IID facility types. Ensure that your policy addresses each of these components.
California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Sections 54302 and 54327 include information on Requirements for Special Incident Reporting by Vendors and Long Term Health Care Facilities. Ensure that your policy reflects these reporting requirements.
A quick reference document, Special Incident Reporting (SIR) Requirements PDF , is available to assist you. Feel free to use this reference list of SIR types to train your staff or post in your facility.
Last modified: October 28, 2019
