(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 30 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. (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. (2) The death must be reported immediately upon discovery and in no case more than 24 hours after discovery.
3. (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. (4) The results of an autopsy, if performed and if available to the provider agency, must be submitted to the Justice Center within 60 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 section 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. (1) A death that occurred under the auspices of a provider agency (see paragraph [a][1] of this section) must be reported as a serious notable occurrence in accordance with Part 624 of this Title.
2. (2) A death that did not occur under the auspices of any agency (see section 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 30 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. (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. (2) The agency must submit an initial report about the death in IRMA within 24 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. (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 subdivision shall be the provider of the services to the individual in the order stated:

1. (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. (2) MSC or PCSS (only OPWDD operated services report to the Justice Center);
3. (3) HCBS Waiver services (only OPWDD operated services report to the Justice Center);
4. (4) Care at Home Waiver services (only OPWDD operated services report to the Justice Center);
5. (5) Article 16 clinic services;
6. (6) FSS or ISS services (only OPWDD operated services report to the Justice Center);

7. (7) Any other service operated or funded by OPWDD.

   (e) Investigations into deaths that did not occur under the auspices of an agency.

8. (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.
9. (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.
10. (3) If the Justice Center or OPWDD is responsible for the investigation, the agency must fully cooperate with the assigned investigator.