A provider may not allow or condone abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a participant. A provider shall have a policy on how to address allegations of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The policy must comply with all applicable law and contain the following:

1. (1) A procedure for an internal investigation that requires:

   1. (a) Initiation of the investigation within forty-eight hours or the next business day, whichever is later;
   2. (b) Issuance of preliminary investigation findings to the division within seven calendar days of initiation of the investigation;
   3. (c) Issuance of the final investigation findings to the division within thirty calendar days of initiation of the investigation;
2. (2) A procedure for remediation to ensure the health and safety of participants;
3. (3) A procedure for disciplinary action to be taken if staff have engaged in abusive, neglectful, or exploitative activities;
4. (4) A procedure to inform the participant's guardian, the parents, if the participant is under eighteen years of age, and the participant's advocate, if any, of the alleged incident or allegation and any information not otherwise prohibited by court order about any action taken within twenty-four hours after the incident or allegation, unless the person to be notified is accused of the alleged incident;
5. (5) If the required investigation confirms an allegation, a procedure to communicate investigation results to the participant, to the participant's parent if the participant is under eighteen years of age, or to the participant's guardian or advocate, if any. The provider shall document the actions to be implemented to reduce the likelihood of, and prevent repeated incidents of, abuse, neglect, or exploitation;
6. (6) A procedure for training the participant, the participant's guardian or the participant's advocate, if any, and any family members as identified by the participant, upon admission and annually thereafter, on how to report to the provider and division any allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The provider shall document the date, time, and content of this training;
7. (7) A requirement that the training include what actions the participant, the participant's guardian or the participant's advocate, if any, may take when not satisfied with the action taken or the outcome; and

8. (8) A requirement that the training is provided in an accessible format.

   Cross References: Reports of child abuse, SDCL 26-8A-3 to 26-8A-10, inclusive.

   Reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of elderly or adults with disabilities, SDCL

   22-46-7 to 22-46-11, inclusive.

Source: 22 SDR 104, effective February 13, 1996; 23 SDR 2, effective July 18, 1996; 27 SDR 63, effective December 31, 2000; 40 SDR 102, effective December 3, 2013 ; 43 SDR 9, effective August 2, 2016; 50 SDR 63, effective November 28, 2023 .

General Authority: SDCL 27B-2-26 (4).

Law Implemented: SDCL 27B-1-15 , 27B-2-26 .

Prior versions effective: 2016-08-02, 2013-12-03.