Wyo. Code R. 049-0002-2
Chapter 2: Reports of Suspected Adult Abuse/Neglect/Exploitation/Abandonment Etc.
Effective Date: 11/04/2003 to 01/12/2009
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 049.0002.2.11042003
DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY SERVICES ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES
ABANDONMENT OR SELF-NEGLECT OF VULNERABLE ADULTS
(a) Any person or agency who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a vulnerable adult is being or has been abused, neglected, exploited, abandoned or is committing self neglect, shall report the information immediately to a law enforcement agency or the Department. Anyone who in good faith makes a report pursuant to this section is immune from civil liability for making the report pursuant to Wyo. Stat. § 35-20-103. Law enforcement agencies include, but are not limited to, the following:
(b) The report may be made orally or in writing. The report shall provide to the law enforcement agency or the Department the following information, to the extent available:
The name, age and address of the vulnerable adult;
The name and address of any person responsible for the vulnerable adult's care;
The nature and extent of the vulnerable adult's condition;
The basis of the reporter's knowledge;
The names and conditions of the other residents, if the vulnerable adult resides in a facility with other vulnerable adults;
An evaluation of the persons responsible for the care of the residents, if the vulnerable adult resides in a facility with other vulnerable adults;
The adequacy of the facility environment;
Any evidence of previous injuries;
Any collaborative information; and
Any other relevant information.
(c) The name and identifying information of the person who reported the suspected abuse or neglect shall be kept confidential, except as required by law. Anonymous reports may be accepted.
(a) The report of suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment or self-neglect shall be entered into the Department’s data system.
(b) All reports shall be screened to determine whether the allegation meets the statutory definitions of vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment or self-neglect and are within the scope of Adult Protective Services.
(c) The intake process shall include gathering sufficient information to enable the worker to:
Identify and locate the vulnerable adult and determine if the adult lives with a caregiver in a domestic or facility setting or is a vulnerable adult living alone;
Assess the severity of the situation and consider the urgency of the response; and
Determine if the report requires contact with an outside agency, and which outside agency should be contacted.
(d) The caseworker shall determine whether the subject is a person who is a vulnerable adult. Evidence of physical and/or mental incapacity may be provided by any or all of the following:
(i) Intake worker’s assessment from information provided by reporter or collateral contacts;
(ii) Information from pre-existing documents such as medical, court, and adult protective services records;
(iii) Information received from a person having credible information or knowledge of the condition of the vulnerable adult; or
Physician’s, psychologist’s or mental health professional’s evaluation.
(e) The caseworker shall check records, including the Central Registry, to obtain pertinent information, including past Department involvement with either facility or caregiver, as appropriate.
(f) Reports where criminal charges may be pursued shall be assigned to the investigation track and shall be coordinated with the law enforcement agency.
(g) Reports in which criminal charges appear unlikely, including reports of self-neglect, shall be assigned to the assessment track.
(h) The Department’s local office manager or designee shall notify the local law enforcement agency when a report of abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment or self-neglect of a vulnerable adult is received and is entered into the WYCAPS data system as an incident for investigation or assessment. The Department’s local office manager or designee shall immediately contact the appropriate law enforcement agency and the district/county attorney for investigation in the following cases:
Death, which may have been the result of abuse and/or neglect;
Brain damage, bone fracture, extensive burns or other serious bodily injury;
Sexual assault;
Exploitation;
Evidence of severe neglect; or
(i) The Department shall reject the following reports:
Reports in which the allegations fall outside the Department’s definition of abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment, or self-neglect of a vulnerable adult;
Reports in which the reporter can give no credible information or reason to suspect that abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment or self-neglect has occurred or is occurring to a vulnerable adult;
Reports in which insufficient information is given to identify or locate the vulnerable adult;
Reports of a malicious nature as established by specific credible evidence; and
Reports in which the Department has previously received a report on the same incident and documented verification that services are being provided to the vulnerable adult.
(j) Reports shall be rejected at the supervisory level and documented in the Department's data system.
Reports not rejected shall be accepted for assessment or investigation. The investigative track is designed for cases involving injury and cases which may involve criminal investigation. The assessment track is a classification system for cases of self-neglect and cases in which evaluation and intervention is indicated.
The assessment process by the Department shall begin within twenty-four (24) hours of the intake of a report of abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment or self-neglect.
The caseworker shall review the initial intake report and confirm the accuracy of the information contained in the report with the reporter, when possible.
The caseworker or law enforcement officer shall make in-person contact with the vulnerable adult within three (3) calendar days of the receipt of the report. This time frame may be extended if the caseworker or law enforcement officer is unable to make in-person contact with the vulnerable adult following good faith efforts.
Based on information obtained at intake, the caseworker may seek assistance in the initial assessment by outside persons or agencies such as, but not limited to:
Public health nurse,
Mental health professional, or
If a caregiver refuses to allow contact with the vulnerable adult or is not cooperative, the case may be reassigned to the investigation track. Law enforcement agency assistance may be requested and an injunction may be filed to gain access, if necessary.
During the initial in-person interview with the vulnerable adult and/or caregiver(s), the caseworker shall inform them that:
(i) The Department received a report and of the duty to assess the report;
(ii) The Department shall assess the safety of the vulnerable adult;
(iii) The Department shall refer the report for investigation if needed to protect the vulnerable adult from abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment.
(g) The caseworker may make collateral contacts for the purpose of assessing safety and clarifying or establishing the credibility of the report. When determining if collateral contacts should be made, the caseworker shall weigh:
The allegations contained in the report;
The severity of the incident; and
The likelihood that the collateral contact will have relevant information about the allegations or the incident.
(h) Reports in the Assessment Track can be reassigned to the Investigation Track as new or additional information is obtained and reviewed.
(i) If determined necessary, the caseworker shall develop an action plan of intervention and referral services for the vulnerable adult that will contain necessary actions to provide for the safety and well being of the vulnerable adult.
(j) If determined necessary, and with the consent of the vulnerable adult, protective-services shall be furnished by the Department within three (3) days from the time the report or notice is received by the Department.
(k) When the vulnerable adult has been determined to have the capacity to consent, the Department may not mandate intervention and/or referral to other services without the vulnerable adult’s consent.
(l) Court-ordered injunction(s). When a vulnerable adult needs protective-services and the caregiver refuses to allow the provision of those services, the Department, through the Office of the Attorney General or the district/county attorney, may petition the court for an order pursuant to Wyo. Stat. §35-20-106 enjoining the caregiver from interfering with the provision of protective/emergency services. If access to the vulnerable adult is denied to law enforcement or the Department seeking to investigate a report of abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment or self-neglect of a vulnerable adult, the investigator, through the Office of the Attorney General or the district/county attorney, may seek an injunction pursuant to Wyo. Stat. §35-20-110 to prevent interference with the investigation.
(m) Court-ordered emergency protective services. If an emergency exists and the Department has reasonable cause to believe that a vulnerable adult is at risk for abuse, neglect, self-neglect, exploitation or abandonment and lacks the capacity to consent to protective-services, the caseworker shall contact the Office of the Attorney General or the district/county attorney to petition the court pursuant to Wyo. Stat. §35-20-107 for an order for seventy-two (72) hour emergency protective services. Emergency protective services may include the vulnerable adult being placed in the seventy-two (72) hour emergency custody of the Department, and may include the vulnerable adult being placed in a hospital or other suitable facility.
(n) If a court places the vulnerable adult in a hospital or other suitable facility or in the seventy-two (72) hour emergency custody of the Department pursuant to a petition for emergency protective services from the Office of the Attorney General or district/county attorney, the Department shall immediately notify the person responsible for the care and custody of the vulnerable adult, if known, of the vulnerable adult's placement.
(o) Case assessment includes a process of evaluating the vulnerable adult's needs and available services. Services available from agencies other than the Department shall include, but are not limited to:
Public Health Nurse;
Department of Health, Aging Division;
Department of Health, Medicaid;
Department of Health, Division of Mental Health;
(v) Department of Health, Division of Substance Abuse;
Department of Health, Developmental Disabilities Division;
(vii) Domestic Violence/Victim Assistance programs;
(viii) Wyoming Guardianship Corporation; or
(ix) Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers.
(p) The Department shall initiate a new intake of abuse, neglect exploitation or abandonment when subsequent allegations are discovered during the course of the assessment.
(q) All reports under assessment shall, within three (3) months of the Department receiving the report, be referred to another agency or closed, unless closure is waived by the District Manager.
The investigative process by the Department and/or law enforcement agency shall begin immediately or within twenty-four (24) hours of the intake of a report of abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment.
The caseworker shall review the initial report and confirm the accuracy of the information contained in the report with the reporter, when possible.
The Department shall not investigate fatalities or sexual assaults, but shall refer these cases directly to the law enforcement agency. The Department may assist in the interviewing process upon request.
All other investigations may be teamed with a law enforcement agency.
(e) Reported incidents may be investigated by a law enforcement agency and/or the Department’s caseworkers.
(f) The Department shall provide the law enforcement agency with all case records in the investigation, including confidential information, when requested.
(g) The caseworker may coordinate needed services and assist the law enforcement officer when requested (e.g., interviewing other significant individuals).
(h) If the caseworker receives the law enforcement agency’s investigative reports, the caseworker may use the law enforcement agency’s investigative reports to substantiate the abuse, neglect, exploitation, and abandonment of a vulnerable adult for the purposes of placing the name of the alleged perpetrator on the Central Registry. Department due process procedures shall be followed as stated in Chapter 4, Section 2, of these Rules.
(i) The Department shall maintain confidentiality with the vulnerable adult and caregiver unless it becomes necessary to share information with individuals or agencies involved in the delivery of adult protective- services to the vulnerable adult or in the prosecution of the perpetrator(s) of abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment of a vulnerable adult. Such individuals and agencies include, but are not limited to:
The Office of the Attorney General;
Appropriate community services providers;
Adult protective- services team members; or
Adult Protective Services in other states.
(j) Photographs and X-rays:
(i) The law enforcement officer or the caseworker may take or obtain photographs and X-rays of a vulnerable adult when the vulnerable adult has observable marks, injuries or an appearance believed to be caused by abuse or neglect. When the vulnerable adult’s environment creates a substantial risk of injury or other harm, photographs may be taken of the vulnerable adult’s environment.
(ii) The Department may pay for the photographs and X-rays when no other resources are available with approval from the District Manager or designee.
Consent shall be sought from the vulnerable adult when the vulnerable adult has been determined to have the capacity to consent. If voluntary consent is not given and photographs and X-rays need to be obtained, the Department may request assistance for obtaining such evidence from a law enforcement agency or the district/county attorney.
(k) The investigative process may be modified with the District Manager’s written approval when the investigation is conducted by a law enforcement agency or at the request of the law enforcement agency.
(l) In-person contact shall be immediately attempted with the alleged victim when the report alleges any of the following:
A major injury;
A vulnerable adult is suffering from an acute, untreated medical condition;
A vulnerable adult is in danger of sustaining immediate or reasonably foreseeable physical harm;
(iv) Abandonment.
(m) The caseworker and/or a law enforcement officer shall make in-person contact with the vulnerable adult within three (3) calendar days of the receipt of the report. The caseworker and/or a law enforcement officer may make in-person contact with the caregiver(s) and the alleged perpetrator.
In-person contact is not required when the caseworker has made a good faith attempt to contact the vulnerable adult and the vulnerable adult cannot be located.
Court-ordered injunction(s). When a vulnerable adult needs protective services and the caregiver refuses to allow the provision of those services, the Department, through the Office of the Attorney General or the district/county attorney, may petition the court for an order pursuant to Wyo. Stat. §35-20-106 enjoining the caregiver from interfering with the provision of protective/emergency services. If access to the vulnerable adult is denied to law enforcement or the Department seeking to investigate a report of abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment or self-neglect of a vulnerable adult, the investigator, through the Office of the Attorney General or the district/county attorney, may seek an injunction pursuant to Wyo. Stat. §35-20-110 to prevent interference with the investigation.
(n) When conducting initial in-person interviews:
(i) The alleged perpetrator shall not be present during the initial interview of the alleged victim; and
(ii) During the initial in-person interview with the vulnerable adult's caregiver, which may include a legal guardian, the caseworker shall inform the person being interviewed orally and in writing that:
A report has been received and of the Department's duty to investigate;
The investigation may involve a law enforcement agency or the court if needed to protect the vulnerable adult from further abuse, neglect, exploitation and or abandonment; and
The name of the reporter shall not be disclosed unless required by the court.
(o) During the initial interview of the alleged perpetrator, the caseworker shall inform the alleged perpetrator, orally and in writing that:
(i) A report has been received against him or her, and the Department has the duty to investigate; and
(ii) The investigation may involve a law enforcement agency or the court if needed to protect the vulnerable adult from any further abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment.
(p) If an emergency exists and the vulnerable adult lacks the capacity to consent to protective-services, the caseworker shall contact the Office of the Attorney General or the district/county attorney to petition the court for an order pursuant to Wyo. Stat. §35-20-107 for emergency protective services.
(q) If a court places the vulnerable adult in the emergency custody of a person, agency or the Department, the Department shall immediately notify the person responsible for the care or custody of the vulnerable adult, if known, of the placement.
The caseworker shall develop an action plan of intervention and referral services for the vulnerable adult that will contain necessary actions to provide for the safety and well being of the vulnerable adult.
(s) At the end of the investigation, the caseworker shall assess the case for necessary services from the Department or outside agencies in the service area, which include, but are not limited to:
(i) Public Health Nursing;
(ii) The Department of Health, Aging Division;
(iii) Department of Health, Medicaid;
(iv) The Department of Health, Division of Developmental Disabilities;
(v) The Department of Health, Division of Mental Health; (vi) Domestic Violence/Victim Assistance programs; (vii) Wyoming Guardianship Corporation: or (viii) Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers.
(t) If deemed necessary by the Department, protective services shall be furnished by the Department within three (3) days from the time the report or notice is received by the Department. Protective services may be provided by the Department until the vulnerable adult no longer needs those services or until another person or agency is providing those services.
Each case under investigation by the Department or the law enforcement agency must be determined to be substantiated or unsubstantiated.
(v) The Department shall substantiate all reports where a court has accepted a criminal plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or a civil or criminal court has made a finding that the alleged perpetrator committed certain acts that constitute abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment under these Rules.
(w) Each substantiated report of abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment of a vulnerable adult pursuant to the Adult Protective Services Act shall be entered and maintained within the Central Registry of vulnerable adult protection cases.
(x) Notice of findings:
(i) The Department shall inform professional reporters of suspected vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, exploitation, and abandonment that an investigation was conducted and the allegations were substantiated or unsubstantiated.
(ii) The Department shall inform the vulnerable adult, caregiver, which may include the legal guardian, and the alleged perpetrator(s) in writing of the conclusion of the Department's investigation.
(iii) In substantiated cases, the Department shall inform the alleged perpetrator in writing that:
His or her name has been entered on the Central Registry;
He or she may respond in writing to the findings of the investigation and such statement shall be included with the Central Registry report; and
He/She may request an administrative hearing pursuant to the Department's Contested Case Hearing Procedures.
(iv) In substantiated cases which involve licensing and funding by a governmental agency, the Department shall send notice of the substantiation to the appropriate agencies pursuant to Chapter 2, Section 5, of these Rules.
(y) In all substantiated or unsubstantiated cases, the findings shall be documented in the Department's data system.
(z) The caseworker shall provide the district/county attorney with a written report of substantiated abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment of a vulnerable adult within seven (7) days of such determination unless emergency intervention dictates immediate notification.
(aa) When the Department receives a report that a person has been convicted of, or has pled guilty or no contest to, a crime, which includes the abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment of any vulnerable adult, that conviction shall be maintained on the Central Registry.
(a) When the Department receives a report of the abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult in a facility, the person receiving the report shall notify the following agencies, as appropriate:
(i) Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Attorney General's Office for all reports of abuse, neglect, exploitation, financial fraud in facilities with a Medicaid nexus;
(ii) Department of Health, Office of Health Facilities or Aging Division, for all allegations of abuse, neglect and/or misappropriation of residents' property, and all licensing violations in licensed and or non-certified facilities in their jurisdiction;
(iii) Department of Health, Developmental Disabilities Division, for reports involving a facility licensed through that Division;
(iv) Department of Health, Mental Health Division for any residential program under the jurisdiction of the Division and the Wyoming State Hospital;
(v) Long-Term Care Ombudsman for complaints or reports from residents in facilities;
(vi) State Board of Nursing for any report that involves a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse or certified nurse assistant;
(vii) Other licensing boards.