VA-CEP Frequently Asked Questions. Select a hyperlink to jump to the appropriate subject:

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1 Select a hyperlink to jump to the appropriate subject: AMR/Adult Maltreatment Report Allegation Appeal Assessment Bounce/Referral to another LIA Caller/Reporter Categorical vs. Functional Clearing Clients Decision Tool SDM Distribution List EPS Emergency Protective Services/APS Adult Protective Service Request Intake LNDX Licensed Providers and Facilities Multiple LIA s Notice of Findings Participants Roles Unassigned Intake Search Unknown VA Glossary

2 AMR / Adult Maltreatment Report Q. When do I use the county report action Accepted for emergency protective services on the adult maltreatment report? A. Accepted for emergency protective services is used when your county will be providing emergency protective services to the alleged victim and your county will NOT be investigating the incident of maltreatment. Accepted for county investigation is used when your county will be investigating the incident of maltreatment. Your county may or may not be providing emergency protective services to the alleged victim. Q. What is the difference between the AMR, the MAARC report and the CEP report? There is none. The AMR is the adult maltreatment report in SSIS. The AMR may also be referenced as the MAARC report or the CEP report. Q. Do I use Accepted for county investigation when I am referring an AMR with same or similar allegations to a workgroup already open for investigation? A. Yes

3 Allegation Q. If a report alleges self-neglect of an alleged victim, then is that individual listed not only as the alleged victim, but also entered as the alleged perpetrator? A. Yes. Q. What do I do when the maltreatment allegation type is not correct? A. When the reporter does not know what type of maltreatment they are reporting, or they don t know that maltreatment necessarily occurred, MAARC selects the closest maltreatment allegation type. Mandated reporters using the web report could make an incorrect allegation selection. It is the responsibility of the Lead Investigative Agency (LIA) to determine correct maltreatment allegation type. For instance, a bruise could be recorded as alleged abuse or neglect. An unwitnessed fall can be categorized as caregiver or self neglect. The allegation type can be changed by the LIA to be consistent with statutory definition. Delete the incorrect allegation in the assessment workgroup. The original allegations are retained in the intake workgroup and the MAARC report. Q. When should Investigation Not Possible be used? A. 1. When alleged victim has died during investigation and corroborating information was not obtained regarding the maltreatment. 2. Alleged victim has moved out of state and cannot be reached. 3. Alleged victim s whereabouts unknown and cannot be located. 4. Investigation started by one county; they discover another county had complete the same investigation and made a determination. County who started needs to document their actions and basis for authority. This would only be used when the alleged victim, alleged perpetrator and allegations are the same in both reports. Q: The perpetrator is Unknown, Unknown. We have not identified the perpetrator, what should we do? A: Clear out the alleged perpetrator name field, then enter an alleged perpetrator description. FYI: MAARC Call Center screens for the Vulnerable Adult and Alleged Perpetrator(s) have Unknown as an option for gender. The county Person screen will display no selection for Gender when entered as Unknown at MAARC. Participants with Female or Male will continue to display on the Person Detail screen. These changes are being implemented in preparation for connecting MDH Nursing Home Incident Reports to the MAARC Call Center in a future release.

4 Appeal Q. Do we need to continue sending overturned appeal information to the Background Studies unit at DHS? A. Yes. The final disposition is sent to Background Studies electronically through SSIS. Overturned appeals are not electronically sent to Background Studies. If the final determination is OVERTURNED on appeal, the Background Studies unit should be notified outside of SSIS.

5 Assessment Workgroup Q. What sections of the AMR can be changed in the assessment workgroup. A. Corrections and additions can be made to: addresses and phone numbers, birthdates, gender, race, allegations, disabilities, services, alleged perpetrators under the county s jurisdiction, roles and relationships, spelling of names. Q. How long will a workgroup appear on a worker s caseload after the workgroup has been closed? A. This is dependent on settings the worker uses for "My Caseload" view under "Workgroup Search". Additional information (case notes, documents received, etc.) can be entered as necessary up to 30 days after the workgroup is closed. Q. We have a report that required two lead agencies; county and MDH OHFC. One allegation will be investigated by our county; the other will be investigated by OHFC Health. However, all allegation determinations are required to end a report in assessment. A. Delete the allegation investigated by OHFC Health in the assessment workgroup, and then end the AMR. The original AMR and allegations are retained in the intake workgroup.

6 Bounce/Referral to another LIA Q. What do I do if my county receives a report from MAARC for which my county does not have jurisdiction, or if another county has accepted jurisdiction for a MAARC report received by my county? A. The report is returned to MAARC using the bounce functionality (Bounce Referral on Referral tab s action menu). Include the following information in the Bounce Reason text box: Date the note was entered. Identify reason for bounce, MAARC error or Inter-county agreement. For Inter-county agreement: Identify new county LIA where the report should be sent and name of county contact agreeing to accept jurisdiction, LIA = Isanti, Delores Sands or for established agreements, ex. LIA=Hennepin, MAMC (or name of the agreement). Name and county for person requesting bounce, Mike Olson, Aitkin Then: Close the AMR with county report action Not accepted for county investigation. Close the intake with close reason Other agency responsible. Enter the close date. Q: A county (as LIA) investigated a maltreatment allegation by mistake. There was some confusion because there were multiple allegations. The county planned to investigate one allegation (resident to resident sexual contact) and another LIA planned to investigate the other (caregiver neglect). This was an error and both should be investigated by the other LIA. A: If the report is still in intake, return to MAARC using the bounce functionality (Bounce Referral on Referral tab s action menu). If the report is now in assessment, copy any gathered data (case notes, documentation) to intake, delete the assessment workgroup and revert to intake, then bounce report back to MAARC. If the intake or assessment workgroup has been closed more than 30 days, it cannot be changed locally, a data fix would be needed (contact the Helpdesk at or dhs.ssishelp@state.mn.us for assistance).

7 Q. Why can t I close the intake after bouncing a report back to MAARC? A. When closing bounced reports, counties are required to use the close reason Other Agency Responsible. However, counties are unable to close a bounced report with this close reason until the MAARC call center has forwarded the report to the new LIA. If a new LIA has not been assigned by MAARC the error message Lead Investigative Agency is required for Adult maltreatment reports Not accepted for county investigation when Closing reason is Other agency responsible. Note: If this error is received when attempting to close the bounced report, wait up to one business day for MAARC to forward the report to the new LIA. 1. Select the Refresh LIA Status option from the Action menu on the Referral tab to update the grid with the new LIA. 2. Once the new LIA appears, return to the Intake Workgroup to close the report 3. From the Close Reason field, select Other Agency Responsible and enter the close date FYI: Counties cannot bounce reports that have been sent to them for EPS.

8 Caller/Reporter Q. Why is it important that the reporter not be identified in the description of incident? A. This ensures the reporter information is redacted when printing a redacted version of the AMR. Redacting from the description of incident or need fields requires redacting by hand and cannot be done automatically by the system. County LIA s do not initially enter the Reporter information. MAARC does not enter Reporter information in the DOI based upon the statute requirement to protect the Reporter s identify. If a reporter is identified, redacting of the report is necessary for disclosure. Consult with your Data Privacy Official (DPO) regarding this. Q. What should the worker enter when a reporter requests an initial disposition letter and the county determines the reporter cannot or should not receive the letter (to protect alleged victim)? A. If the reporter did in fact make the request, reporter requests initial disposition will be selected yes. The worker will need to create the Initial Disposition letter in SSIS Chronology in the document list and create a case note immediately after the document. The case note should include: 1) it was NOT sent 2) the reason is was not sent.

9 Categorical vs. Functional Q: Why does the AMR identify the alleged victim as Categorical when there is no licensed service or facility identified in the report? A: MAARC does not determine eligibility of alleged victim status (i.e.: Categorical or Functional) FYI: The Categorical field is checked if a service is checked under Receives Services tab. Workers will need to review this tab to assure the correct alleged victim eligibility field is used for their alleged victim status. Q: The alleged victim is both Categorical and Functional, why are both statuses not reflected in the AMR? A: SSIS system only allows one status to be selected.

10 Clearing Clients Q. How are clients cleared to the county and the state without a name and/or date of birth from MAARC? A. Clearing is a very important task and clients without enough identifying information should not be cleared to the State. Clearing these clients to the State puts inaccurate information on the state database. These clients should remain on the counties clearing log until identifying information can be entered. When further identifying information simply cannot be obtained for the Alleged Perpetrator and the workgroup needs to be closed: Clear out the alleged perpetrator name field, then enter an alleged perpetrator description. Remove the participant.

11 Decision Tools SDM Q. We have an adult protection intake for a facility where the worker does not know who any of the residents are at this facility so has put Unknown, Unknown as name but when he goes to do the decision tool the unknown victim does not show up. Any suggestions as to what he should do so that he can close the intake workgroup and then he will open an assessment workgroup? A. The recommendation is to temporarily change the status on the Unknown, Unknown to Uncleared Client. The worker can do the SDM tool and complete it. When they are done, they can change the status of the client back to Uncleared client do not clear. Q. What decision tool does Adult Protection Policy require to enter in SSIS? A. Intake: Policy requires the Adult Protection Intake Assessment and Response Priority decision tool completion on all MAARC reports referred to the county as LIA or another LIA is requesting APS for the VA. Policy requires the Adult Protection EPS Intake Assessment Screening decision tool completion on all MAARC reports referred to the county for EPS. Policy requires both the Adult Protection Intake Assessment and Response Priority and the Adult Protection EPS Intake Assessment Screening decision tool completion on all MAARC reports referred to the county for EPS and LIA. Assessment: Policy requires the Adult Protection Initial Safety Assessment, the Adult Protection Final Safety Assessment and the Strength and Needs decision tool completion to close the assessment workgroup.

12 Distribution List Q. Do I have to enter names for the licensing worker, contract manager, case worker, etc. on the distribution tab? A. Yes, if you believe the information from these individuals is pertinent to the screening and outcome of the investigation. Names will not auto fill unless you enter them as a role.

13 EPS Emergency Protective Services/LIA Request for APS Q. What should I do when receiving a request for APS or EPS from a LIA for a vulnerable adult who is the subject of a common entry point/maarc report when DHS or MDH is the LIA with jurisdiction for the investigation? A. Enter the request for adult protective services by the LIA with jurisdiction as an adult service s intake using the date of the LIA request. Obtain the MAARC report ID number from the LIA. 1. Open Intake. Intake type: Service request Problem: Alleged vulnerable adult at risk/maltreatment Program: Adult Protective Services Description of Need: Enter MAARC report number 2. Screen the LIA s request for adult protective services using the EPS Standardized Intake Tool or the SDM Intake module and the county s prioritization guidelines. 3. For screened out APS/EPS requests, enter close reason and date using the date screened out for adult protective services. 4. For requests opened for adult protective services, use the SDM Safety and Strengths and Needs Assessment modules. Develop a SDM Safety Plan. Upload external SDM forms and use case notes to document. Close the request when the ALLEGED VICTIM is safe and adult protective services complete.

14 Q. Our county received a referral from MAARC for Emergency Protective Services (EPS) today. During intake for EPS we learned the alleged victim has returned to their home county. I contacted that county and they are willing to provide EPS for the alleged victim. What should we do? A. The county receiving EPS notification is responsible for immediate response to EPS. When both the county receiving MAARC EPS notification and another county agree that another county is better able to provide EPS for the protection of the vulnerable adult within the required time frame, coordination for EPS takes place outside of SSIS. 1. The county receiving MAARC EPS notification provides information from the MAARC report to the county agreeing to provide EPS. The county may print and share the AMR with the county accepting EPS. 2. The county accepting responsibility for EPS for the alleged victim enters the request for adult protective services as an adult service s intake using the date of the MAARC EPS notification. a. Open Intake. Intake type: Service request Problem: Alleged vulnerable adult at risk/maltreatment Program: Adult Protective Services Description of Need: Enter MAARC report number b. Screen the LIA s request for adult protective services using the EPS Standardized Intake module and the county s prioritization guidelines. c. For screened out EPS notifications, enter close reason and date using the date screened out for adult protective services. d. For requests opened for EPS, use the SDM Safety and Strengths and Needs Assessment modules. Develop a SDM Safety Plan. Upload external SDM forms and use case notes to document. Close the request when the alleged victim is safe and adult protective services complete. 3. The county who originally received EPS notification must screen the referral using the EPS SDM. a. Select Policy Screen-out Formal or informal supports are in place for the immediate protection of the alleged victim. b. Close the Intake Not accepted for county investigation.

15 Intake Q. What should I do with virtually identical MAARC reports? A. Duplicate reports from multiple callers for the same alleged victim and alleged incident can be referred to an existing open assessment workgroup. The reporter should always be afforded the ability to make a report. A subsequent report can be referred to an existing open assessment workgroup if it is for the same victim, same or similar maltreatment and similar details of incident. Q. What should I do if I am investigating a case and determine a new allegation and new perpetrator (existing is self neglect and determine caregiver neglect exists as potential maltreatment)? A. Add the allegation of caregiver neglect to the open case. Q. What sections of the AMR can be changed in the intake workgroup. A. Corrections and additions can be made in order to clear the client and in order to correctly use the standardized intake tool, spelling of names, birthdates, gender, race, addresses and phone numbers, services and disabilities. Q. I m trying to refer a new intake to an open assessment workgroup and SSIS cannot find the open assessment workgroup. What am I doing wrong? A. There is not an open assessment workgroup with an open AMR with the same County report action and alleged victim.

16 LNDX Licensed Providers and Facilities Q: How does MAARC ensure they are sending reports to the LIA with jurisdiction? A: MAARC agents have an LIA Chart developed by the DHS APS Unit that they follow in selecting the correct LIA. In addition, MAARC Agents use the LNDX, or Licensed Provider Index. MAARC staff can search all facilities licensed by either DHS or MDH (Minnesota Department of Health). Sometimes there are reports that involve facilities or programs that are in LNDX, but aren't licensed. These reports are under the county s LIA jurisdiction. Examples include board and lodge (B&L) facilities or GRH providers licensed by MDH or cities under a Food, Beverage or Lodging license or are unlicensed personal care assistant (PCA) providers and agencies such as a Personal Care Provider Organization (PCPO). If these facilities and programs are vendors they can be identified through the SSIS Business Organization (Bus Org) Search. Providers, facilities or programs that are not licensed and are not current vendors for your agency, can be entered as a business organization (Bus Org) in SSIS so that they are available for searching and selecting. FYI: Counties are the LIA for most PCA, PCPO, GRH and B&L investigations. If there is a question regarding a potential license type (home maker, housing services), please call MDH/DHS to confirm if the allegation is under their jurisdiction based on the license type. Q. Are all providers in LNDX? A. LNDX derives the provider list directly from MDH/DHS and the lists are updated nightly. Some providers are listed by their agency s mother corporate name which is different than what the agency recognizes as their name. Some agencies run many different licensed programs. Be careful to select the correct provider and program as they may have different licensing agencies depending upon the one you choose. Do not just choose the first provider you see with the correct name. Verify the address as well. Also, see additional columns in the Grid Options.

17 Multiple LIA s FYI: One MAARC report can have multiple allegations. Each allegation is under the jurisdiction of only one LIA. For reports with multiple allegations under the jurisdiction of more than one LIA (i.e. county and DHS/MDH-OHFC), communication between LIA s is essential to ensure clarity of jurisdiction for each allegation in the report.

18 Notice of Findings FYI: We have had a lot of questions pertaining to Notices of Findings. Combined documents are developed to reinforce DHS policy and federal requirements for completion of maltreatment reports. Maltreatment report data fields must be completed, and all client data appropriately entered, before creating the appropriate maltreatment reporting letters for offenders, non-offenders, licensed agencies, and mandatory reporters. In order to access the appropriate document it is important to compile the required entries in SSIS. Incomplete entry will result in missing sections in the final document. Combined documents in SSIS include: APS-Initial Disposition Letter APS-Notice of Findings Letter APS-Reconsideration Letter Notice of Investigation Not Completed The following is a list of Adult Maltreatment fields that impact Data Cleanup for the workgroup and report: Allegations must have findings to finish the AMR Allegation tab. An End date is required on the AMR. Check that Caller refuses address and phone? Or enter caller address (physical location) and caller phone (if any). Offender address and phone must be entered. Victim address and phone must be entered. If Victim status is Categorical, then Resident of facility or Non-residential licensed services is required. If Victim status is Categorical, then Facility/provider or County Bus Org is required. An entry of Impairment/infirmity is required for a report accepted for investigation. Alleged victim must be 18 years old or older at time of incident. If the Incident occurred at a facility, Facility/provider or County Bus Org is required. One allegation is required. If Previous Maltreatment is yes, then Nature of previous and where can more information be obtained are required. Allegation finding is required if report was Accepted for county investigation. Hispanic heritage is required for each client. One race is required for each client. Alleged victim/alleged perpetrator must be cleared to State. Professionally determined disabilities must be entered for each client even if there is no known disability. Local Agency Contact must be entered in SSIS Admin. A staff member must be assigned to enable the worker selections in the document. Intake worker and the Investigating worker must be assigned for the Setup tab to work correctly.

19 Participant Q. If we have contact with family members, do we enter them as collaterals? A. Collaterals should be entered when entering the contact. Everyone you interview should be entered as collaterals. This will reflect in your time reporting as well. Q: The perpetrator is Unknown, Unknown. We have not identified the perpetrator, what should we do? A: Clear out the alleged perpetrator name field, then enter an alleged perpetrator description. FYI: Unknown, Unknown participants should not be cleared to the state.

20 Roles Q. Why is it important to enter roles in the roles tab during assessment? A. MAARC enters Roles identified by the Reporter. The LIA should review these roles and update accordingly with new information as part of the investigation. Roles is also important for the LIA who receives the report, screens the report and accepts/declines for investigation. Caller, witness, guardian/conservator and initial reporter and/or relationship (relationship screen) to alleged victim and alleged perpetrator must be entered. Other roles, such as case manager, friend, neighbor, law enforcement, mandated reporter, personal care provider, etc. should also be recorded in the roles tab. This provides important data for policy decisions and in the event of future repeat maltreatment.

21 Unassigned Intake Search Q. How often should I be checking SSIS for electronically submitted CEP reports transmitted from MAARC? A. Counties should be checking the unassigned intakes several times daily. CEP Reports which were bounced to the agency for corrected jurisdiction will appear in the unassigned intake log with the original MAARC report date. Any delay in viewing the unassigned intakes, may prevent a county from fulfilling their statutory mandate. Electronic transfers from MAARC occur every half hour.

22 Unknown VA Q. How do I close an intake workgroup with an unknown VA? A. The same as when the VA is known. There is not a business rule or requirement that prevents intake close with an unknown VA. Q. How do I open an assessment workgroup for a screened in AMR when I was not able to identify and clear the VA at intake? Our agency believes that investigation may identify the VA. A. The same as when the VA is known. There is not a business rule or requirement that prevents intake close with an unknown VA. When the VA is identified in assessment, First, use Replace person in workgroup functionality from the action menu on the person information screen, which starts a person search, to determine if the person already exists in SSIS. If the person does not exist in SSIS, correct the name on the person information screen. Q. How do I close an assessment workgroup for a VA that was never able to be identified and cleared? A. Copy case notes and other documentation to intake. Use Delete Workgroup and revert to intake functionality. Case note in intake what occurred. Close report with not accepted for investigation. Close intake with screened out maltreatment report.

23 GLOSSARY AMR: Adult Maltreatment Report AP: Alleged Perpetrator B & C: Board and Care B & L: Board & Lodge facility CEP: Common Entry Point CO: County DHS: Department of Human Services GRH: Group Home LE: Law Enforcement LIA: Lead Investigative Agency LNDX: Licensed Provider Index MAARC: Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center, the designated CEP MDH: Minnesota Department of Health OHFC: Office of Health Facility Complaints, under MDH Health Regulation Division PCA: Personal Care Attendant PCPO: Personal Care Provider Organization PR: Problem Report (or enhancement request) to modify SSIS SDM: Minnesota Adult Protection Structured Decision Making and Standardized Tools SSIS: Social Services Information System VA: Vulnerable Adult VA-CEP: Vulnerable Adult Common Entry Point