Special Incident Reporting (SIR) Requirements
As a service provider, it is essential that you be familiar with regulations and regional center expectations regarding special incident reporting. These regulations require that service providers and long-term health care facilities report incidents that affect the well-being of individuals with developmental disabilities to the regional center.
A Special Incident Report, or SIR, is the report that is used and filed with the regional center whenever a special incident occurs. The following special incident categories must be reported to the regional center:
- The individual is missing and a missing persons report has been filed with law enforcement
- Reasonably suspected abuse/exploitation
- Reasonably suspected neglect
- A serious injury/accident requiring medical attention
- Unplanned or unscheduled hospitalizations due to certain conditions
- Death of any individual served
- The individual is a victim of certain crimes
A detailed list of special incidents classified under each of these categories, can be found by accessing the California Code of Regulations (Title 17, Section 54327).
Reporting Special Incidents
The service provider will:
1
Verbally notify Harbor within 24 hours of becoming aware of the incident
Harbor Regional Center also requires that in the case of serious bodily injury or death the reporting party speak to a live-person at Harbor within 2 hours of the incident.
2
Submit a written Special Incident Report
This is to be completed within 48 hours of becoming aware of the incident.
3
All regional center vendors that provide crisis or residential services or supported living services have additional reporting requirements.
This includes community crisis homes and mental health rehabilitation centers, long-term health care facilities, and acute psychiatric hospitals to report to Disability Rights California (DRC), all of the following:
- Each death or serious injury of a person occurring during, or related to, the use of seclusion, physical restraint, or chemical restraint, or any combination thereof
- Any unexpected or suspicious death, regardless of whether the cause is immediately known
- Any allegation of sexual assault, as defined in Section 15610.63 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in which the alleged perpetrator is a staff member, service provider, or employee or contractor
- Any report made to the local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the facility is located that involves physical abuse, as defined in Section 15610.63 in which a staff member, service provider, or facility employee or contractor is implicated
