Disability Rights California Regional Center Vendor Incident Reporting

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Disability Rights California Regional Center Vendor Incident Reporting

Welcome to the incident and monthly data reporting portal. This is a secure website that regional center vendors may use to submit incident reports and data reports required by law to be reported to Disability Rights California.

Starting May 1, 2023, reporting vendors will submit their required monthly restraint data to the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) instead of Disability Rights California (DRC). DDS link can be accessed below.

Incident reports must still be submitted to DRC!

Please click on the below links to submit your report(s)

DRC Online Vendor Incident Report Form

DDS Online Monthly Vendor Restraint Form

 

You can also download and submit your reports by fax at 1-888-768-7057.

Vendor Incident Reporting Form (pdf)

Reporting Requirements

You are required to make these reports if you are a regional center vendor who provides any of the following vendored services:

  1. Crisis or residential services, including community crisis homes and mental health rehabilitation centers
  2. Supported living services
  3. Long-term health care facilities, or
  4. Acute psychiatric hospitals

You are required to report to DRC by the close of the following business day the following incidents:

  1. Allegation of sexual assault of resident involving staff
  2. Allegation of physical abuse of resident by staff, reported to local law enforcement
  3. Serious injury occurring during or related to restraint or seclusion
  4. Resident death occurring during or related to restraint or seclusion
  5. Resident unexpected or suspicious death NOT related to restraint or seclusion

You are required to report monthly to DDS the following data:

  1. Data on the number of seclusion incidents and the duration of each seclusion incident
  2. Data on the number of behavioral restraint incidents and the duration of incident; and
  3. Data on the number of time involuntary emergency medication is used to control behavior

Reporting Background and Criteria

Current law requires certain regional center vendors to report certain incidents involving regional center consumers directly to Disability Rights California.  It also requires that vendors submit monthly restraint reports to the Department of Developmental Services.  See Welfare and Institutions Code §4659.2.  

The law requires all regional center vendors that provide crisis or residential services or supported living services, long-term health care facilities, and acute psychiatric hospitals to report to Disability Rights California all of the following :

  1. 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.
  2. Any unexpected or suspicious death, regardless of whether the cause is immediately known.
  3. Any allegation of sexual assault, as defined in Section 15610.63, in which the alleged perpetrator is a staff member, service provider, or facility employee or contractor.
  4. 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.

The law also requires that vendors submit monthly reports to the Department of Developmental Services of aggregate data for the following:

  1. The number of incidents of seclusion and the duration of time spent per incident in seclusion.
  2. The number of incidents of the use of behavioral restraints and the duration of time spent per incident of restraint.
  3. The number of times an involuntary emergency medication is used to control behavior.
  4. The name, street address, and telephone number of the facility.

FAQ

Who is required to submit these reports?

Regional Center vendors who provide the following services are required to report:

  1. crisis or residential services;
  2. supported living services;
  3. long-term health care facilities; or
  4. acute psychiatric hospital

Does the reporting replace existing reporting obligations?

No, reporting requirement is in addition to all pre-existing reporting duties that vendors are subject to. It does not replace special incident reporting to Regional Centers or agencies pursuant to the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act. You also must still report to licensing agencies if applicable.

How Do You Submit an Incident Report to DRC?

DRC has created a secure online portal through which you can submit your incident reports. You do not need a login in order to submit your reports.  A notification will be auto-generated to DRC once your report is submitted.
Alternatively, you can also fax your form to 1-888-768-7057.

Why do I have to report monthly restraint data to DDS after May 1, 2023?

A change in the law now requires vendors to report their monthly restraint data to DDS (see online link above).  DDS will share this data with regional centers and DRC.

When are the reports due?

All incident reports must be submitted to DRC by the close of business on the day of occurrence or discovery.  

Monthly reports should be submitted to DDS by the 10th day of the following month. 

Do you submit a monthly report to DDS if there were no reportable restraint or seclusion events?

Yes.  We encourage you to submit reports monthly of your facility or agency’s restraint or seclusion use, even when there are no reportable events you should still submit a report.  This allows DDS to verify that you are aware of and meeting your reporting obligation. 

What about client confidentiality in incident reports?

All information submitted to DRC remains confidential. Please do not submit client names or HIPAA protected information in the incident reports.

Who at DDS can I contact if I have problems submitting the monthly restraint report or would like alternate methods of submitting a report?

Vendors are invited to contact the Department at RestraintReportingForm@dds.ca.gov

Reporting Law

Please visit this link on Legislature.ca.gov for further information.