Challenging Behaviours and Incident Management Guideline

Challenging Behaviours and Incident Management Guideline Document change history Version Start date Effective date End date Change and location 1.2 10 08 16 12 09 16 Change of departmental contact details for the transfer of a Participant with an ES level 3 incident report 1.1 27 06 16 27 06 16 11 09 16 Clarification on temporary service restrictions 1.0 15 02 16 15 02 16 26 06 16 Original version of document Explanatory Note All capitalised terms have the same meaning as in the Transition to Work Deed 2016 2020 (the Deed). In this document, must means that compliance is mandatory and should means that this represents preferred practice. Disclaimer This Guideline is not a stand-alone document and does not contain the entirety of Transition to Work providers obligations. It must be read in conjunction with the Deed and any relevant Guidelines or reference material issued by Department of Employment under or in connection with the Deed. Summary This Guideline provides information for Transition to Work Providers on the servicing of Participants with challenging behaviours. It also sets out requirements for lodging Participant Incident Reports in the Department s IT systems. Providers need to adapt the strategies that are outlined here to suit their particular circumstances. This Guideline should supplement, not replace, existing internal operational policies and procedures. Providers are responsible for informing themselves of their legal obligations and taking appropriate measures to comply with obligations. Policy Intent The aim of the policy is to provide Providers with guidance on how to deliver services to Participants with challenging behaviours. This Guideline also assists Providers to identify and report challenging behaviours. Relevant Deed clause/s The relevant clauses in the Deed include: Annexure A1 Definitions Clause 80 Appointments with Participants Clause 98 Mutual Obligation Requirements TRIM ID: D16/1211350 1

Relevant references Reference documents relevant to this Guideline include: Documentary Evidence Guideline Service Period, Suspensions and Exits Guideline Job Plans Guideline What is challenging behaviour? Challenging behaviour is any behaviour that a reasonable person would consider unacceptable or hostile and creates an intimidating, frightening, threatening, offensive or physically dangerous situation in the workplace or other location. Challenging behaviours may include but are not limited to: physical violence against any person for example, hitting, kicking, punching, spitting on or throwing objects at a person acting in a way that would cause a person to have a reasonable belief that assault was intended adopting a physical position or state and/or producing an object that a reasonable person would consider constitutes a serious and imminent threat of physical violence oral or written (including email or communication through social media) threats, abuse or harassment, inappropriate touching and stalking of staff members damaging, defacing or destroying property intentionally or through inappropriate and aggressive behaviour such as throwing objects or punching and kicking property theft of property, illicit drug taking on Provider s premises, use of Provider s equipment and/or property for illegal purposes swearing, making offensive noises or gestures, inappropriate or suggestive comments, vilification any other behaviour that is deemed inappropriate and warrants an incident being recorded. Incident management Process General considerations The Department of Employment acknowledges that Transition to Work Providers have a wide variety of expertise and arrangements to address challenging behaviours. Strategies will differ between Providers. The circumstances that result in incidences of challenging behaviour may be unique and there may be a number and range of contributory factors. Incident management plan Reporting of incidents Providers must have an overarching incident management plan in place that outlines the organisation s general approach to managing situations where Participants display challenging behaviours, or where staff identify that a situation has the potential to result in this behaviour. Providers should use the incident report screen in the Department s IT systems to record all instances where a Participant exhibits challenging behaviours. By recording incidents staff are informed about the potential for further incidents. The record also assists with future servicing arrangements. Incidents should be recorded appropriately so that, if a Participant is transferred to another Employment Service Provider, the receiving Provider is aware of the challenging behaviours and can arrange to service the Participant accordingly. The Transition to Work Provider will be able to view the incident reports lodged by other Employment Service Providers and DHS for a Participant on their caseload. TRIM ID: D16/1211350 2

Immediate notification requirement Incident reports Note: Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, a person has the right (with limited exceptions) to access information or documents held by the Department or the Department s contracted service providers. Where an incident has occurred and the Provider has reason to believe that the Participant who is displaying threatening, aggressive or violent behaviour poses an imminent threat to another person or organisation, they must immediately telephone that office to advise them of this and should consider calling the Police. Incident reports are intended to record incidents, inform Providers of the potential for further incidents and support compliance measures where relevant. There are three levels of incident reports for Providers when recording an incident in the Department s IT systems: ES Level 1 No police involvement but incident was recorded to ascertain a pattern of behaviour ES Level 2 Police were contacted and/or attended, but Participant was not threatening, aggressive or violent (could include theft, inappropriate behaviour) ES Level 3 Police attended and Participant has shown threatening, aggressive or violent behaviour If there is an ES Level 3 incident report on a Participant s record, the Participant cannot be transferred to another Provider without the involvement of the Department s Employment Systems Help Desk (1300 305 520) or their Department of Employment contract manager, who can authorise the request. Note: Providers can also use the Department s IT systems to view incident reports lodged by the Department of Human Services. Those incident reports are recorded at the following four levels: Level 1 Incidents where the Department of Human Services Customer Service Officer believes they have been abused but no warning letter will be issued to the Customer for example, verbal abuse Level 2 A warning letter will be issued indicating that further inappropriate behaviour may result in alternative servicing arrangements Level 3 Repeated inappropriate/aggressive behaviour where alternative servicing arrangements may be required Level 4 Serious incidents where restricted servicing arrangements may be required. Case management for Participants with challenging behaviours Process Warnings Warnings should be given to Participants who show tendencies toward or display challenging behaviours so that they are aware of the consequences of this behaviour. Warnings may be verbal or in writing. Any warnings given to a Participant should be recorded on the comments screen on the Participant s TRIM ID: D16/1211350 3

Temporary service restrictions record in the Department s IT systems. If warnings do not have the effect of improving behaviour then the Participant s access to a Provider s site can be restricted for up to six months. Before implementing a service restriction, the Provider must discuss the case with their contract manager. Where a Provider applies a temporary service restriction the Participant is not permitted to attend a Provider s premises, alternative arrangements must be arranged. For example, alternative arrangements may include providing access to the Provider premises between certain times only; or servicing the Participant by telephone, email or post. In the case of a Group Two Participant, a Provider Exit can be performed if the Provider determines it appropriate that the Participant should be Exited (refer to the Service Period, Suspensions and Exits Guideline). However, following an incident, if the Participant does not want to be Exited and chooses to continue to receive Services, the provider must continue to service and assist the Participant. In this circumstance, a case management plan should be created. In the case of Group One and Three Participants it is important to consider if the Participant can still meet their 25 hours per week (on average) participation requirement. This can be discussed with the contract manager before implementing the service restriction. Where the option of restricting access to a site is to be applied, Providers must: record on the Restricted Service Arrangement screen on the Participant s record in the Department s IT systems all restrictions that are issued, including the type of restriction, the primary contact and the start and end date of the service restriction write or email the Participant to inform them of the service restrictions that have been applied, the duration of the restrictions, the way in which they will receive assistance during the period of restriction regularly review restricted service arrangements and invite the Participant to contribute to the review keep Documentary Evidence of warnings and service restrictions, as these may be needed to support the transfer of the Participant from the Provider s case load, as appropriate. If a Participant who has had a restricted service arrangement is transferred to another Employment Service Provider, the receiving Employment Service Provider will be able to view incident reports and restricted service arrangements information created by the transferring Provider. This information can be viewed by the new Transition to Work Provider for 12 months from the date of the restricted service arrangement. Note: A restricted service arrangement is not transferred with the Participant (it will end before the transfer takes place). Case management plan If a serious incident has occurred, the Provider should assess how it will continue to service and assist the Participant. An individual case management plan should be created for any Participant TRIM ID: D16/1211350 4

Post temporary service restriction Incident report screen in the Department s IT systems that exhibits challenging behaviours. Case management plans need not apply only to Participants who have had a service restriction applied. However, if a service restriction is applied, a case management plan should be created. A case management plan should include a summary of the incident/challenging behaviours; a strategy to manage challenging behaviours; and the servicing arrangement for post temporary service restriction. Contact with the Participant as per the Provider s service plan needs to be maintained and the terms of the Participant s Job Plan need to be adhered to. The Job Plan must be adjusted to include any new Activities, including any Activities to address non-vocational barriers identified as a result of the incident, and the Participant will need to sign the updated Job Plan. If the Provider takes these steps and the Participant refuses to enter into the updated Job Plan, or does not sign the Job Plan by the notified date, then the Provider should exit the Participant from the service. Provider Exit requirements are set out in the Service Period, Suspensions and Exits Guideline. Providers should speak to their contract manager when creating and maintaining a case management plan. For Providers, it is important to consider and record in the Participant s case management plan how the Participant will be serviced after a temporary service restriction has been lifted. Consideration should be given to what ongoing measures will be implemented to ensure Participant compliance and improved behaviour. The Participant Incident Alert in the Department s IT systems displays the number of active incident reports that have been recorded against a Participant in the previous 12 months, providing a visual indicator of potential risk. The incident alert is activated at the time the user selects the Participant s record, and will also display (if in place) the existence of a restricted service arrangement. The number of active incident reports includes both those created by Employment Providers and those created by the Department of Human Services. Where a request for transfer is made for a Participant with an ES Level 3 incident report, Employment Providers must contact the Department s Employment Systems Help Desk on 1300 305 520 to facilitate a transfer where agreement has been reached by all parties. TRIM ID: D16/1211350 5