Pennsylvania Code › Title 6 - AGING › Part I - Department of Aging › Chapter 15 - PROTECTIVE SERVICES FOR OLDER ADULTS › CONFIDENTIALITY › Section 15.102 - Maintenance of case records

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
				  Protective services case records shall be kept, when not in use by authorized
				  persons, in a locked container and separate from other agency files. The
				  report, the record of investigation, notes of contact with the older adult and
				  others involved with the case, court documents and letters of notification may
				  not be transferred to, or reprinted for, other agency files. The assessment and
				  service plan may be transferred to other agency case files with assurance by
				  the agency that an older adult's complete protective services case record can
				  be immediately produced.
(b) When
				  an individual case record is removed from its storage location for use by an
				  authorized person, the person shall sign for the record according to sign-out
				  procedures developed by the agency.
(c) Except as provided under §
										15.105 (relating to limited access
				  to records and disclosure of information), only staff with direct
				  responsibility for protective services functions may be authorized by the
				  agency to have access to the protective services case records. General access
				  is restricted to protective services supervisors, protective services
				  caseworkers and clerical staff assigned to type and maintain case
				  records.
(d) As provided under
				  §
										15.43 (relating to resolution of
				  unsubstantiated reports), when the agency cannot substantiate a report of a
				  need for protective services, the case opened by the unsubstantiated report
				  shall be closed and information identifying the person who made the report and
				  the alleged perpetrator of abuse, if applicable, shall be immediately deleted
				  from the case record.
(e) For the
				  purposes of substantiating a pattern of abuse, neglect, exploitation or
				  abandonment, the name of the older adult reported to be in need of protective
				  services and other information relevant to the circumstances which led to the
				  report may be maintained for 6 months in a separate locked file accessible only
				  to authorized staff for review when necessary to establish that a previous
				  report was made. At the end of 6 months, case records maintained under this
				  subsection shall be destroyed unless additional reports lead to their being
				  reopened.
(f) The agency shall
				  develop written procedures for the deletion or expungement of information in
				  case records and for the destruction of case records so that unauthorized
				  persons are not able to gain access to information from case records. The
				  procedures shall be submitted to the Department in the protective services plan
				  required under §
										15.12(b) (relating
				  to administrative functions and responsibilities of area agencies on
				  aging).
This section cited in 6 Pa. Code §
												15.12 (relating to administrative
						functions and responsibilities of area agencies on aging); 6 Pa. Code §
												15.81 (relating to rights of
						protective services clients); 6 Pa. Code §
												15.95 (relating to case
						management); and 6 Pa. Code §
												15.112 (relating to uses of funding
						authorized by the act).