SECTION 414.560. Competency of Employees and Agents

(a) Each local authority, community center, and contractor shall ensure that all employees and agents demonstrate a thorough understanding of the relevant elements of reporting, investigating, and preventing abuse, neglect, and exploitation, before contact with persons served and annually thereafter. The relevant elements of reporting, investigating, and preventing abuse, neglect, and exploitation include:

(1) the acts and signs of possible abuse, neglect, and exploitation;

(2) the prohibition of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of persons served;

(3) the disciplinary consequences for:

(A) committing abuse, neglect, and exploitation;

(B) failing to report abuse, neglect, or exploitation; and

(C) failing to cooperate with an investigation;

(4) the procedures for reporting allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation;

(5) the prohibition of retaliatory action and the consequences for engaging in retaliatory action;

(6) the methods for preventing abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and

(7) memoranda of understanding and rules of investigatory agencies.

(b) Each local authority, community center, and contractor shall ensure that employees and agents who will routinely perform any job duty in proximity to persons served demonstrate competency in the safe management of verbally and physically aggressive behavior before contact with persons served and annually thereafter.

(c) Each local authority, community center, and contractor shall ensure that documentation of the competencies of its employees and agents is maintained.

Source Note: The provisions of this §414.560 adopted to be effective July 1, 2001, 26 TexReg 4708