SECTION 260.201. Protection of Individual

(a) A program provider must have and implement written policies and procedures that safeguard an individual against:

(1) infectious and communicable diseases;

(2) conflicts of interest with a service provider, staff person, volunteer, or controlling person;

(3) abuse, neglect, and exploitation;

(4) acts of financial impropriety by a service provider, staff person, volunteer, or controlling person; and

(5) deliberate damage of personal possessions by a service provider, staff person, volunteer, or controlling person.

(b) A program provider must not use seclusion.

(c) A program provider must complete the HHSC Notification Regarding a Death in HCS, TxHmL, DBMD Programs form to notify HHSC, in writing, of an individual's death within 24 hours after learning of the death.

(d) A program provider, in accordance with the Deaf Blind with Multiple Disabilities Program Manual, must report critical incidents to HHSC using the HHSC CLASS/DBMD Notification of Critical Incidents form.

(e) A program provider must ensure a program director who receives a copy of an HHSC initial intake report or a final investigative report from an FMSA, in accordance with 40 TAC §41.702 (relating to Requirements Related to HHSC Investigations When an Alleged Perpetrator is a Service Provider) or 40 TAC §41.703 (relating to Requirements Related to HHSC Investigations When an Alleged Perpetrator is a Staff Person or a Controlling Person of an FMSA), sends a copy of the report to the individual's case manager.

Source Note: The provisions of this §260.201 adopted to be effective February 26, 2023, 48 TexReg 896