Item of Concern:

Page 4 under Level III Incidents: 

"2) A sexual assault of an individual; 

• Providers shall report to the department and other relevant authorities as required by law that an individual alleges they were sexually assaulted, whether or not the alleged assault occurred within the provision of the provider’s services or on their property"

The proposed change in its current form would have the potential to harm the therapeutic relationship when an alleged sexual assault is reported by an adult receiving or requesting outpatient counseling services and an adult does not wish to make a criminal report to law enforcement agencies. By reporting information about an adult's alleged sexual assault, this may cause concerns for the adult receiving services about confidentiality. Additionally, reporting information about an adult's alleged sexual assault when an adult does not want the information shared with anyone is in contradiction of person-centered and trauma-informed practices. 

This proposed change would be beneficial for minors or incapacitated adults to ensure that mandated reporting by law has occurred. 

Additionally, this proposed change would be helpful if it also specifically mandated that providers report to the department and other relevant authorities as required by law that an individual alleges they were sexually assaulted by any employee of a site licensed by DBHDS.