Policy & Practice August 2017

By Sarah Salisbury and Ashley Fawcett Promising Practices for Incident Management HowWe Can Keep Vulnerable Citizens Safer P

rotecting those who are most vulnerable, particularly our elders and people with intellectual or physical disabilities, is an essential function of state governments. As the backbone of systems of care that provide the programmatic and financial supports for these populations, state and local human services agencies have a core responsibility to ensure that people are safe and that abuse and neglect of program participants is prevented. In trying to identify and prevent such abuse and neglect, many state human services agencies are hindered by fragmented processes and insu cient infor- mation technology (IT) systems for incident reporting and management. States, providers, and o cials directing these programs can improve services and decrease risks by improving their incident management business processes, upgrading their IT systems to improve information sharing, and developing stan- dardized, automated protocols for reporting and tracking incidents within their existing IT systems. Doing so will help those being served to realize their human potential and more fully contribute to their communities.

Photo Illustration by Chris Campbell

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August 2017 Policy&Practice