N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 14 § 584.17 - Quality Assurance at Residential Treatment Facilities for Children and Youth with Mental Disabilities

This regulation sets forth the requirements for ensuring quality at residential treatment facilities for children and youth with mental disabilities.  The regulation requires that these facilities have organized quality assurance programs designed to monitor the facilities and implement any requisite changes to them.  The regulation states that these quality assurance programs should provide for identification of problems, objective assessment of cause and scope of problems, implementation of changes and monitoring implemented changes to ensure that the problem is dealt with.
 
More specifically, the regulation requires that residential treatment facilities prepare a written plan with certain minimum requirements (assigning an individual to take the responsibility to administer the program, setting forth mechanisms for reviewing resident care, assigning individuals to take responsibility for putting these mechanisms in place, etc.) and states that these written plans are subject to approval by the office of mental health. 
 
The regulation further requires that facilities establish a written plan to address “untoward incidents” as part of the quality assurance program.  The regulation states that “untoward incidents” include “serious drug reactions, suicide attempts, suicides and sudden deaths, assaults, alleged abuse and maltreatment of residents, accidents, and terminations of service against professional advice when such termination presents a risk of hospitalization or danger to the resident or others.”  The regulation sets forth certain minimum requirements for the written plan to address these incidents, which include: establishment of a special review committee, review of incidents by this special review committee, operating procedures of special review committee, procedures for proper reporting of incidents, etc.