On Monday, July 17, DQA’s Office of Caregiver Quality (OCQ) issued a memo with new updates and to introduce a new online misconduct reporting worksheet.

Misconduct Reporting Worksheet
The Office of Caregiver Quality has developed a dynamic, web-based Misconduct Reporting Worksheet intended to assist DQA-regulated providers (except federally-regulated nursing homes) to determine whether an allegation, incident, or suspected occurrence of caregiver misconduct must be reported through the Misconduct Incident Reporting system. The worksheet poses questions and evaluates responses to determine whether required elements for reporting are present. Providers may retain a copy of the completed worksheet to document the rationale for a reporting decision. For additional resources and training related to the Misconduct Investigation and Reporting Program see the program webpage.

This worksheet is not intended for use by skilled nursing facilities.

WHCA/WiCAL has followed up with OCQ to ask if the information submitted via the online misconduct reporting worksheet would be captured by OCQ/DQA. OCQ’s response was:

Answers to questions contained in the worksheet are indeed captured by the system. However, the worksheet does not require a log-in or pose questions that would identify specific users or providers. The goal was to create a tool that would walk providers through the various elements of the definitions of misconduct.

WHCA/WiCAL has followed up to ask if any additional identifying data may be captured, such as IP address of the user.

Wisconsin Caregiver Program Manual
The Wisconsin Caregiver Program Manual Manual has been updated as follows:

• References to the Misconduct Reporting Worksheet have been added.
• Section 3.5.0 has been added to include information about 4-year Renewal Background Checks for entity operators (owners, licensees, principals, board members with client contact) and non-client residents.
• The requirement for providers to retain documentation of the last 30 internal investigations of misconduct has been removed. Providers are encouraged to review any additional investigation and documentation requirements contained in specific provider rules and consult with regional offices as needed.

CBRF Registry and Caregiver Background Checks – Reminder
Inclusion on the Community-Based Care and Treatment Training Registry does not represent a guarantee of eligibility for caregiving employment under ch. DHS 12, Wis. Admin. Code, or s. 50.065, Wis. Stats. Providers must verify eligibility of employees and contractors for caregiving work by completing a caregiver background check