Procedure Name: Identifying and Reporting Duty to Warn Issues
Operational Owner/Submitted By: Joyce Trzoniec
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Functional Area: Counseling and Compliance
Effective Date: 11/29/12
Last Review Date: 01/10/14
Review Interval: Annually
Operational Scope: Duty to Warn
NAME(S) OF MAGELLAN POLICY & STANDARD(S) TIED TO: Minimum Necessary Use and
Disclosure of PHI (PR.1711.02)
PURPOSE: To describe procedures related to identification and reporting of Duty to Warn (DTW) situations.
DEFINITIONS:

Duty to Warn (DTW) Situation: A DTW situation constitutes evidence of a serious threat of harm to self or others, domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, sexual assault of adults, or violence against another person or past/present/future illegal activity.
PROCEDURE:
I.
Handling potential DTW situations.
A.
The Counselor identifies a DTW situation.
B.
If the situation represents current harm or imminent risk for harm, the Counselor immediately reports the issue to MPs, Security Forces, or if off installation, to appropriate law enforcement.
C.
The Counselor notifies the victim that issues disclosed will be discussed with the Counselor’s supervisor.
D.
The Counselor discusses the issue with the Regional Supervisor or Director by phone to determine if it constitutes a bona fide DTW situation. Voice mails or emails are not permissible and written records are not kept.
E.
After discussion with the Regional Supervisor/Director, the Counselor immediately reports situations determined to be DTW situations to the Installation Point of Contact (POC)
F.
The Regional Supervisor/Director notifies the OSD Program Manager of potentially high profile cases by email or phone, with copies to the three primary OSD Regional Contacts.
G.
The Counselor offers and facilitates appropriate referrals based on specifics of the DTW situation.
H.
For child abuse situations, the counselor alerts the local Child Protective Agency and Family
Advocacy Program through a documented report. The report includes the case file number and agency personnel name to the Regional Supervisor or Director.
I.
For sexual assault situations, the counselor performs an appropriate warm hand-off to the
Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC).
J.
For domestic violence situations, the counselor completes and submits an independent report to the Family Advocacy Program and offers referrals to the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) or Victim Advocate (VA).
K.
The Counselor informs eligible victims of the restricted reporting option, if applicable, and follows appropriate protocols if the option is chosen. (See Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence
Procedure for specifics).
L.
The Counselor has no further discussion or contact with the victim regarding the reported issue once it is reported and/or a warm transfer is made to the appropriate advocacy organization
M.
The Regional Supervisor updates the DTW log after each DTW situation. Personal identifiable information is not be documented in the log.
N.
The Counselor adheres to any additional reporting directives specific to Military Branches of
Service regulations or installation.
II.
Tracking/Reporting DTW Situations.
A.
Magellan tracks and reports DTW situations in accordance with Office of the Secretary of
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Defense (OSD) and DoD/Military Branch of Service regulations and other established protocols.
B.
Magellan provides consultation and direction as needed to counselors, regional supervisors/directors and other Magellan/MFLC personnel.
C.
When a Duty to Warn event occurs the counselor completes the Magellan MFLC Duty to
Warn Report form (DTWF), making sure to avoid inclusion of the service member’s name or other identifying information. i.
The DTWF is found at www.magellanmflc.org
. and is included in the counselor orientation packet. ii.
The DTWF should be completed immediately following the event. iii.
The counselor forwards the completed DTWF via fax or email to her/his supervisor upon completion. iv.
The supervisor reviews the form for completeness and forwards to her/his manager and to the QAIT designee within 24 hours of receipt. v.
The QAIT designee insures that complete data are entered into the Duty to Warn
Monthly Report Template.
D.
The Sr. QI Specialist compares DTW forms to DTW entries in activity forms. Supervisors are notified on non-matches (form without activity form entry or activity form entry without completed form) to be reconciled.
E.
Magellan compiles and sends DTW monthly report logs to both the Office of the Secretary of
Defense and Military Branch of Service Headquarters point of contac t no later than the 15 th day of the month following each quarter. Magellan also sends these reports to respective federal and state authorities. The monthly DTW reports do not include any identifiable information. The reports include at a minimum: i.
date of event, ii.
installation name and unit, and state, iii.
branch of service, iv.
category (e.g., domestic violence, child abuse, harm to self/others), v.
summary of events, vi.
action taken.
F.
Reviews of DTW logs and reporting procedures are included as standard agenda item in quarterly reporting meetings with Military Branch of Service Headquarters point of contact and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
ASSOCIATED FORMS, FLOWS, ATTACHMENTS: Duty to Warn Flow Sheet; Duty to Warn
Monthly Report Template, Magellan MFLC Duty to Warn Report Form
2012 8 DTW Monthly
Report contractor Template.xlsx
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Counselor Name:
Supervisor Name:
Date Report Made: Type of Report:
Mandated
Duty to Warn
Both
Date/Time of Event:
Date/Time Supervisor Notified:
State in Which Report Made:
Service Member Branch:
USA
USAF
USMC
USN
Military Status of Service Member:
Active
National Guard
Reserve
DoD Civilian Expeditionary
Workforce
Civilian (ineligible)
Primary Issue Related to DTW/MR (Select only one):
Harm to self
Harm to others
Domestic Abuse
Child abuse/neglect
Installation:
Unit (Guard or Reserve only):
Secondary Issue Related to DTW/MR:
Harm to self
Harm to others
Domestic Abuse
Child abuse/neglect
Sexual assault
Abuse/neglect of a vulnerable adult
Illegal Activity
Sexual assault
Abuse/neglect of a vulnerable adult
Illegal Activity
Summary of Event:
Actions Taken:
Agencies/Titles of Individuals to Whom Report Made:
FAP Notified: Yes No If “No”, explain below:
INSTRUCTIONS:
Counselors :

Complete form by filling in all applicable fields.

Do not indicate family/service member name anywhere on form.

Fax or email to your supervisor immediately upon completion.
 Enter “date/time” using military time as follows: mmddyy/hhmm.

Ensure there is a corresponding activity form submitted with DTW selected AND all referrals included.
Supervisors:

Review with your manager.

Forward completed form within 24 hours via fax or email to your manager AND the QAIT
Director.
DEFINITIONS:

Mandated reports (MR): Reports that are often mandated by state law (e.g., child abuse, harm to
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self or others). Although threats of harm to self or others are not required to be reported in every state and the circumstances in which a report is required vary from state-to-state, military regulations classify all such threats as mandated report situations. It is assumed that all mandated reports are also DTW reports and reported to the appropriate military POC.
 Duty to Warn (DTW) reports: Incidents that are required by military regulations to be reported to a military POC, regardless of state law (e.g., spouse abuse, sexual assault, etc.). Reporting of these types of incidents is mandated in a small number of states.
Version 4 – modified 26-FEB-2014
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