SayPro Incident Reports

Guidelines for writing special incident reports are applicable to all documentation in facilities that serve youth. However, because incident reports are more formal, stand-alone documents, they are more likely to be read by others. Although direct care staff usually complete anecdotal logs, any staff member or other individual present when an incident occurs must complete an incident report.

For our purposes, an incident report is defined as a written summary of events or information that the author has seen, heard, or investigated and provides a permanent record of those events or information. In a juvenile or adult confinement setting, a report is a permanent record of an incident that someone in authority can use as a basis for various actions.

Incident reports have many uses, for example to accompany other documents to the court from a juvenile detention center, a juvenile correctional facility, or an adult facility that serves youth. They may supplement reports and recommendations to paroling authorities for youth in juvenile correctional facilities or in adult facilities. Attorneys that represent youth or the agency in litigation may request them. Quality assurance bodies, such as state monitoring units and external auditing entities, review them to verify compliance with standards.

They may be used to justify changes to policy and procedure. They may be used to improve safety and security on the job. They may be used to compile statistics or other important information. They may be used to refresh the memory of those involved in an incident. They may be used to evaluate an employee’s performance and potentially initiate discipline or additional training. The use of incident reports in teaching and training of staff is a worthwhile, evidence-based practice. A poorly written incident report makes the writer appear unprofessional and can reflect negatively and have an adverse effect on the facility.