St. Leonard's Community Services

The Agency is concerned with the welfare and well-being of staff, volunteers,students,visitorsand clients. It is recognized that staff, by virtue of the nature of the work, may be confronted with physical violence/aggression or threat of violence/aggression and/orallegations of misconduct. Appropriate action will be taken to protect the safety of staff, volunteers, students, visitors and clients. Similarly, staff are to use his/her discretion based on his/her clinical judgment/experience to assess situations involving clients and then use all reasonable measures to ensure the greatest probability of his/her personal safety.

Through the provision of comprehensive policies and procedures, which govern the Agency’s health and safety, quality assurance and risk management practices, the Agency endeavours to identify, assess, eliminate and/or reduce risks in the workplace. See also the Emergency Response Policy (Regulations Appendix 2), the Inter Residence Security Call System (Health & Safety Binder) and the incident and serious occurrence reporting system (Documenting 2-90 Log Book, 2-100 Incident Reports and 2-110 Serious Occurrences) and CS 10-140 Prevention and Management of Aggressive Behaviour (PMAB).

Be aware of the client’s social case history with regards to violence and/or aggression. In some cases, client files may be flagged to indicate that they have used or threatened violence/aggression, suicide or self-harming behaviour.
Appointments in non-residential settings will be booked only when it is safe to do so and when other staff are on site where possible. In situations where violence is a known factor, the Supervisor will be informed of scheduled appointments.
Whenever possible, furniture in offices and private interview rooms will be arranged to allow staff to exit easily and safely.
Appointments scheduled in clients’ homes will only occur when there is no known risk of harm. Staff should always ensure his/her safety is not in jeopardy by making the initial visit (whenever possible) during daylight hours, leaving themselves an easy exit from the home and not parking where they might be blocked in. Staff will advise the Supervisor of the address and estimated time of return.
When a situation requires a mobile crisis response (on-site visit), staff will assess to determine the appropriate method of intervention. If based on the assessment, there is little or no threat to the child/youth/adult/family or anyone else, one staff will respond. If it is determined there is the potential for harm, two staff will respond. If there is a clear threat of violence or harm, staff will contact Police Services and request assistance. In all cases, staff will advise the Supervisor of the address and estimated time of return.
Ensure staff know the whereabouts of each other at all times while on duty.
Carry a cell phone for appointments off site, mobile crisis response or transporting clients.
When providing services in community-based settings i.e. schools, other agencies, etc., staff will be aware of emergency and safety procedures for each setting.
Staff schedules are posted in hardcopy and staff are responsible for recording his/her whereabouts on the sign-in/sign-out board or daily log when out of the building.
Staff having reason to believe that his/her safety is in jeopardy from an assault, threat of an assault or allegation of misconduct will contact his/her Supervisor immediately.
The Manager/Supervisor will document and respond to matters using the serious occurrence and/or incident report protocol. Within the context of the client’s right to service and a staff member’s right to safety, a decision will be made as to legal action, terminating service or the need for special circumstances to permit the continuation of service. Any necessary action or precautions will take into consideration the safety, well-being and confidentiality of the individual staff, the other program staff and clients. Staff will also be advised when the risk has passed.
Staff receive training in PMAB (Prevention and Management of Aggressive Behaviour) and are re-certified annually.
Panic buttons are provided to staff where possible.
Night shift staff will participate in a telephone security call exchange among the residences.
All residences have an On-Call supervisory staff member to assist in the case of emergency.
All residences have locked doors.
As appropriate, the Executive Director will make the Board of Directors aware of any risks as they occur.

The Agency utilizes the following data collection methods to monitor and evaluate risk management and safety/security strategies:

The Program Committee, on a monthly basis will analyze the incidents posing risk to the Agency and the staff, volunteers, students, visitors and clients in order to identify any trends and procedures to mitigate the risks arising from these incidents (see Documenting 2-110 Serious Occurrences and 2-100 Incident Reports). This report will be presented at the next scheduled Board meeting.

A minimum of once per year, the Management Team will review any risks that occurred during the preceding period and will prepare a summary report, including any recommendations, to present to the Board of Directors.