Addressing Risk in Human Services: Sexual Misconduct & Abuse

July 12, 2024

By Lisa Vanore, Sarah Lambert, and Alexander Buzbee

While human services organizations do amazing work keeping people on their feet, cared for and thriving, they are increasingly faced with accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse of patients and participants – and the related lawsuits that often follow. In a recent example, a jury ordered an Illinois behavioral health center to pay an unprecedented $535 million in a negligence case resulting from the sexual assault of a 13 year old patient by a 16 year old patient.

But regardless of whether sexual abuse accusations are proven, these kinds of accusations can have a devastating impact on an organization’s bottom line and reputation.

Human services firms are expected to maintain control of their facilities, staff, patients and participants at all times. However, without the right safeguards in place, there may be vulnerabilities caused by excessive workloads, untrained staff or insufficient policies and procedures that can significantly increase sexual misconduct and abuse risks.

Four key risk mitigation strategies

Working with the right insurance broker can help human services organizations put preventative measures in place to substantially reduce the risk of the organization being faced with a sexual misconduct or abuse accusation or lawsuit, including:

1. Implement strict staff and hiring policies: Your broker can help you develop strict screening procedures for all personnel – especially staff that will be interacting with, or working in close proximity to, patients and participants. These would include thorough background screenings for all current employees and new hire candidates performed by highly regarded third party firms.

2. Establish formal training and education programs: Your broker can provide insights to help you establish a culture of ongoing, role-appropriate education for all current staff and new hires. Such a program will set expectations, ensure a consistent understanding of current and evolving procedures and provide instruction on how to recognize, handle and report incidents.

3. Create a safe reporting environment: Your broker can provide guidance to help you create a well-communicated reporting process and an atmosphere that ensures your staff, patients and participants (and their families) have a safe space to report concerns and incidents without fear of repercussions. This will encourage prompt reporting and faster interventions and resolutions.

4. Investigate and take action: Your broker can educate you on what to do when an incident is reported – including taking every report seriously and investigating it thoroughly. The ability to act quickly, and knowing what steps to take before an incident happens, can help you more effectively mitigate the risk to the organization when an incident does occur.

The Power of Partnership

At Conner Strong & Buckelew, our team is deeply experienced in helping human services organizations reduce their risk of facing a costly sexual misconduct or abuse accusation or lawsuit. Our knowledgeable professionals can partner with you to help implement the strategies outlined above for the benefit of the organization and its participants. Our team of professionals are also insurance experts who can assist with the implementation, review and analysis of insurance coverage and claims.

For more information on how our team can help, please reach out to your Conner Strong & Buckelew representative, call us at 1-877-861-3220 or email [email protected].