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Reporting Health and Safety Concerns/MUIs

Reporting abuse, neglect or theft against a person with an intellectual or other developmental disability is not only the right thing to do, it’s the law. If you believe someone with a disability has been abused, please report it as designated below:

IF SOMEONE IS IN IMMEDIATE DANGER, CALL 911.

Otherwise, use the following contacts to report:
Between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. call 513-867-5992 or fax 513-887-8028 or Email mui@butlerdd.org

After 4 p.m. call the after-hours emergency line at 513-867-5913

The Ohio Department of DD also has a hotline - 866-313-6733 - which may be used if there are concerns or difficulties in reporting to the county board of DD.

For more information about the Office of Incident Review/MUIs, click here.

About Incident Reporting

Incident reporting is a resource for people concerned about the well-being of individuals with developmental disabilities. Incident reporting not only keeps the agency informed, but in some cases reports also are filed on a state level.  The purpose of incident reporting and the required follow-up is to help keep people with developmental disabilities healthy and safe.

A. What to report
It is important to report any suspicions that a person with a developmental disability is being mistreated.  These reports include suspected abuse, neglect or other major unusual incidents.

B. What is abuse?
Abuse and mistreatment can occur in many forms. 

C. What is neglect?
Neglect is failing to provide treatment, care, goods, supervision, or services necessary to maintain health and safety.

Note:  If the victim of abuse or neglect is a child (under age 22), call Butler County Children Services at 513-868-0888 or 513-422-8059.  Then call the Butler County Board of DD, Office of Incident Review at 513-867-5992 or after work hours call 513-867-5913.

D. What is an MUI?
An MUI (major unusual incident) is an alleged, suspected or actual occurrence of an incident that can reasonably be expected to result in harm to the individual.

This is different from a UI (unusual incident) which are events involving a person with a developmental disability that are not consistent with daily operations, care or habilitation of that person.  Unusual Incidents are minor injuries, medication errors without any serious outcomes, behaviors or types of situations that do not meet the definition of an MUI.

E. MUI Definitions

  1. Physical Abuse - the use of physical force that can reasonably be expected to Result in physical harm or serious physical harm. Such force may include, but is not limited to, hitting, slapping, pushing, or throwing objects at an individual.
  2. Sexual Abuse - unlawful, sexual conduct or sexual contact including public indecency, importuning, and voyeurism.
  3. Verbal Abuse - purposefully using words or gestures to threaten, coerce, intimidate, harass, or humiliate an individual.
  4. Neglect - when there is a duty to do so, failing to provide an individual with any treatment, care, goods, supervision, or services necessary to maintain the health or safety of the individual.
  5. Misappropriation - depriving, defrauding, or otherwise obtaining the real or personal property of an individual by prohibited means.
  6. Exploitation - the unlawful or improper act of using an individual or an individual’s resources for monetary or personal benefit, profit, or gain.
  7. Rights Code Violation - any violation of the rights that creates a risk of harm to the health or safety of an individual.
  8. Prohibited Sexual Relations - a DD employee engaging in consensual sexual conduct or having consensual sexual contact with an individual who is not the employee’s spouse, and for whom the DD employee was employed or under contract to provide care at the time of the incident and includes persons in the employee’s supervisory chain of command.
  9. Failure to Report - means that a person, who is required to report, has reason to believe that an individual has suffered or faces a substantial risk of suffering any wound, injury, disability, or condition of such a nature as to reasonably indicated abuse (including misappropriation) or neglect of that individual, and such person does not immediately report such information to a law enforcement agency or a county board. 
  10. Peer-to-peer acts - acts committed by one individual against another when there is physical abuse with intent to harm; verbal abuse with intent to intimidate, harass, or humiliate; any sexual abuse; any exploitation; or intentional misappropriation of property of significant value.
  11. Unscheduled Hospital Admission - any hospital admission that is not scheduled unless the hospital admission is due to a condition that is specified in the ISP or nursing care plan indicating the specific symptoms and criteria that require hospitalization.
  12. Known Injury - an injury from a known cause that is not considered abuse or neglect and that requires immobilization, casting, five or more sutures or the equivalent, second or third degree burns, dental injuries, or any injury that prohibits the individual from participating in routine daily tasks for more than two consecutive days.
  13. Unknown Injury - an injury of an unknown cause that is not considered possible abuse or neglect and that requires treatment that only a physician, physician's assistant, or nurse practitioner can provide.
  14. Medical Emergency - an incident where emergency medical intervention is required to save an individual’s life (e.g., Heimlich maneuver, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, etc).
  15. Missing Individual - an incident that is not considered neglect and the individual cannot be located for a period of time longer than specified in the ISP or circumstances indicate that the individual may be in immediate jeopardy or law enforcement has been called in the search for the individual.
  16. Attempted Suicide - a physical attempt by an individual resulting in emergency room treatment, in-patient observation, or hospital admission.
  17. Law Enforcement - any incident that results in the individual being charged, incarcerated, or arrested.
  18. Unapproved Behavior Support - the use of any aversive strategy or intervention implemented without approval by the human rights committee or behavior support committee or without informed consent.
  19. Death - the death of an individual.

G. What happens when I report?
When you report an allegation or suspicion, you will likely be asked questions about the incident to help us determine what needs to occur.  Although we prefer to know who is reporting an incident, we understand that sometimes people decide to stay anonymous.  The more cooperation we get from the reporter, the better able we are to ensure health and safety of the person.  In serious cases of abuse and neglect, reporters may be asked to provide a written statement and/or cooperate with children services or law enforcement.