Skip to main content

Official Website

of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means its official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 
    Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs

    Report a Licensed Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facility or Recovery House Unusual Incident

    Drug and alcohol treatment centers and licensed recovery houses can send unusual incident reports to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) using the Electronic Reporting System (ERS) for review and action.

    Submit a report

    Treatment facilities required to make reports

    Freestanding drug and alcohol treatment facilities must report unusual incidents to DDAP within 3 business days. These incidents include:

    1. Assaults – Physical or sexual assault by a staff member or client.
    2. Death or Serious Injury – Death or serious injury due to trauma, suicide, medication mistakes, or other unusual causes.
    3. Service Disruption – A major event, like a disaster, that causes the facility to close for more than 1 day.
    4. Emergency Services – Events that require police, fire, or ambulance assistance.
    5. Contagious Disease – Outbreak of a disease that needs to be reported to the CDC.

    Narcotic and opioid treatment programs must report unusual incidents to DDAP within 48 hours. These incidents include:

    1. Abuse Complaints – Complaints about patient abuse, including physical, verbal, sexual, or emotional abuse.
    2. Death or Serious Injury – Death or serious injury due to trauma, suicide, medication mistakes, or other unusual causes.
    3. Service Disruption – A major event causing the facility to close.
    4. Community Concern – Incidents that could upset the community or cause concern.

    Licensed recovery houses must report unusual incidents to DDAP within 3 business days. These incidents include:

    1. Assaults – Physical or sexual assault by a staff member, volunteer, or resident.
    2. Death or Serious Injury – Death or serious injury due to trauma, suicide, medication mistakes, or other unusual causes.
    3. Disasters – Fire, storm, flood, or other events that close the recovery house or force residents to move for more than 1 day.
    4. Emergency Services – Events that need police, fire, or ambulance assistance.
    5. Contagious Disease – Outbreak of a disease that needs to be reported to the CDC.

    Reporting not required

    Some incidents do not need to be reported to DDAP, such as:

    1. A client going to the emergency room for a minor illness.
    2. A client leaving the facility against advice.
    3. A client who appears intoxicated but doesn't need emergency help.
    4. Clients having intimate relationships with mutual consent.
    5. Clients being discharged from the facility against their will.
    6. Other incidents not listed in the regulations.

    How to submit a report

    When using the ERS for the first time, you must reset your password.

    1. Enter your Facility Login ID.
    2. Click the “Reset Password” button.
    3. The password reset will not affect any other passwords you may use for other tasks.
    4. After resetting, you'll be directed to a Welcome Page with instructions on how to use ERS.

    Click on the ERS user manual for more information. 

    Contact

    For questions about unusual incident reports, email RA-DAAPI_DIVISION@pa.gov. 

    For technical issues with ERS, email RA-licensuredivision@pa.gov.