The 48-Hour Incident Checklist
The template for tactical reporting — capturing clinical-grade evidence when memory fades and trauma blurs the details. To get a judge to sign an order or an insurance company to approve a bed, you need clinical-grade evidence. This checklist ensures you capture the data points that professionals actually care about.
The four pillars of incident documentation
Work through each section systematically within 48 hours of any incident. Every data point you capture strengthens your case.
1. The context — the lead-up
- Date & time: start and end of the incident window
- Duration: how long did the "apex" (most severe part) last?
- Antecedents / triggers: what happened in the 2 hours before? (e.g., change in medication, missed sleep, sensory overload, a specific conversation, a "digital trigger")
2. The incident — specific behaviors
Avoid "He was angry." Use "The behavior was X."
- Property damage: specifics — "Threw chair through drywall," not "He broke things."
- Self-harm / lethality: specific threats or actions taken. Use exact quotes if possible.
- Aggression: "Lunged at sibling," "Bellowed in face," "Blocked exit."
- Cognitive state: Was he glassy-eyed? Speaking in word salad? Dissociated?
3. The professional response
- Law enforcement: agency name and case number
- Badge numbers: names and badge numbers of responding officers
- CIT status: did you request a Crisis Intervention Trained officer? Did one arrive?
- Medical / EMS: time of arrival and response. Note any sedation or physical restraints used.
- Outcome: Baker Act (involuntary hold)? Safety plan (stayed home)? Voluntary admission?
4. The recovery — post-crisis
- Time to baseline: how long did it take for the child to return to "normal" functioning?
- Remorse vs. defiance: did the child express remorse, or were they still in an "aroused" state 4 hours later?
Why specificity matters
Judges, insurers, and clinicians are trained to discount vague language. Phrases like "he was out of control" carry no legal or clinical weight. Documented specifics — exact quotes, times, badge numbers, and observable behaviors — are what move systems to act.
Outcome categories to know
- Baker Act: involuntary psychiatric hold initiated by law enforcement or a clinician
- Safety plan: child remains at home under a documented agreement
- Voluntary admission: child or guardian consents to inpatient evaluation
Follow this sequence within 48 hours of every incident: capture context, document behaviors, record the response, note the recovery. The window closes fast — details that feel vivid today will blur within days, and the record you build now is the evidence that moves systems to respond.
Need more than a guide?
If your family is in the middle of it right now, you don't have to figure this out alone.