7 AAC 50.425 - Program in residential child care facilities
(a) A residential
child care facility shall describe in writing the ways its program will provide
treatment, structure, and daily activities designed to promote the individual
physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional development of the
children in the facility. The description must address the requirements of this
section and also include provisions and policy relating to the applicable
requirements of
7 AAC 50.435,
7 AAC 50.440,
7 AAC 50.445,
7 AAC 50.455,
7 AAC 50.460, and any specialization of the facility
under 7 AAC 50.600 -
7 AAC 50.650.
(b) A facility shall plan routines and
activities appropriate to the children's age and development in a manner that
(1) ensures
(A) consistency through communication between
caregivers on different shifts regarding activities and special needs or
problems of children;
(B)
involvement of children in decision-making regarding the routines and
activities of their living group; and
(C) the accommodation of an individual
child's treatment plan; and
(2) includes
(A) routines to meet the children's basic
daily needs;
(B) experiences or
training to facilitate independent living, including social skills, family
life, personal hygiene, human sexuality, care of clothing and personal
belongings, health and nutrition, and money management;
(C) opportunities for religious education and
attendance at religious services, group, individual, or family counseling, and
attendance at ethnic or cultural events compatible with the child's treatment
plan; a facility shall recognize, encourage, and support the religious beliefs,
ethnic and cultural heritage, and language of a child's birth parent; however,
a facility shall respect the preference of a child nine years of age or
older;
(D) opportunities for group,
individual, or family counseling within or outside the facility; and
(E) opportunities for indoor and outdoor
leisure and recreational experiences.
(c) A facility must have a vehicle or other
means of transportation to transport children.
(d) A facility shall recognize the importance
of family and cultural ties to a child's self-esteem and shall encourage
interaction between the child and the child's family or cultural group whenever
possible. A facility shall
(1) have a policy
regarding visiting and other forms of communication with family, friends, and
others significant to the child; and
(2) obtain advance approval from a child's
parent or from the placement worker for an absence of the child from the
facility
(A) 14 days before a trip outside of
the state; or
(B) for a period of
72 hours or longer.
(e) A facility shall provide for the privacy
of each child whenever possible by
(1)
maintaining doors on sleeping areas and bathroom enclosures, unless there is a
clear, clinical justification for their removal;
(2) assigning children who need extra sleep,
have sleep disturbances, or need extra privacy to one or two person
rooms;
(3) requiring personnel to
make themselves known before entering a child's room, except when doing bed
checks when children are sleeping;
(4) prohibiting body or strip searches,
except a child may be searched if there is cause to believe a weapon or
contraband may be found and the facility has a personal search policy approved
by the licensing representative;
(5) prohibiting search of a child's room,
except, if there is cause to believe that a weapon or contraband may be found,
a search of a child's room may be conducted in the presence of the child or
another caregiver;
(6) prohibiting
the use of surveillance cameras or listening devices for routine observation of
children in bedrooms or bathrooms; however, motion detectors or surveillance
cameras in behavior-management rooms, hallways, or common living areas are
permitted;
(7) prohibiting
personnel from opening a child's parcels or letters, except, if the child is
incapable of doing so or the caregiver suspects the contents to be a weapon or
contraband, a child's parcels or letters may be opened if another caregiver is
present;
(8) prohibiting personnel
from reading a child's letters, except, if the child is incapable of doing so,
the child's letters may be read to the child if another caregiver is present;
and
(9) providing privacy for phone
conversations and visitation, unless monitoring of calls or visits is specified
in the treatment plan.
(f) A facility shall ensure that a child in
care receives education to meet the child's needs. A facility shall actively
support a child's learning through techniques such as encouragement, quiet
time, a space to do homework, reinforcement for learning, study, and homework
and, when necessary, furnishing special materials, tutoring, and career
counseling.
(g) A facility with
shift workers shall maintain daily log notes in which on duty staff shall
comment on the activities and events of the day for each child in care. A
facility shall observe, assess, and record the progress of each child toward
meeting objectives in the child's treatment plan a minimum of once a
week.
(h) A facility shall provide
each child with the child's own clean, well fitting, attractive, seasonal
clothing appropriate to age, sex, and individual needs and comparable in
quality, quantity, and appearance to that worn by other children in the
community.
(i) A facility shall
allow a child to bring and acquire personal belongings consistent with the
child's space, comfort, and safety. However, a facility may require a child to
verify ownership of belongings in the child's possession.
(j) A facility may use chores to give a child
the opportunity to learn responsibility, but may not use chore assignments as
an unpaid substitution for adult staff. The facility shall make chore
assignments only in accordance with the age and ability of the child.
(k) A facility shall permit a child to
receive the child's own money, whether through an allowance, child's fund,
opportunities for paid work, or other source. A facility
(1) shall consider money earned or money
received as a gift, allowance, or from some other source as the child's
personal property and shall not permit a caregiver or other resident of the
facility to spend the child's money, except at the request of the
child;
(2) may place limitations on
the amount of money a child may possess or to which the child may have
unencumbered access, if the limitations are in the child's best
interest;
(3) shall maintain a
separate accounting system for children's funds that are maintained by the
facility; and
(4) shall assist a
child who maintains funds in excess of $200 in establishing a personal bank
account.
(l) If a child
exhibits signs of danger to self or to others, a facility shall either obtain
professional services not available from facility staff or make arrangements to
discharge the child. If the facility chooses to obtain professional services
for the child, the facility shall have the child evaluated by a mental health
professional, develop a specific plan of care to prevent harm to the child or
others, submit the plan of care to the mental health professional for the
professional's review and approval, and implement the plan only with the
professional's approval.
(m) A
facility that provides services for emotionally disturbed children must have
mental health resources available on both an ongoing and emergency basis and
shall show evidence of access to these resources.
(n) A facility that provides services for
children with alcohol or drug dependence must have alcohol or drug treatment
resources available on both an ongoing and emergency basis and shall show
evidence of access to these resources.
(o) A child may not be involved in an
activity related to fund raising or publicity for a facility without the prior
written consent of the child, the child's parent, and the child's placement
worker.
(p) Upon a child's
discharge a facility shall provide services to assist the child in making a
successful transition back to the community or family. The services provided
may include transmitting medical, school, and other records to the appropriate
agencies and serving as a resource to former residents for emotional and other
support following discharge.
Notes
Authority:AS 44.29.020
AS 47.35.010
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