Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 22, § 84072 - [Operative until 7/1/2024] Personal Rights
(a) Each facility licensed to provide foster
care for six or more children shall post a listing of a foster child's
rights.
(b) Each facility shall
provide each school age child, who is placed in foster care, and his or her
authorized representative with an age and developmentally appropriate
orientation that includes an explanation of the rights of the child and
addresses the child's questions and concerns.
(c) At admission, each child, and his/her
authorized representative, shall be personally advised of and given a copy of
the child's rights as specified in Subsection d below:
(d) The licensee shall ensure that each
child, regardless of whether the child is in foster care, is accorded the
personal rights specified in Welfare and Institutions Code section
16001.9,
as applicable. In addition, the licensee shall ensure that each child is
accorded the following personal rights:
(1)
To visit the facility with his/her relatives and/or authorized
representative(s) prior to admission.
(2) To file a complaint with the facility, as
specified in Section
84072.2.
(3) To have the facility inform his/her
authorized representative(s) of his/her progress at the facility.
(4) To have communications to the facility
from his/her relatives and/or authorized representative(s) answered promptly
and completely.
(5) To have
visitors visit privately during waking hours without prior notice, provided
that such visitations are not prohibited by the child's needs and services
plan; do not infringe upon the rights of other children; do not disrupt planned
activities; and are not prohibited by court order or by the child's authorized
representative(s).
(A) Rules regarding
visitation hours, sign-in rules and visiting rooms can be established but shall
apply to all visitors.
(B) Visits
by the child's brothers and sisters can only be prohibited by court
order.
(6) To be provided
with and allowed to possess and use adequate personal items, consistent with
Welfare & Institutions Code section
16001.9(a)(23),
which includes their own:
(A) Clothing items,
provided the clothes are age-appropriate.
(1)
Clothing provided for school shall not violate school
standards.
(B) Toiletries
and personal hygiene products, including enclosed razors used for shaving, as
age and developmentally appropriate.
(C) Personal belongings, including items that
were a gift to the child unless prohibited as part of a discipline
program.
(7) To possess
and use his/her own cash resources except as specified in Section
84026, and to maintain an
emancipation bank account and manage personal income consistent with the
child's age and developmental level, unless prohibited by the case
plan.
(8) To make and receive
confidential telephone calls, unless prohibited by court order.
(A) Reasonable restrictions to telephone use
may be imposed by the licensee. The licensee shall be permitted to:
1. Restrict the making of long distance calls
upon documentation that requested reimbursement for previous long distance
calls has not been received;
2.
Restrict phone use in accordance with the facility's discipline
program;
3. Impose restrictions to
ensure that phone use does not infringe on the rights of others or restrict the
availability of the phone during emergencies.
(B) All restrictions shall be documented in
the child's needs and services plan or the facility's discipline policies, and
be signed by the child's authorized representative.
(C) Calls permitted to be restricted by
subsections (A)1. and (A)2. above shall not include calls to the child's
authorized representative, placement agency, family members (except by court
order), social workers, attorneys, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA),
probation officers, Community Care Licensing Division of the California
Department of Social Services or the State Foster Care
Ombudsperson.
(9) To send
and receive unopened correspondence unless prohibited by court order and have
access to letter writing material.
(10) To be accorded dignity in his or her
personal relationships with staff and other persons.
(11) To be free of physical, sexual,
emotional, or other abuse, and from corporal or unusual punishment, infliction
of pain, humiliation, intimidation, ridicule, coercion, threat, mental abuse,
or other actions of a punitive nature including, but not limited to,
interference with the daily living functions of eating, sleeping, or toileting,
or withholding of shelter, clothing, or aids to physical functioning.
(12) To be informed, and to have his/her
authorized representative, if any, informed, by the licensee of the provisions
of law regarding complaints including, but not limited to, the address and
telephone number of the complaint receiving unit of the licensing agency, and
of information regarding confidentiality.
(13) To be free to attend religious services
or activities of his/her choice and to have visits from the spiritual advisor
of his/her choice. Attendance at religious services, in or outside of the
facility, shall be on a completely voluntary basis.
(14) To not be locked in any room, building,
or facility premises at any time.
(A) The
licensee shall not be prohibited by this provision from locking exterior doors
and windows or from establishing house rules for the protection of clients
provided the clients are able to exit the facility.
(B) The licensee shall be permitted to
utilize means other than those specified in (A) above for securing exterior
doors and windows only provided the clients are able to exit the facility and
with the prior approval of the licensing agency.
(15) Not to be placed in any restraining
device. Postural supports may be used if they are approved in advance by the
licensing agency as specified in (A) through (F) below.
(A) Postural supports shall be limited to
appliances or devices including braces, spring release trays, or soft ties used
to achieve proper body position and balance, to improve a client's mobility and
independent functioning, or to position rather than restrict movement
including, but not limited to, preventing a client from falling out of bed, a
chair, etc.
1. Physician-prescribed
orthopedic devices such as braces or casts used for support of a weakened body
part or correction of body parts are considered postural
supports.
(B) All
requests to use postural supports shall be in writing and include a written
order of a physician indicating the need for such supports. The licensing
agency shall be authorized to require other additional documentation in order
to evaluate the request.
(C)
Approved postural supports shall be fastened or tied in a manner which permits
quick release by the child.
(D) The
licensing agency shall approve the use of postural supports only after the
appropriate fire clearance, as required by Section
80020(a) or (b),
has been secured.
(E) The licensing
agency shall have the authority to grant conditional and/or limited approvals
to use postural supports.
(F) Under
no circumstances shall postural supports include tying of, or depriving or
limiting the use of, a child's hands or feet.
1. A bed rail that extends from the head half
the length of the bed and used only for assistance with mobility shall be
allowed with prior licensing approval. Bed rails that extend the entire length
of the bed are prohibited.
(G) Protective devices including, but not
limited to, helmets, elbow guards, and mittens which do not prohibit a client's
mobility but rather protect the client from self-injurious behavior are not to
be considered restraining devices for the purpose of this regulation.
Protective devices may be used if they are approved in advance by the licensing
agency as specified below.
1. All requests to
use protective devices shall be in writing and include a written order of a
physician indicating the need for such devices. The licensing agency shall be
authorized to require additional documentation including, but not limited to,
the Individual Program Plan (IPP) as specified in Welfare and Institutions Code
Section
4646,
and the written consent of the authorized representative, in order to evaluate
the request.
2. The licensing
agency shall have the authority to grant conditional and/or limited approvals
to use protective devices.
(H) Under no circumstances shall postural
supports or protective devices be used for disciplinary
purposes.
(e)
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require a licensee or Group
Home staff to take any action that would impair the health and safety of
children in out-of-home placement consistent with Welfare & Institutions
Code section
16001.9(b).
Notes
2. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 8-16-2004; operative 9-15-2004 (Register 2004, No. 34).
3. Amendment filed 1-17-2007; operative 2-16-2007 (Register 2007, No. 3).
4. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 8-24-2017; operative 10-1-2017 (Register 2017, No. 34).
Note: Authority cited: Sections 1502.8 and 1530, Health and Safety Code. Reference: Sections 1501, 1530.91 and 1531, Health and Safety Code; and Section 16001.9, Welfare and Institutions Code.
2. Amendment of section and Note filed 8-16-2004; operative 9-15-2004 (Register 2004, No. 34).
3. Amendment filed 1-17-2007; operative 2-16-2007 (Register 2007, No. 3).
4. Amendment of section and Note filed 8-24-2017; operative
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