Kan. Admin. Regs. § 28-4-589 - Behavior management

(a) Behavior management practices.

(1) Behavior management practices shall be consistent with the goals and purposes of the program and appropriate to the age and developmental level of the child or youth.

(2) Each staff member shall practice methods of behavior management that are designed to help each child or youth develop inner controls and manage the child's or youth's own behavior in a socially acceptable manner.

(b) Time-out. If time-out is used to manage behavior, the child or youth shall remain in time-out only long enough to regain self-control. Each child or youth in time-out shall be kept under visual staff supervision. If a separate room is used, the door shall remain open, or the staff member responsible for providing supervision shall remain in the room with the child or youth.

(c) Prohibited punishment.

(1) No operator or any staff member shall use any of the following methods of punishment:

(A) Punishment that is humiliating, frightening, or physically harmful to the child or youth;

(B) corporal punishment, including spanking with the hand or any implement, slapping, swatting, pulling hair, yanking the arm, excessive exercise, exposure to extreme temperatures, and any other measure that produces physical pain or threatens the child's or youth's health or safety;

(C) verbal abuse, threats, or derogatory remarks about the child or youth or the child's or youth's family;

(D) enclosing the child or youth in a confined space, including any closet, box, and locked room;

(E) withholding or forcing foods or liquids; and

(F) placing soap, or other substances that sting, burn, or have a bitter taste, in the child's or youth's mouth or on the tongue, or placing substances that sting or burn on other parts of the child's or youth's body.

(2) Each operator and each staff member shall be prohibited from giving medications, herbal or folk remedies, and drugs to control or manage behavior except as prescribed by the child's or youth's licensed physician or licensed nurse practitioner.

(3) Each operator and each staff member shall be prohibited from using physical restraint to manage behavior unless all of the requirements of subsection (d) of this regulation are met.

(d) Physical restraint.

(1) Before physical restraint is used, de-escalation methods shall be attempted. If de-escalation methods fail and the behavior of a child or youth makes physical restraint necessary for the child's or youth's own protection or the protection of others, the child or youth shall be held as gently as possible to manage the behavior. If physical restraint is used, two staff members shall be present and shall remain with the child or youth until physical restraint is no longer necessary.

(2) The child or youth shall be restrained no longer than necessary for the child or youth to gain self-control. No bonds, ties, or straps shall be used to restrict movement.

(3) Each staff member using physical restraint shall have a current certificate on file documenting training in de-escalation methods and specific restraint procedures or techniques. The physical restraint training curriculum shall be approved by the secretary before the curriculum is used to train the staff members.

(4) Each child or youth whose behavior cannot be managed by other less intrusive methods and whose behavior requires the use of ongoing physical restraint for the child's or youth's protection or the protection of others shall have on file an IPP authorizing the use of physical restraint.

(e) Notification requirements. Each operator shall inform the parent or other adult responsible for a child or youth each time that physical restraint is used. The operator shall document each use of physical restraint on a critical incident report form supplied by the department.

Notes

Kan. Admin. Regs. § 28-4-589

Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 65-508; effective, T-28-4-1-02, April 1, 2002; effective Jan. 10, 2003.