Rules for Independent and Satellite Group
Homes.
(A) Incorporation and Bylaws. The
group home or its
parent body shall be incorporated. Bylaws shall be written
and usually include the following:
1. General
function of the organization as stated in the articles of
incorporation;
2. Frequency, time
and place of meetings, requirements regarding board members' attendance at
meetings and number necessary for a quorum;
3. Size, selection, duties and organization
of the board of directors;
4.
Appointment and duties of committees and staff; and
5. Provision for changes in the
bylaws.
(B) The Board of
Directors.
1. Every independent group home or
parent agency of a satellite group home shall have a governing board which is
representative of the community. The sources of an independent group home or
satellite group home's financing, the geographical area it encompasses and the
groups that it serves determine to some extend the desirable composition of its
board.
2. The board shall meet as
often as necessary to conduct the business of the agency, but at least three
(3) times annually.
3. Functions of
the board shall include:
A. Selection and
appointment of a well-qualified administrator to provide a program for children
according to policies set forth by the board.
B. Responsibility for funding a quality
program;
C. Responsibility for
formulating and reviewing the general program plans and policies of the group
home: operating procedures such as intake, release and day-to-day operations of
the group home; job descriptions and responsibilities of all staff; personnel
policies which include action to be taken regarding hiring, suspension,
termination and any appeal procedures available; and
D. Good public relations through presentation
and interpretation of the group home's services.
(C) Finances.
1. There shall be financial resources which
will provide a quality program of services for the group home.
2. Annual financial statements prepared by a
certified public accountant shall be made available to the division upon
request. The division shall hold all these statements confidential.
3. A budgetary estimate for each year shall
be prepared and approved by the board before the beginning of each
year.
(D) Personnel and
Personnel Practices. Administration shall establish personnel policies and
practices in compliance with the following guidelines:
1. Administrator or project director. When an
administrator or project director is appointed by the board of directors, s/he
shall-
A. Be qualified by education, training
or experience or both in the child care field;
B. Have administrative ability and be in full
charge of management of the group home in accordance with policies and
procedures established by the board;
C. Be a person of sound judgment;
D. Be temperamentally adapted to work with
children;
E. Attend board meetings,
participate in the formulation of policies and procedures and make reports
regularly to the board;
F. Assume
responsibility for interpretation to the board of all appropriate state laws
and rules for child caring facilities;
G. Provide opportunity for the continued
education and professional growth of staff; and
H. Be responsible for establishing and
maintaining good working relationships with other social agencies and, along
with the board members, provide interpretation of the group home's program to
the community;
2. Social
work staff.
A. The group home or parent
agency shall have the responsibility to see that social services are provided
to each child in care and his/her family.
B. If a social worker is employed by the
group home, s/he, as a minimum, shall have graduated from an accredited four
(4)-year college or university. Supervision or consultation shall be provided
by an individual who has achieved a graduate degree in social work or related
behavioral sciences;
3.
Child care staff. In the recruitment and selection of
child care staff, careful
consideration shall be given tot he implications of having staff's biological
children living in the group home.
A.
Desirable qualifications are-a genuine liking for young people and some
understanding of their problems; practical experience in working with children;
the ability to give of themselves without demanding a warm response from the
children; good physical health with no disqualifying physical or mental
handicaps; emotional maturity; flexibility; a sense of humor; commitment to
helping problem youth; the ability to tolerate demanding and sometimes annoying
behavior; the ability to set limits and have reasonable expectations of the
children; the ability to work with the administrator or project director and
other staff members to understand and evaluate the children to make plans for
the child's treatment or living program, and to carry out these plans; and the
ability to communicate effectively with the children's parents and community
groups.
B. Child care staff shall
be at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
C. Child care staff shall have at least two
(2) work days off during each seven (7)-day period;
4. Staff/child ratio. Provision shall be made
for no less than one (1) staff member for each six (6) children in care and for
at least one (1) adult to be available at all times;
5. Staff development.
A. Regularly scheduled inservice training
sessions shall be established for staff and volunteers.
B. Additional learning experiences should be
made available through various resources such as workshops, seminars and child
care associations;
6.
Personnel policies and records.
A. Written
minimum qualifications as outlined in subsection (3)(D) for each staff position
shall be established and maintained on file.
B. Each staff member shall receive a written
job description.
C. Personnel
records shall be maintained on each staff member and shall include job
application; reports from references and former employer; the required annual
health report; and an annual evaluation prepared by the immediate
supervisor;
7.
Volunteers.
A. Services to be provided by the
volunteers shall be specifically defined.
B. Volunteers shall receive training and
supervision from a qualified staff member; and
8. Health requirements for staff.
A. Any person who is suffering from a
communicable disease shall not be employed.
B. All staff members having direct contact
with children shall have a physical examination before employment and annually
thereafter. A statement regarding the health status of each such employee shall
be signed by a licensed physician and be on file.
C. Each staff member shall have a yearly
tuberculin skin or chest X ray, tests for venereal diseases and any other
indicated laboratory procedures.
(E) Program.
1. Intake policies.
A. Intake policies and procedures shall be
written and shall include acceptable referral sources, admission criteria and
other forms or reports necessary before a child is considered for placement.
Admission procedures, policies and planning shall include preparation of the
child and parents as appropriate with preadmission visits planned for both
parent and child whenever possible.
B. The division shall review the criteria for
admission for its appropriateness to the program of the group home.
C. Criteria for admission to a group home
shall include the following:
(I) The
appropriate age range and sex for the facility in question;
(II) Able to benefit from and contribute to a
group living experience;
(III) Able
to attend school or be employed in the community, able to utilize community
resources and to move about the community freely with a minimum of
supervision;
(IV) Preschool age
children shall not be admitted except on an emergency basis not to exceed a
period of thirty (30) days, unless the children are members of a sibling group
and it is considered to be in their best interest to remain together.
D. The number of children in
residence at any given time shall not exceed the number for which the facility
is licensed.
E. Written provision
for medical care shall be required from the person legally responsibility for
the child.
F. Visitation policy
shall be clearly written and available to both parent and child before or at
time of admission.
G. Information
shall not be released on the child without permission from the person legally
responsible for the child.
2. Plan of services for the
child and family.
The group home shall collaborate with the
child,
parent, referring agency or
parent agency in preparing a written plan for services for the
child and
family. This plan for services shall include:
A. A statement of goals and objections for
providing services to the child and family including social work services on a
regular basis for each child; responsibilities assumed by parents, agency and
court and tentative plans for discharge;
B. Provision for services needed by the child
and family where indicated including: family counseling; preventive and
therapeutic medical services; psychological services; psychiatric services;
remedial education; vocational counseling, recreation; and any other indicated
social services;
C. Regular review
of plans for the services for the child and family at least every six (6)
months;
D. Release of a child shall
be part of a well-planned, individualized program with the decision being made
in a conference with appropriate staff or other group home representative, the
referring or parent agency and the child's family; and
E. The group home should make arrangement
with the referring agency to assure aftercare services to the child in his/her
new environment.
3.
Records and reports.
A. Care records.
(I) Every group home shall keep on file a
record of each child's birth date, correct name, names of parents and relatives
and name of the contact person with the referring agency.
(II) The record shall also provide a health
history of the child, including immunizations and an account of any illness or
injury suffered while in care of the group home.
(III) The record shall include a statement
regarding plan of services for the child and his/her family.
(IV) There shall be a school
record.
(V) There shall be
information in the record concerning the child's release. This should include
the date of discharge, the name, address and relationship of the per-son(s)
taking him/her and the circumstances of release.
(VI) The records shall be
confidential.
B. Every
group home shall keep accurate listings of children in care and statistical
reports that give the complete scope of the services provided.
C. All records and reports shall be available
upon request to any authorized licensing agent of the division. Records may be
destroyed three (3) years after the date of the child's discharge.
(F) Care in the Group
Home.
1. Physical care.
A. Responsibility for medical and dental care
shall be negotiated between the placing agency and group facility before
admission of the
child to the group facility.
(I) Provision shall be made for the services
of a qualified physician licensed in the state of Missouri.
(II) Provision shall be made for hospital
care when recommended by a physician.
(III) Provision shall be made for the
correction or treatment for remediation of defects.
(IV) Provision shall be made for a physical
examination, tests or inoculations for each child immediately before admission
and at least annually thereafter. Results of the physical examination shall be
on record in the group home for these children and for any child placed by a
parent agency.
(V) Provision shall
be made for an annual dental examination for each child.
(VI) First-aid equipment shall be readily
available and child care and other staff shall be knowledgeable of its
use.
(VII) Health education and
preventative medical care should be a major part of the health
services.
B. Hygiene. A
routine shall be established to insure good personnel hygiene.
C. Nutrition.
(I) Food of good quality shall be served and
meet Department of Health's standards.
(II) All foods shall be from sources approved
by the Department of Health. All milk shall be pasteurized.
(III) Nourishing between-meal snacks shall be
provided and may be part of the daily food needs.
(IV) A regular meal schedule shall be
established.
(V) At all times food
shall be prepared, served and stored under conditions acceptable to Department
of Health's rules.
D.
Clothing.
(I) Clothing provided to children
shall be of good quality and quantity.
(II) Clothing shall be similar to that worn
by children in average homes in the community.
(III) Children should be allowed to
participate in the selection of their own clothing.
2. Education.
A. The group home shall observe the legal
requirements regarding school attendance and child labor.
B. Educational experience or appropriate
training opportunities or both shall be made available.
3. Moral and religious training. Children
shall be given the opportunity to attend the church of their choice, subject to
parental approval.
4. Discipline.
A. Discipline shall be used in a
constructive, fair and consistent manner.
B. All discipline shall be reasonable and
related to the individual needs of the child.
C. No cruel or unusual forms of punishment
shall be used, for example, no child shall be confined in any dark
spaces.
D. Corporal punishment
shall not be used.
E. Children
shall not be deprived of meals as punishment.
5. Recreation and leisure. The group home
shall provide leisure time activities.
6. Earning and spending money.
A. Children shall be provided with
opportunities for experience in earning or spending money or both based on age
and individual requirements.
B.
Allowances shall be provided when opportunities to earn money are not
available.
(G) Physical Facility.
1. General requirements.
A. The group home shall be in a neighborhood
that is readily accessible to school, recreational, religious and other
community resources.
B. All
buildings and immediate surroundings used in whole or in part as a group home
shall comply with all applicable state and local building, sanitation, zoning,
fire and safety regulations.
C. The
facility shall be of a size to provide living accommodations for all residents,
including separate and comfortable quarters for child care staff. The facility
shall be suitably furnished and equipped.
D. The facility shall be kept in sanitary
condition and good repair.
E. Safe
water supply and sewage facilities shall be provided and shall comply with
Department of Health's requirements.
F. The home shall be effectively safeguarded
against insects and rodents.
G.
Heating, electrical, ventilating and other mechanical systems, home appliances
and outlets shall be designed and maintained so that under normal conditions of
use, danger to the health and safety of the children from that equipment will
be held to a minimum.
H. All rooms
shall be well-lighted and ventilated.
I. There shall be minimum of one (1) toilet
for every four (4) children and one (1) tub or shower for each six (6)
children. Separate bathing and toilet facilities should be provided for boys
and girls where practical. There should also be separate toilet facilities for
child care staff.
J. Dining
facilities shall be provided with space and equipment to serve all
residents.
K. The kitchen shall be
equipped to provide for food preparation, storage and service.
L. A telephone shall be provided with
emergency instructions posted nearby for fire, police and medical
assistance.
M. Written fire drill
procedures should be posted in a conspicuous place. Fire drills shall be held
monthly. Children shall be instructed in the evacuation plan at time of
admission.
2. Sleeping
rooms.
A. Children of different sex shall not
sleep in the same room.
B. All
sleeping rooms shall be outside rooms and shall be above the lowest level of
the ground.
C. Each child shall
have a separate bed with a space of at least three feet (3') on all sides of
the bed except where it touches the wall.
D. Third floor level sleeping quarters shall
be prohibited.
E. Sleeping rooms
shall be so located that night supervision will be available at all
times.
F. Separate, accessible
drawer space for personal belongings and closet space for clothing shall be
available for each child.
(H) Hearing and Judicial Review.
1. Entitlement to a hearing and review. Any
person or organization aggrieved by a final decision of the division with
regard to the license issuance, license revocation or license denial shall be
entitled to a hearing and review by the director or his/her designee.
2. Written notice and request for hearing.
Ten (10) days' written notice, specifying reason for proposed revocation shall
be given an agency before a revocation occurs. If a request for a hearing,
either written or verbal is received within the ten (10)-day period, revocation
shall not occur until the decision of the director is issued.
3. Appeal of administrative decision. Any
agency wishing to appeal the administrative decision of the director shall be
entitled to judicial review as provided in Chapter 536, RSMo.