For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
"Assistant Commissioner" means the Assistant Commissioner of the Division
of Developmental Disabilities.
"Authorizing personnel" means a person designated by the chief executive
officer, regional administrator, or executive director to order or authorize mechanical restraints, who meets
or exceeds the requirements of a qualified intellectual disabilities professional, and has completed the
training requirements of 10:42-3.2.
"Behavior Policy Review Committee" means a group of professionals with
clinical expertise in behavior management that are appointed by the Assistant Commissioner to review and
approve policy and procedure.
"Behavior support committee" means a group of professionals with clinical
expertise within the Division component or provider that reviews behavior support plans and determines
whether plans are clinically and technically appropriate. These committees act as an advisory body to the
chief executive officer, regional administrator, or executive director.
"Behavior support plan" means a comprehensive, individualized, procedural
plan of specific actions to be taken in advance of and/or subsequent to the occurrence of a target behavior,
the purpose of which is to modify the frequency, duration, and/or intensity of the target behavior,
facilitate alternative positive behaviors, and, as needed, to identify safety mechanisms to be utilized to
protect the individual and others from harm.
"Chief executive officer" (CEO) means the person having administrative
authority over, and responsibility for, a State-operated developmental center or a private licensed facility
for persons with developmental disabilities under N.J.A.C. 10:47.
"Continual observation" means that the person in mechanical restraint can
be seen by a staff member who is present in the room at all times.
"Department" means the Department of Human Services.
"Division" means the Division of Developmental Disabilities.
"Emergency procedures" means the brief use of procedures to control
severely aggressive or destructive behaviors that place the individual or others in imminent danger or
physical harm.
"Executive director" means the individual with administrative authority
over a residential program licensed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 10:44A, Standards for Community Residences
for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities, 10:44C, Standards for Community Residences for Persons with
Head Injuries, and 10:47, Standards for Private Licensed Facilities for Persons with Developmental
Disabilities; or an agency under contract with or regulated by the Division.
"Highly restrictive mechanical restraint" means a type of mechanical
restraint whose use is considered to be intrusive, and can restrict circulation, breathing, or render an
individual vulnerable to other persons in the immediate area.
"Human rights committee" (HRC) means a group comprised of professionals,
individuals served, advocates, and/or interested individuals from the community at large who function as an
advisory body to the chief executive officer, executive director, or regional administrator on issues
directly or indirectly affecting the rights of individuals served by the Division, in accordance with
N.J.A.C. 10:41A.
"Individual Habilitation Plan" (IHP) (see
30:6D-10 et seq.) means a written plan of intervention and
action that is developed by the interdisciplinary team. It specifies both the prioritized goals and
objectives being pursued by each individual and the steps being taken to achieve them. It may identify a
continuum of skill development that outlines progressive steps and the anticipated outcomes of services. The
IHP is a single plan that encompasses all relevant components, such as an education plan, a behavior
modification plan, a program plan, a rehabilitation plan, a treatment plan and a health care plan. The
complexity of the IHP will vary according to the needs, capabilities and desires of the person. In most
instances, the IHP shall address all major needs identified. The major needs shall be prioritized. For an
individual who makes only specific service requests, the IHP shall be a service plan which addresses only
those specific requests.
"Informed consent" means a formal expression, oral or written, of
agreement with a proposed course of action by an individual who has the capacity, the information, and the
ability to render voluntary agreement on his or her own behalf or by someone with legal authority to act on
another's behalf.
"Interdisciplinary Team" (IDT) means an individually constituted group
responsible for the development of a single, integrated service plan. The team shall consist of the
individual receiving services; the legal guardian, the parents or family member (if the adult desires that
the parent or family member be present); those persons who work most directly with the individual served; and
professionals and representatives of service areas who are relevant to the identification of the individual's
needs and the design and evaluation of programs to meet them.
"Mechanical restraint" means a device utilized by staff to intervene when
a behavior will likely endanger the health or safety of the individual or others and less restrictive
techniques have proved ineffective or not feasible. The device is attached to or adjacent to an individual's
body and restricts partial or total freedom of movement or normal access to portions of the individual's
body. The use of totally enclosed beds, papoose boards, and standing boxes shall be prohibited as a
mechanical restraint.
"Physical distress" means the individual is exhibiting one or more of the
following: difficulty breathing; choking; vomiting; bleeding; fainting; unconsciousness; discoloration;
swelling at points of restraint; appearance of pain; cold extremities or similar manifestations.
"Qualified intellectual disabilities professional (QIDP)" means a person
who meets no less than the qualifications as required by 42 CFR Subpart I, Section 483.430.
"Qualified mental retardation professional" (QMRP) means a person who has
at least one year of experience in working with persons with developmental disabilities and is one of the
following:
1. A doctor of medicine or osteopathy;
2. A registered nurse;
3. A professional program staff person who is licensed, certified or
registered, as applicable. If the professional program staff do not fall under the jurisdiction of State
licensure, certification or registration requirements, he or she shall meet the following
qualifications:
i. To be designated as an occupational therapist, an individual shall be
eligible for certification as an occupational therapist by the American Occupational Therapy Association or
another comparable body;
ii. To be eligible as an occupational therapy assistant, an individual
shall be eligible for certification as a certified occupational therapy assistant by the American
Occupational Therapy Association or other comparable body;
iii. To be eligible as a physical therapist, the individual shall be
eligible for certification as a physical therapist by the American Physical Therapy Association or other
comparable body.
iv. To be eligible as a physical therapy assistant, an individual shall
be eligible for registration by the American Physical Therapy Association or be a graduate of a two-year
college level program approved by the American Physical Therapy Association or other comparable body;
v. To be designated as a psychologist, an individual shall have at least
a master's degree in psychology from an accredited school;
vi. To be designated as a social worker, an individual shall:
(1) Hold a graduate degree from a school of social work accredited or
approved by the Council on Social Work Education or another comparable body; or
(2) Hold a Bachelor of Social Work degree from a college or university
accredited or approved by the Council on Social Work Education or another comparable body;
vii. To be designated as a speech language pathologist or audiologist, an
individual shall:
(1) Be eligible for a certificate of clinical competence in speech
language pathology or audiology granted by the American Speech Language Hearing Association or other
comparable body; or
(2) Meet the educational requirements for certification and be in the
process of accumulating the supervised experience required for certification;
viii. To be designated as a professional recreation staff, an individual
shall have a bachelor degree in recreation or in a specialty area such as art, dance, music or physical
education;
ix. To be designated as a professional dietician or nutritionist, an
individual shall be eligible for registration by the American Dietetics Association;
x. To be designated as a human services professional, an individual shall
have at least a bachelor degree in a human services field, including, but not limited to, sociology, special
education, rehabilitation, counselling or psychology.
"Regional administrator" means the person having administrative authority
and responsibility over a region of community services.
"Safeguarding equipment" means devices that restrict movement used to
provide support for the achievement of functional body position or proper balance; devices used for specific
medical, dental, or surgical treatment; and devices to protect the individual from symptoms of existing
medical conditions, including, but not limited to, seizures and ataxia.
"Service plan" means a written, individualized habilitation plan,
consistent with the requirements of 30:6D-10 through 12, developed by the IDT. It is an
outcome-based planning tool that, at a minimum, identifies each individualized program, support, and/or
service requested by and provided to the individual, for which the individual demonstrates a need. It
identifies the person and/or provider responsible for its implementation. The complexity of the service plan
will vary according to the individual's interests, preferences, and needs. The service plan format must be
Division approved.
"Unusual incident" means an event involving an individual served by the
Division or employee of the Division or an agency under contract with or regulated by the Division, involving
indications or allegations of criminal actions, injury, negligence, exploitation, abuse, clinical
mismanagement or medical malpractice; a major unforeseen event, for example, serious fire, explosion, power
failure, that presents a significant danger to the safety or well being of individuals served and/or
employees; or a newsworthy incident. In this chapter, the term "incident" shall refer to an unusual
incident.
