N.J. Admin. Code § 3A:55-6.1 - Treatment plan for children in residential child care facilities

(a) The facility shall develop, implement and maintain on file a written individual treatment plan for each child. The plan shall delineate how to meet that child's needs and to remediate the problems and behavior in order to assist the child in completing the program.

(b) The facility shall form a treatment team that is responsible for the development of a treatment plan for each child. The treatment team shall consist of each of the following:

1. Staff members representing the clinical and social work components;

2. Staff members representing the child care component;

3. Staff members representing the administration of the facility, if necessary;

4. Representatives from the child's responsible school district and/or current school district, if necessary;

5. The placing agency's representative; and

6. The child's parent(s), unless there is an explicit legal or medical basis to exclude them.

(c) The facility shall document in the child's record that the placing agency's representative, the child's therapist, the parents, the child's responsible school district staff, and physician or nurse, if appropriate, were invited to participate as members of the treatment team and assist in the development of the treatment plan and all subsequent revisions.

(d) The treatment team shall:

1. Develop a treatment plan for each child within 30 calendar days following his or her admission;

2. Review and revise it as needed within three months after the 30-day treatment plan; and

3. Review and revise it as needed at least every six months thereafter.

(e) The treatment plan shall include the following information:

1. The name of the child;

2. The date of the child's admission;

3. The date when the plan is developed or revised;

4. The names and titles of all persons attending the development or review meeting;

5. The child's social, familial, emotional, behavioral, and academic strengths and weaknesses;

6. A statement of who can and cannot visit the child (if applicable), and the reason(s) why;

7. Specific treatment goals and measurable objectives in each program area and projected time frames for completing each goal and objective;

8. The name of the staff member responsible for the implementation of techniques to be used to achieve each treatment goal and objective;

9. The techniques to be used to achieve each treatment goal and objective;

10. Criteria to be used to determine whether each treatment goal is achieved;

11. A notation of progress made from the previous plan;

12. Documentation of efforts to achieve timely discharge, including, but not limited to, services needed by parents or other persons to whom the child will be discharged; and

13. For children who are 14 years of age or older, how the child is being prepared for self-sufficiency. This information may be documented in the child's individual education plan (I.E.P.). The documentation shall include, but not be limited to, instruction in:

i. Food preparation;

ii. Budgeting and money management; and

iii. Vocational planning and employment search efforts.

(f) The treatment plan for children who have a history of complex behavioral or mental health needs shall include the following information:

1. The name of the child;

2. The date of the child's admission;

3. The date when the plan is developed or revised;

4. The names and titles of all persons either having input or attending the development or review meeting;

5. The child's social, familial, emotional, medical, behavioral, and academic strengths and weaknesses;

6. A statement of who can and cannot visit the child and the reasons, including references to any court orders, if applicable, and any plan for supervised visits;

7. Specific treatment goals and measurable objectives that address the child's inappropriate sexual behavior, physically assaultive behavior, fire setting behavior, complex emotional behavior and mental health needs, and projected time frames for completing each goal and objective. The treatment goals shall also include:

i. Individual therapy sessions for the children as indicated by the clinician(s); and

ii. Group therapy sessions for the children as indicated by the clinician(s);

8. In addition to (f)7 above, specific treatment goals and measurable objectives in each program area and projected time frames for completing each treatment goal and objective;

9. Persons responsible for the implementation of techniques to be used to achieve each treatment goal and objective;

10. The techniques to be used to achieve each treatment goal and objective;

11. Criteria to be used to determine whether each treatment goal is achieved;

12. A notation of progress made from the previous plan;

13. Documentation of efforts to achieve a timely discharge, including, but not limited to, services needed by parents or other persons to whom the child will be discharged;

14. For children who have a history of sexual offenses, documentation that the child was registered in accordance with appropriate community notification laws, if applicable;

15. For children who have a history of sexual offenses, physically assaultive behavior, or fire setting, documentation of the involvement of the child's probation or parole officer, if appropriate; and

16. For children who are 14 years of age or older, documentation of how the child is being prepared for self-sufficiency, including documentation of instruction in:

i. Food preparation;

ii. Budgeting and money management; and

iii. Vocational planning and employment search efforts.

(g) The facility shall send the placing agency a copy of the treatment plan and any revisions to it within 30 calendar days after the treatment planning meeting and retain a copy of the plan in the child's record for at least four years after the child's discharge.

(h) The facility shall ensure that the child's treatment plan and any revisions to it are explained to the child, his or her parents, and all staff members responsible for the plan's implementation. If the facility does not explain the child's treatment plan to the child's parents, the facility shall document in the child's case record the reasons why the plan was not explained to the parents.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 3A:55-6.1

Administrative Change, 49 N.J.R. 98a. Amended by 50 N.J.R. 285(a), effective 1/16/2018