Current through August 30, 2024
(a) In order to be approved as specializing
in emergency shelter care for runaway children, a residential child care
facility must meet the requirements of
7 AAC 50.610 and this section. A facility may not advertise
or represent that it specializes in serving runaway children without a
specialization in emergency shelter care for runaway children approved by the
department.
(b) Upon a runaway
child's admission to a facility the facility shall
(1) immediately inform the child seeking
assistance of the child's legal rights and responsibilities under
AS
47.10.141-47.10.142
and
AS
47.10.300-47.10.399 and of
services and assistance available for runaway children from the facility and
from governmental and community sources;
(2) attempt to determine why the child is a
runaway;
(3) notify the child's
parent of the child's physical and emotional condition and the circumstances
surrounding the child's admission to the facility as soon as possible, but not
later than 48 hours after admission, unless
(A) the facility is notified that the
department or the child's placement worker, if any, has already done
so;
(B) there is reason to believe
that the child has been physically or sexually abused by the child's parent and
the department is notified immediately;
(C) there is reason to believe that notifying
the child's parent would endanger the life or safety of the child or another
person in the facility and the department is notified immediately; or
(D) the child will not divulge the name of
the child's parent or the parent cannot be reached after a good faith effort
and the department is notified within 48 hours;
(4) notify the department, within 24 hours,
of the whereabouts of a child who has been reported by the department to be in
state custody or for whom the facility knows there is a court order for the
department or a law enforcement agency to take custody of the child;
and
(5) obtain, within 48 hours,
the consent of the department for a child in state custody to remain in
residence at the facility.
(c) A facility must have a program of care
for serving runaway children that includes
(1) establishing reunification of a runaway
child with the child's family as a primary goal, except when reunification is
clearly contrary to the best interests of the child;
(2) offering family mediation services within
the first week of the child's residency, unless clearly not
appropriate;
(3) assisting a
runaway child to consider the child's legal rights and responsibilities,
options, and access to services;
(4) determining why a child is a
runaway;
(5) identifying a child
for whom reunification is not an appropriate goal, and working with the
department to develop plans to provide for the care and safety of the
child;
(6) looking for symptoms of
child abuse or neglect, and immediately reporting suspected cases of child
abuse or neglect to the department;
(7) identifying the symptoms of alcohol and
drug abuse or dependence, and making referrals of a child that has those
symptoms to treatment resources;
(8) providing or assisting in arranging for
necessary services for the child, including food, shelter, clothing, medical
care, and individual and family counseling; and
(9) providing or arranging for visitation and
other forms of communication by the child with the child's family and
significant others.
(d)
In order to promote reunification of a runaway child with the child's family, a
facility may not normally provide shelter for a runaway child for a period
exceeding two weeks during the child's stay at the facility.
(e) For a child, including a child in state
custody, that is expected to remain in the facility for no more than 45 days,
the facility shall, within 10 days of the child's admission, complete an
assessment of the child and the child's circumstances that
(1) includes observations of the child while
in the facility;
(2) is based in
part on a meeting of staff, the child, the child's parent, and other concerned
individuals, as available;
(3)
includes a review of any materials about the child that the facility has
received and the child's health information; and
(4) includes a review of the
(A) reasons for the child's admission to the
facility and the child's circumstances at the time of admission;
(B) child's significant history, including
education, health, and professional evaluations; and
(C) child's family circumstances, including
the needs and strengths of the family and the likelihood of successful
reunification.
(f) Upon completion of the assessment
required by (e) of this section, the facility shall prepare a plan of care
based on the assessment that includes
(1) the
findings of the assessment;
(2) the
goals to be achieved or worked toward for the child and the child's family,
including reunification with the family or development of an alternative
plan;
(3) a strategy for fostering
positive family relationships for the child and the child's family, regardless
of whether reunification is the goal of the plan;
(4) a description of the services to be
provided by the facility, by the child's parents or agency having custody, from
other community resources, and by the department;
(5) plans for family mediation or family
involvement, as appropriate;
(6)
plans for religious and cultural participation, as appropriate;
(7) plans for education, as appropriate;
and
(8) a discharge plan that
includes the anticipated date of discharge and the person or agency to whom the
child is expected to be discharged, if any.
(g) For a child that is expected to reside in
a facility for more than 45 days, the facility shall enter into an agreement
between the facility and the parent of the child. The agreement must contain
the elements of an agreement specified in
7 AAC 50.320(f).
(h) A facility shall discharge a runaway
child
(1) after 45 days if the facility has
not obtained written consent from the child's parent for the child's residence
at the facility for a period exceeding 45 days, unless the child has been
placed in state custody;
(2) after
90 days if the facility has not obtained written consent from child's parent or
the department for the child's continued residence at the facility for a period
exceeding 90 days.
(i) A
facility
(1) shall make a good faith effort
to reunite a child in care with the child's family, when appropriate;
(2) if reuniting the child with the child's
family is not appropriate, shall attempt to find a safe place for the child to
stay with a responsible adult;
(3)
may discharge a child age 16 or older care to the child's self, when necessary
and appropriate; and
(4) shall
report a proposed discharge of a runaway child to the child's parent, to the
child's placement worker, and to the department at least 12 hours before the
discharge if the discharge is to be made to the child's self or to the custody
of a person other than the child's parent.
(j) A facility that receives state money in
an amount that exceeds one-fourth of the program's costs shall install devices
such as door and window alarms to establish the entire facility as semi-secure.
In addition,
(1) the devices and installation
must meet the approval of the fire safety authority to ensure egress;
and
(2) selection and installation
of a device may not impede adequate ventilation.
Authority:AS
44.29.020
AS
47.05.060
AS
47.10.300
AS
47.10.320
AS
47.10.392
AS
47.32.030
