Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
The facility administrator, in cooperation with the responsible physician, shall develop and implement written policies and procedures for the use of force, which may include chemical agents. Force shall never be applied as punishment, discipline, retaliation or treatment.
(a) At a minimum, each facility shall develop policies and procedures which:
(1) restricts the use of force to that which is deemed reasonable and necessary, as defined in Section 1302 to ensure the safety and security of youth, staff, others and the facility.
(2) outline the force options available to staff including both physical and non-physical options and define when those force options are appropriate.
(3) describe force options or techniques that are expressly prohibited by the facility.
(4) describe the requirements of staff to report any inappropriate use of force, and to take affirmative action to immediately stop it.
(5) define a standardized reporting format that includes time period and procedure for documenting and reporting the use of force, including reporting requirements of management and line staff and procedures for reviewing and tracking use of force incidents by supervisory and or management staff, which include procedures for debriefing a particular incident with staff and/or youth for the purposes of training as well as mitigating the effects of trauma that may have been experienced by staff and/or the youth involved.
(6) Include an administrative review and a system for investigating unreasonable use of force.
(7) define the role, notification, and follow-up procedures required after use of force incidents for medical, mental health staff and parents or legal guardians.
(8) describe the limitations of use of force on pregnant youth in accordance with Penal Code Section 6030(f) and Welfare and Institutions Code Section 222.
(b) Facilities that authorize chemical agents as a force option shall include policies and procedures that:
(1) identify who is approved to carry and/or utilize chemical agents in the facility and the type, size and the approved method of deployment for those chemical agents.
(2) mandate that chemical agents only be used when there is an imminent threat to the youth's safety or the safety of others and only when de-escalation efforts have been unsuccessful or are not reasonably possible.
(3) outline the facility's approved methods and timelines for decontamination from chemical agents. This shall include that youth who have been exposed to chemical agents shall not be left unattended until that youth is fully decontaminated or is no longer suffering the effects of the chemical agent.
(4) define the role, notification, and follow-up procedures required after use of force incidents involving chemical agents for medical, mental health staff and parents or legal guardians.
(5) provide for the documentation of each incident of use of chemical agents, including the reasons for which it was used, efforts to de-escalate prior to use, youth and staff involved, the date, time and location of use, decontamination procedures applied and identification of any injuries sustained as a result of such use.
(c) Facilities shall develop policies and procedure which require that agencies provide initial and regular training in use of force and chemical agents when appropriate that address:
(1) known medical and behavioral health conditions that would contraindicate certain types of force;
(2) acceptable chemical agents and the methods of application.
(3) signs or symptoms that should result in immediate referral to medical or behavioral health.
(4) instruction on the Constitutional Limitations of Use of Force.
(5) physical training force options that may require the use of perishable skills.
(6) timelines the facility uses to define regular training.
1. New section filed 3-6-97; operative 4-5-97 (Register 97, No. 10).
2. Amendment of subsection (a)(1) filed 1-11-2001; operative 2-10-2001 (Register 2001, No. 2).
3. Amendment of subsection (a)(4) filed 6-23-2003; operative 7-23-2003 (Register 2003, No. 26).
4. Amendment of subsections (a)(1), (a)(3)-(4) and (b) filed 6-18-2007; operative 7-18-2007 (Register 2007, No. 25).
5. Amendment of subsection (b)(1), new subsection (b)(2) and subsection renumbering filed 5-23-2008 as an emergency; operative 5-23-2008 (Register 2008, No. 21). Pursuant to Penal Code section 5058.3, a Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-30-2008 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
6. Certificate of Compliance as to 5-23-2008 order transmitted to OAL 9-10-2008 and filed 10-23-2008 (Register 2008, No. 43).
7. Amendment of first paragraph and subsections (a)(1), (a)(4) and (b)(2) filed 12-2-2013; operative 4-1-2014 (Register 2013, No. 49).
8. Amendment filed 11-14-2018; operative 1-1-2019 (Register 2018, No. 46).
Note: Authority cited: Sections 210 and 885, Welfare and Institutions Code. Reference: Section 6030(f), Penal Code; and Section 222, Welfare and Institutions Code.
