Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 18, 2025
(1)
Casework Services. All
children in care and families of children in care shall receive case work
services as provided in their comprehensive service plan from their assigned
HSP or other appropriate professionals (internal and external of the center)
who shall meet with and counsel with the children. The results of such
counseling shall be recorded in the children's case records. The purposes of
such services are to identify and monitor the children's and families' progress
relative to the needs, goals and objectives identified in child care
assessments and service plans and to discuss any problems being encountered by
or with the children in care.
(2)
Health Services. The center shall provide for a comprehensive
program of services to meet the health care needs and medical support needs for
the child, as well as preventive, routine, and emergency medical and dental
care for all children.
(a) Medications. The
center shall develop and implement policies and procedures for the use and
management of all types of medications. All direct care staff shall receive
orientation on the policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures shall
include the following:
1. Non-prescription
medications. The center shall designate appropriate staff to dispense non
prescription medications. No child shall be given a non-prescription medication
by staff members of the center unless the child exhibits symptoms that the
medication is designed to relieve.
2. Prescription medications. No child shall
be given a prescription medication unless the medication is prescribed for the
child by an authorized health care professional.
(i) Prescription medications shall only be
given to a child at the center by an RN, parent, guardian, custodian or person
standing in loco parentis as ordered in the child's prescription. A center
shall not permit such medications prescribed for one child to be given to any
other child.
(ii) A child's
attending physician shall be notified in cases of dosage errors, drug
reactions, or if the prescription medication does not appear to be
effective.
3. A center
shall maintain a record of all medications handed out by authorized staff and
taken by children to include: name of child taking medication, name of
prescribing physician and date of prescription (if the medication is
prescription or psychotropic), required dosage, date and time taken, dosage
taken, and name and signature of staff member that handed out and supervised
the taking of the medication.
4.
All prescription and non-prescription medications shall be kept in a locked
storage cabinet or container which is not accessible to the children and stored
separate from cleaning chemicals and supplies or poisons. The keys to the
locked cabinets or containers shall not be accessible to residents.
5. All expired medications shall be discarded
and not handed out for use.
(b) Infection Control. The center shall
employ appropriate universal precautions and isolation techniques to ensure
that underlying medical conditions are not exacerbated or infections not
transmitted to others where required by the medical condition of the
child.
(c) First Aid Supplies. Each
living unit shall have at a minimum a first aid kit and instruction manual;
such kit shall contain scissors, tweezers, gauze pads, adhesive tape,
thermometer, assorted band-aids, antiseptic cleaning solution, and
bandages.
(d) Equipment.
1. All specialized equipment and supplies
necessary to meet the needs of the children shall be available at the center
and maintained in clean and working order with all inspections and repairs
documented.
2. The center must have
an operable emergency generator appropriate to meet the needs of children in
care.
(3)
Educational and Vocational Services. A center shall not admit a
child unless an educational program commensurate with the specific educational
and vocational needs of the child can be provided.
(a) Provisions shall be made for mandatory
education of all children in care in accordance with O.C.G.A.
20-2-690
et seq.
or its successor statute. For purposes of these rules, an on-campus school is
defined as a private school, and must be in compliance with the above
law.
(b) A child's assigned HSP
shall monitor the child's educational or vocational progress in the course of
providing case work services and planning. Progress reports, such as report
cards, and other records or documentation of a child's educational or
vocational performance while residing in the center shall be maintained in the
child's case record.
(c) Children
attending public schools who wish to participate in extracurricular activities
shall be provided such reasonable opportunities by the center in accordance
with the child's comprehensive service plan.
(d) Children's daily activities as stated in
their service plans shall provide for study time during the periods the
children are attending school.
(4)
Recreation and Leisure. The
center shall provide for a program of indoor and outdoor recreational and
leisure activities. When providing these activities, it shall utilize the
community's cultural, social, and recreational resources whenever possible and
appropriate. Children's activities as stated in their service plans shall
provide for leisure and recreational time. A center shall procure and maintain
a variety of recreational and leisure equipment and supplies such as games,
sporting equipment, reading materials, and art supplies.
(5)
Other Services.
(a) The center shall make arrangements to
provide all children with adequate, properly fitting, seasonable clothing as
required for health, comfort and physical well-being. Clothes shall be
appropriate to age, gender, and individual needs.
(b) Daily routines of children shall provide
for appropriate personal care, hygiene, and grooming commensurate with age,
gender, and cultural heritage. All necessary toiletry items and supplies, such
as soap, shampoo, hair brushes, tooth brushes and paste, deodorant, and bath
towels, shall be provided.
(c)
Children shall not be considered substitutes for employed staff and shall not
be held responsible for the accomplishments of any work activity of the center
such as food preparation, laundering, housekeeping, or center maintenance
beyond that which is identified as a learning need in the comprehensive service
plan.
(d) Children shall not be
used for the purposes of soliciting funds for the center, nor shall children be
used in connection with any advertisement or publicity without the consent of
the child and the parent(s) or guardian(s).
(e) Children shall be permitted to
participate in religious and cultural activities in accordance with their
cultural and ethnic heritage.
O.C.G.A. Secs.
20-2-690.1,
49-5-3,
49-5-8,
49-5-12.
