Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) Program staff
shall:
(1) Relate with residents in a
professional, respectful manner; and
(2) Have the ability to identify the needs
and problems of the children and possess skill in planning and implementing
services of the program.
(b) The program director or designee shall,
for each staff person who is responsible for the care, supervision, or
treatment of residents, have on file available for review by the department
documentation of job qualifications such as:
(1) All required education, such as a
diploma, transcripts, certificates, or degrees; and
(2) All required training and experience, as
set forth on an application form or resume.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the
field of human services shall include residential care, education, social work,
mental health, law enforcement, psychology, sociology, pastoral counseling,
theology, juvenile justice, medical services, corrections, substance abuse,
social services, recreation, or a related field.
(d) The department shall accept the following
education and training for program staff:
(1)
Credit courses in human services, offered by a regionally accredited college or
university, toward meeting pre-service and in-service training
requirements;
(2) Non-credit
courses in human services, which are offered by a regionally accredited college
or university, toward meeting pre-service and in-service training requirements
at a ratio of 12 contact hours equal one credit; and
(3) Conference sessions, workshops,
non-credit correspondence courses or other non-credit distance learning courses
related to human services, that are open to individuals working in the
residential child care field or to the public or both, and are presented by an
instructor who has at least a bachelor's degree in human services or the
subject area in which he or she is teaching, at a ratio of 12 contact hours
equals one credit.
(e)
The program director shall meet at least one of the following pre-service
training and education options:
(1) A
master's degree in the field of human services, business administration, or
public administration, awarded by a regionally accredited college or
university, plus 2 years of experiences as a professional in human services,
which included administrative responsibilities; or
(2) A bachelor's degree with a minimum of 12
credits in the field of human services, business administration, or public
administration, awarded by a regionally accredited college or university, plus
3 years of experience as a professional in human services, which included
administrative responsibilities.
(f) Direct care staff shall be at least 21
years of age, have a high school diploma, high school equivalency certificate,
or general equivalency diploma, and meet one of the following pre-service
training and education requirements:
(1) An
associate's or higher degree with a minimum of 12 credits in the field of human
services, or other field related to residential care, awarded by a regionally
accredited college or university;
(2) The equivalent of 2 years of full-time
experience working with children, either as a paid employee or
volunteer;
(3) Any combination of
college credits in human services and experience with children that total 2
years, as follows:
a. Two years of full-time
college shall equal 60 credits;
b.
Two years of full-time employment shall equal 3000 hours; and
c. One credit shall equal 50 hours of
experience; or
(4)
Documentation of 7 years of parenting experience.
(g) When an applicant for a direct care staff
member does not meet one of the provisions in (f) above:
(1) An agreement shall be on file, signed,
and dated by the individual and the program director or designee, which
includes a written plan for:
a. Attaining 12
credits in human services within 2 years from the date that the individual
begins working as a direct care staff, with documentation on file of the
completion of 3 credits every 6 months, beginning on the date of
hire;
b. How the program will
supervise the individual while they are working on acquiring the required 12
credits; and
c. Maintaining current
documentation of earned credits on file in the individual's personnel file;
and
(2) No more than 30%
of staff shall be hired under the provisions of (g)(1)a. above.
(h) A child care assistant,
intern, or volunteer shall:
(1) Be at least 18
years of age;
(2) Work at all times
under the supervision of an on-duty staff person who meets at least the minimum
qualifications for the position of direct care staff;
(3) Not be responsible for the care or
supervision of residents including treatment, discipline, physical
intervention, counseling, or administration of medication; and
(4) Not be included in the staff to child
ratio.
(i) Supervision
as referenced in (h) above shall require that a staff person who meets at least
the minimum qualifications of direct care staff shall at all times have:
(1) Knowledge of and accountability for the
activity and whereabouts of the child care interns, child care assistants, or
volunteers and the residents with whom he or she is working; or
(2) The ability to either see or hear the
child care intern, child care assistant, or volunteer and the residents with
whom he or she is working.
(j) The exception to (i) above shall be that
the program director or designee may at his or her discretion, authorize a
specific child care assistant, intern, or volunteer to be responsible for one
or more residents during time limited, specific activities, either indoors or
outdoors, including off premises.
(k) Prior to having contact with residents or
food, personnel shall receive a tour of and orientation to the program that
includes the following:
(1) The program's
complaint procedures;
(2) The
duties and responsibilities of the position;
(3) The medical emergency
procedures;
(4) The emergency and
evacuation procedures;
(5) The
infection control procedures;
(6)
The program confidentiality requirements;
(7) Grievance procedures for both staff and
residents;
(8) The procedures for
food safety for personnel involved in preparation, serving, and storing of
food, as applicable;
(9) The
policies required in
He-C
4001.14(a); and
(10) The mandatory reporting requirements
including
RSA
161-F:46 and
RSA
169-C:29.
(l) No new direct care staff shall be solely
responsible for residents in care until he or she has completed the orientation
required above.
(m) The licensee
shall provide all personnel with an annual continuing education or in-service
education training, which at a minimum contains the following:
(1) The licensee's infection control program;
(2) The licensee's written
emergency plan;
(3) The licensee's
policies and procedures; and
(4)
The mandatory reporting requirements including
RSA
161-F:46 and
RSA
169-C:29.
(n) The licensee shall:
(1) Educate personnel about the needs and
services required by the residents under their care and document such education
to include demonstrated competencies; and
(2) Ensure that all personnel have received
the training necessary to be qualified personnel to include demonstrated
competency in the training given with documentation maintained in the employee
personnel file.
(o)
Personnel and staff shall not:
(1) Be
impaired while on the job by any substances including, but not limited to,
legally prescribed medication, therapeutic cannabis, alcohol, or illegal drugs;
or
(2) Expose residents to
tobacco, alcohol, or illegal drugs or controlled substances.
#2664, eff 3-30-84, EXPIRED: 3-30-90
New. #8581, eff 4-20-06,
EXPIRED: 4-20-06
New. #10576, INTERIM, eff
4-26-14, EXPIRES: 10-23-14
