Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 3, March 1, 2024
An outdoor youth program must comply with all of the following
requirements:
(1) Written policies,
procedures, and training curriculum. An outdoor youth program must have written
policies, procedures, and training curriculum regarding minimum requirements
for orientation, field training, and ongoing training.
(2) Orientation. Each employee must complete
orientation before having any contact with children in care or prospective
children in care. The orientation training must include at a minimum:
(a) Outdoor youth program mission and goals,
including admissions criteria and services provided.
(b) Personnel structure of the outdoor youth
program, including an organizational chart and job descriptions which
accurately reflect the responsibilities of staff positions involved in the care
and management of children in care, and the management and supervision of field
staff;
(c) Overview of the quality
improvement program, including the critical incident program;
(d) Risk management procedures and safety
precautions;
(e) Instruction in
discipline and behavior management policies and procedures of the outdoor youth
program, including de-escalation and the use of physical restraint, if
applicable;
(f) Instruction in
physical assist policies and procedures of the outdoor youth program;
(g) Review and discussion of all other
policies relevant to field staff responsibilities, such as clothing, nutrition,
vehicle use, communication methods, cooking and camping equipment, and their
use; and
(h) Emergency
plan.
(3) Field training.
Each field staff must receive a minimum of seven days of field training and
must be assessed by the field director or designee for each of the following
minimum required field skills before assuming sole supervision of children in
care:
(a) Water, food, and shelter
procurement, preparation, and conservation.
(b) "Leave No Trace Principles" for outdoor
youth program activity. For purposes of this rule, "Leave No Trace Principles"
mean wilderness and land use ethics which are designed to minimize the impact
of visitors to back country areas. The principles include: Plan Ahead and
Prepare, Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces; Pack it in, Pack it Out; Properly
Dispose What You Can't Pack Out; Leave What You Find; and Minimize Use and
Impact of Fire.
(c) Recognition and
management of the presenting issues of the children in care served, including
mental health and substance abuse issues.
(d) Instruction in safety procedures and safe
use of fuel, fire, and life protection equipment.
(e) Sanitation procedures related to food,
water, and waste.
(f) Special
instruction to ensure proficiency in each specific outdoor youth program
activity for staff who conduct and staff who supervise an outdoor youth program
activity.
(g) Wilderness medicine,
including health issues related, but not limited to:
(A) Acclimation.
(B) Exposure to the environment and
environmental elements.
(C) Signs,
symptoms, and treatment of water intoxication and dehydration.
(D) Foot blisters.
(E) Diarrhea.
(F) Recognizing differences between symptoms
of a health concern and behavioral issues.
(G) Bites and Stings.
(H) Allergic reactions.
(I) Gender specific health issues.
(h) First aid kit contents and
use.
(i) Basic navigation skills
including understanding of contour maps, use of compass, and navigation using
the positions of sun, moon, and stars to determine direction.
(j) Local environmental precautions,
including terrain, weather, insects, poisonous plants, wildlife, and proper
response to adverse situations.
(k)
Critical incident prevention, identification, and response.
(l) Knowledge of and ability to implement the
emergency plan of the outdoor youth program.
(m) Report writing, including development and
maintenance of logs, journals, and incident reports.
(n) Other skills as required by the outdoor
youth program.
(4) Sole
supervision. No staff member of an outdoor youth program may provide sole
supervision of program children in care prior to:-
(a) Successful completion of orientation and
field training; and
(b) Documented
assessment by a senior field staff member of:
(A) Effective understanding of the
supervision structure of the outdoor youth program, who is responsible, and to
whom staff can refer questions or problems; and
(B) Understanding, knowledge, and compliance
with the behavior management policies of the outdoor youth program.
(5) Ongoing training. An
outdoor youth program must provide ongoing training for field staff to maintain
and upgrade their skills.
(6)
Documentation of training. An outdoor youth program must document the training
received by each staff member and volunteer in their personnel file. For each
training session, the documentation shall include the name and qualifications
of the person providing the training, date of training, training content, and
the number of hours of the training.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
418.005
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
418.990 - 418.998 & ORS
418.205 -
418.325
