Connecticut Administrative Code › Title 17a - Social and Human Services and Resources › 227 - Licensing of Community Living Arrangements, Residential Schools and Habilitative Nursing Facilities › Section 17a-227-1 - Definitions

Current through July 10, 2024
For the purpose of Sections 17a-227-1 through
				17a-227-22,
				inclusive, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) "Administrator" means the person
			 responsible for the overall management, operation and provision of services
			 within the licensed residence.
(b)
			 "Admission" means the formal acceptance and entrance of an individual into the
			 residence under the auspices of the interdisciplinary team responsible for the
			 individual's service planning.
(c)
			 "Aversive procedure" means the planned use of an event which may be unpleasant,
			 noxious, or otherwise cause discomfort, to alter the occurrence of a specific
			 behavior or to protect an individual from injuring himself or others. These
			 procedures include the use of physical isolation and mechanical and physical
			 restraint.
(d) "Behavior modifying
			 medications" means any chemical agent used for the direct effect it exerts upon
			 the central nervous system to modify thoughts, feelings, mental activities,
			 mood or performance. These chemical agents or psychotropic medications are
			 often broken down into the following categories: antipsychotics,
			 antidepressants, antimanics, antianxiety agents, stimulants and
			 sedative/hypnotics. Medications which are not usually described as
			 psychotropics are covered by these regulations when they are prescribed
			 primarily for their psychotropic effects such as mood stabilization and impulse
			 control. These medications include certain anticonvulsants, some beta-blockers
			 and certain other drugs.
(e)
			 "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of mental
			 retardation.
(f) "Community living
			 arrangement" means a residential facility in which the licensee provides
			 residential services to 15 or fewer individuals with mental
			 retardation.
(g) "Department" means
			 the department of mental retardation.
(h) "Direct contact personnel" means those
			 people hired by the licensee, including relief or temporary employees, whose
			 primary job description and focus is to provide support to individuals in
			 acquiring and maintaining life skills.
(i) "Emergency" means a critical circumstance
			 in which the health or safety of the individual or other persons must be
			 immediately protected.
(j)
			 "Habilitation" means the process by which an individual is helped to acquire
			 and/or maintain those life skills necessary to cope with the demands of his
			 person and environment and to improve his physical, mental and social
			 competence.
(k) "Habilitative
			 nursing facility" means a free-standing dwelling, licensed prior to January
			 1992 in which the licensee provides direct twenty-four hour nursing services
			 and comprehensive individual habilitation for four or more individuals with
			 mental retardation.
(l) "Home
			 safety inspection report" means the department's environmental inspection
			 report addressing minimal physical/safety requirements for three or fewer
			 individuals when a local fire marshal's certificate has not been
			 obtained.
(m) "Human rights
			 committee" means a group of persons convened by the department, but who are not
			 employed by the department, who provide monitoring to ensure the protection of
			 legally guaranteed rights of individuals with mental retardation. For licensees
			 serving individuals who are not clients of the department, this includes a
			 committee established by the licensee to perform the functions of the
			 department's human rights committee for individuals who are not funded or
			 admitted to the department pursuant to Sec.
			 17a-281
			 CGS. Such committee must receive prior approval by the department that its
			 functions and responsibilities are consistent with the human rights committee
			 of the department.
(n) "Individual"
			 means any individual with mental retardation who resides in a residence
			 licensed pursuant to Section
			 17a-227
			 CGS.
(o) "Individual record" means
			 a file or files containing vital documents including, but not limited to
			 medical information, evaluations, program planning documents, court documents
			 and correspondence.
(p)
			 "Interdisciplinary team (IDT)" means a group of persons which includes the
			 individual being served and, as applicable, includes the family, guardian or
			 advocate, those persons who work most directly with the individual in each of
			 the professions, disciplines or service areas, including direct contact
			 personnel, and any other persons whose participation is relevant to identifying
			 the needs of the individual, devising ways to meet them, writing an overall
			 plan of services and reviewing the plan for effectiveness.
(q) "License" means written authorization
			 issued by the commissioner to operate a residence.
(r) "Licensed personnel" means persons who
			 currently are required to maintain licensure by the State of Connecticut
			 including but not limited to registered nurses, dentists, physicians,
			 psychologists, licensed practical nurses, dental hygienists, pharmacists,
			 physical therapists and occupational therapists.
(s) "Licensee" means the person, agency or
			 other legal entity responsible to the department for the overall operation of
			 the facility or residence, including planning, staffing, managing and
			 maintaining facilities.
(t)
			 "Mechanical restraint" means any apparatus that restricts movement, excluding
			 mechanical supports designed by a physical therapist and approved by a
			 physician that are used to achieve proper body position, alignment or balance,
			 and helmets used to protect individuals from falls due to seizures. Helmets,
			 mitts and similar devices used to prevent self injury are considered mechanical
			 restraints.
(u) "Overall plan of
			 services" means a document which specifies a strategy to guide the delivery of
			 services to an individual for up to one year.
(v) "Physical isolation" means the process
			 whereby an individual is separated from others, usually by placement in a room
			 or area alone.
(w) "Physical
			 restraint" means physically holding an individual to restrict movement or to
			 prevent the individual from harming himself or others. Restraint techniques
			 must be department approved, or in the case of newly proposed techniques,
			 receive approval by the local program review committee for use in any
			 circumstances.
(x) "Plan of
			 correction" means a written document submitted by the administrator to the
			 department specifying steps to be taken to correct regulatory deficiencies,
			 persons responsible for these steps, and time frames for completion.
(y) "Program review committee" means a group
			 of professionals, including a psychiatrist, assembled to review client programs
			 and behavior modifying medications to ensure that they are clinically sound and
			 supported by proper documentation. For licensees serving individuals who are
			 not clients of the department, this includes a committee established by the
			 licensee to perform the functions of the department's program review committee
			 for individuals who are not funded by or admitted to the department.
(z) "Residence" means a dwelling licensed by
			 the department pursuant to Section
			 17a-227
			 CGS, excluding community training homes.
(aa) "Residential school" means a
			 free-standing dwelling or a group of dwellings located on a single campus,
			 which provides residential services in addition to the educational programming
			 required by the department of education to qualify it to be called a
			 school.
(bb) "Respite status" means
			 the temporary emergency or relief placement of an individual with mental
			 retardation into a residence not to exceed 30 days without written regional
			 authorization.
(cc)
			 "Self-administration of medication" means that an individual is able to
			 identify the appropriate medication by size, color, amount, or other label
			 identification, know independently or with the prompting of an employee or
			 adaptive device the frequency of time of day for which medication is ordered,
			 and consume the medication appropriately.
(dd) "Transfer" means individual movement to
			 another separately licensed residence or to an unlicensed residence.
(ee) "Waiver" means the deferral of any
			 specific regulation or other requirements that do not materially effect the
			 health or safety of individuals.