Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 606 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE › Title 606 CMR 3.00 - Standards for the Licensure or Approval of Residential Programs Servicing Children and Teen Parents › Section 3.07 - Care of Residents

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Role of Child Care Staff
. The licensee shall employ
			 child care staff to implement individual service plans on a daily basis. Child
			 care staff shall assist each resident with all activities of daily living, in
			 accordance with her or his developmental level or mental age. The licensee,
			 program employees and all members of the child care staff shall supervise
			 residents in a manner that protects each resident from any form of abuse and
			 neglect. No program employee, member of the child care staff nor any other
			 person with unsupervised access to residents shall inflict any form of
			 physical, emotional or sexual abuse, or neglect upon a resident while in the
			 program's care and custody. Child care staff shall assist each resident in the
			 development of self help and social skills; positive human relationships,
			 including promoting in each resident a sense of security, belonging, and
			 self-worth; and shall provide emotional support and guidance to residents as
			 appropriate. Programs serving teen parents shall prepare a teen parent for the
			 physical, social, and emotional responsibilities of pregnancy, childbirth,
			 parenthood, and, when appropriate, care and protection of the child.
(2)
Staff-child
			 Ratios
.
(a) The licensee shall
			 establish a written description of the staffing of the facility on a 24 hour
			 per day, seven day per week basis. The staffing plan shall include the
			 availability of administrative and/or clinical staff on an on-call basis for
			 those hours when these staff are not present at the facility. The staffing
			 pattern shall be gender-appropriate. The staffing description must include
			 provisions for the periods of time when assigned staff are absent due to
			 illness or vacation.
(b) The
			 licensee must submit a current staffing schedule.
(c) The licensee shall assure that at all
			 times a staff person certified in C.P.R. and First Aid is available in the
			 facility.
(d) The licensee shall
			 assure a staff-child ratio appropriate to the age, capabilities, needs and
			 service plans of the residents in the facility, and sufficient to carry out the
			 requirements of 606 CMR 3.00. Volunteers shall not be included in the
			 staff-child ratio.
(e) In programs
			 serving teen parents the licensee shall assure that staffing patterns are
			 adequate to meet the needs of teen parents who may need assistance and
			 supervision in learning to care for newborns. The teen parent should be
			 responsible for providing most of the care of his or her child and staff should
			 be available as a resource and support.
(f) In transition to independent living
			 programs and programs serving teen parents, there may be times when it is
			 appropriate for residents to be in the facility without staff present. The
			 licensee shall evaluate each resident to determine his or her readiness to be
			 unsupervised. The licensee shall have a written plan defining the periods of
			 time residents may be left unsupervised, and the emergency assistance available
			 when staff are not physically present.