New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 3A - CHILDREN AND FAMILIES › Chapter 56 - MANUAL OF REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILDREN'S GROUP HOMES › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS › Section 3A:56-1.3 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall
				  have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Adventure activity" means a planned activity of a wilderness or
				  athletic nature that requires specially trained staff members and/or special
				  equipment that is utilized with children to assist in their development of
				  self-confidence and insight.
"Agency" means an organization which has received a certificate of
				  approval from the Office of Licensing to operate more than one group home, treatment
				  home, and/or supervised transitional living home.
"Care management organization" or "CMO" means an organization that
				  delivers case management and other service components as described at
N.J.A.C. 10:73
, under the Division of Children's System of
				  Care.
"Certificate of approval" or "certificate" means a document issued
				  by the Office of Licensing to a home or agency indicating that the home or agency is
				  in substantial compliance with all applicable provisions of this chapter, and there
				  is no serious or imminent hazard to the education, health, safety, well-being or
				  treatment needs that exists in the home or agency affecting the children.
"Child" means any person who is under 18 years of age and/or any
				  person between the ages of 18 and 21 who is under the supervision of the Department
				  in placement in a children's group home.
"Denial of a certificate" means the withholding by the Office of
				  Licensing of an initial certificate of approval for which a home or agency has
				  applied.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Children and
				  Families.
"Director" means the on-site staff member responsible for the
				  daily operation and management of a home.
"Division" means the Division of Child Protection and Permanency,
				  New Jersey Department of Children and Families.
"Exclusion" means the removal of a child to an area or room in the
				  home where there is limited or no stimulation. This removal is a therapeutic
				  intervention and a time for the child to reflect on his or her behavior in order to
				  gain control so he or she can return to the other children.
"Infant" means any person who is under the care of his or her
				  adolescent mother in a home serving adolescent mothers.
"Manual of Requirements for Children's Group Homes" or "manual"
				  means the provisions contained in 3A:56-1.1 to 10.25. These provisions constitute
				  minimum baseline requirements below which no home that is subject to the authority
				  of 30:1-14,
				  30:4C-4 and
				  30:11B-4 is legally permitted to
				  operate.
"Office of Licensing" or "Office" means the Office of Licensing,
				  New Jersey Department of Children and Families.
"Parent" means a birth or adoptive parent, legal guardian, or any
				  other person having responsibility for, or custody of, a child.
"Person" means any individual, agency, corporation, company,
				  association, organization, society, firm, partnership, joint stock company, the
				  State or any political subdivision thereof.
"Placing agency" means an agency that assumes responsibility for
				  payment of room and board for a child placed in a group home, teaching family home,
				  alternative care home, supervised transitional living home, psychiatric community
				  home for children, or treatment home.
"Quality assurance" or "QA" means a program or set of activities
				  designed to monitor, evaluate, and improve care or services provided in order to
				  enhance the health of clients and the effective use of resources.
"Refusal to renew a certificate" means the non-issuance of a
				  certificate of approval by the Office of Licensing to a home or agency after its
				  existing certificate has expired.
"Restraint" means the holding of a child so that he or she cannot
				  move all or part of his or her body, including those instances when staff physically
				  escort the child.
"Restrictive behavior management practice" means the use of
				  physical restraint and exclusion as part of a comprehensive treatment plan to help
				  the child develop self-control, to reduce maladaptive behavior or to protect the
				  child and others from harm.
"Revocation of a certificate" means a permanent removal of a
				  home's or agency's current certificate of approval to operate.
"Risk management" or "RM" means clinical and administrative
				  activities designed to detect, prevent, or reduce risks that could impair client
				  care or client, staff, or visitor comfort or safety.
"Shall" denotes a provision of this manual that a home or agency
				  must meet to qualify for a certificate of approval.
"Should" denotes a recommendation reflecting goals towards which a
				  home or agency is encouraged to work.
"Staff member" or "staff" means any person employed by or working
				  for or at a home or agency on a regularly scheduled basis. This includes full-time,
				  part-time, substitute, volunteer, student intern, contract or consulting personnel,
				  whether compensated or not.
"Suspension of a certificate" means a temporary removal of a
				  home's or agency's current certificate of approval to operate.
"Time out" means instructing a child to calm down and remain quiet
				  for a brief period of time as a means of discipline and to teach the child
				  self-control. A time out may occur in the presence of other staff members and
				  children or in an area of the home where the child has access to stimulation or
				  activities such as a library or the child's bedroom.
"Utilization review" or "UR" means the process of using predefined
				  criteria to evaluate the appropriateness of admissions and continued stays and
				  whether clients are receiving the services best suited to their needs.