New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 3A - CHILDREN AND FAMILIES › Chapter 56 - MANUAL OF REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILDREN'S GROUP HOMES › Subchapter 5 - STAFF REQUIREMENTS › Section 3A:56-5.2 - Staff qualifications

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Group homes, supervised transitional living
				homes and treatment homes shall have a full-time agency administrator or home
				director, social service workers and house parents or child care staff members, who
				shall meet the requirements in (d) through (f) below.
(b) Teaching family home and alternative care home
				programs shall have a full-time program administrator, teaching family consultants
				and teaching family parents, who shall meet the requirements in (h) through (k)
				below.
(c) Psychiatric community homes
				for children shall have the following staff persons:
1. A full-time program director who shall meet the
				qualifications specified in (d)2ii below;
2. A full-time clinical social worker-therapist
				who shall have, at minimum:
i. A master's degree
				in social work, psychology, counseling, family therapy or other related field;
				and
ii. One year experience in the
				provision of child mental health services;
3. A nurse-health educator who possesses a current
				New Jersey registered nursing license and one year direct care nursing experience
				with children. The responsibilities of the nurse-health educator shall include, but
				need not be limited to, the following:
i. Assess
				the physical condition of the children in the program under the direction of the
				medical director or psychiatrist and integrate findings into the child's treatment
				plan;
ii. Provide education and support
				to direct care staff on the administering of medications and possible side effects,
				under the direction of the medical director or other physician;
iii. Implement the quality assurance
				program;
iv. Provide injections of
				medication, as needed and directed by the medical director or other physician;
				and
v. Conduct individual and group
				guidance for clients and staff on health-related issues;
4. A psychiatrist who shall possess a valid New
				Jersey license to practice medicine and five years of clinical practice in
				psychiatry. The responsibilities of the psychiatrist shall include, but need not be
				limited to, the following:
i. Serving as the
				medical director, as assigned;
ii.
				Supervising the nurse-health educator;
iii. Developing and monitoring the implementation
				of the agency's medical policies and procedures;
iv. Providing related in-service training to
				staff;
v. Providing direct client
				services, such as diagnosis, evaluation, medication management, crisis intervention,
				and therapy, when appropriate. However, the child's treatment may be under the
				supervision of an advanced practice nurse (APN) as specified in
N.J.S.A. 45:11-45
et seq.,
				certified in the category of psychiatric/mental health and as supported by a
				collaborative agreement with the facility psychiatrist and joint protocol document
				as specified in
N.J.A.C. 13:37-8.1
;
				and
vi. Maintaining medical and legal
				responsibility for the overall treatment provided to the residence's clients;
				and
5. Child care staff who
				shall meet the qualifications specified in (f) below.