Virginia Administrative Code › Title 22 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Agency 40 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter 151 - STANDARDS FOR LICENSED CHILDREN'S RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES › Section 22VAC40-151-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall
				  have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"Allegation" means an accusation that a facility is operating
				  without a license or receiving public funds for services it is not certified to
				  provide.
"Allowable variance" means temporary or permanent waiver of
				  compliance with a standard or portion of a standard, or permission to meet the
				  intent of the standard by a method other than that specified in the standard,
				  when the regulatory authority, in its sole discretion, determines (i)
				  enforcement will create an undue hardship and (ii) resident care will not be
				  adversely affected.
"Annual" means within 13 months of the previous event or
				  occurrence.
"Applicable state regulation" means any regulation that the
				  promulgating state agency determines applies to the facility. The term includes
				  modules, standards, and other regulations promulgated by the Departments of
				  Education; Health; Housing and Community Development; Social Services; or other
				  state agencies.
"Applicant" means any individual; corporation; partnership;
				  association; limited liability company; local government; state agency,
				  including any department, institution, authority, instrumentality, board, or
				  other administrative agency of the Commonwealth; or other legal or commercial
				  entity that has applied for a license.
"Aversive stimuli" means physical forces (e.g., sound,
				  electricity, heat, cold, light, water, or noise) or substances (e.g., hot
				  pepper, pepper sauce, or pepper spray) measurable in duration and intensity
				  that when applied to a resident, are noxious or painful to the individual, but
				  in no case shall the term "aversive stimuli" include striking or hitting the
				  individual with any part of the body or with an implement or pinching, pulling,
				  or shaking the resident.
"Behavior support" means those principles and methods
				  employed by a provider to help a child achieve positive behavior and to address
				  and correct a child's inappropriate behavior in a constructive and safe manner
				  in accordance with written policies and procedures governing program
				  expectations, treatment goals, child and staff safety and security, and the
				  child's service plan.
"Behavior support assessment" means identification of a
				  resident's behavior triggers, successful intervention strategies, anger and
				  anxiety management options for calming, techniques for self-management, and
				  specific goals that address the targeted behaviors that lead to emergency
				  safety interventions.
"Body cavity search" means any examination of a resident's
				  rectal or vaginal cavities, except the performance of medical procedures by
				  medical personnel.
"Case record" or "record" means up-to-date written or
				  electronic information relating to one resident. This information includes
				  social data, agreements, all correspondence relating to care of the resident,
				  service plans with periodic revisions, aftercare plans and discharge summary,
				  and any other data related to the resident.
"Child" means any person legally defined as a child under
				  state law. The term includes residents and other children coming in contact
				  with the resident or facility (e.g., visitors). When the term is used, the
				  requirement applies to every child at the facility regardless of whether the
				  child has been admitted to the facility for care (e.g., staff to child ratios
				  apply to all children present even though some may not be residents).
"Child-placing agency" means any person who places children
				  in foster homes, adoptive homes or independent living arrangements pursuant to
				  §
									63.2-1819 of the Code of
				  Virginia or a local board that places children in foster homes or adoptive
				  homes pursuant to §§
									63.2-900,
				  63.2-903 and
				  63.2-1221 of the Code of
				  Virginia.
"Children's residential facility" or "facility" means any
				  facility, child-caring institution, or group home that is maintained for the
				  purpose of receiving children separated from their parents or guardians for
				  full-time care, maintenance, protection and guidance, or for the purpose of
				  providing independent living services to persons between 18 and 21 years of age
				  who are in the process of transitioning out of foster care. Children's
				  residential facility shall not include:
1. A licensed or accredited educational institution whose
				  pupils, in the ordinary course of events, return annually to the homes of their
				  parents or guardians for not less than two months of summer vacation;
2. An establishment required to be licensed as a summer camp
				  by §
									35.1-18 of the Code of
				  Virginia;
3. A licensed or accredited hospital legally maintained as
				  such; and
4. Any facility licensed by the Department of Social Services
				  as a child caring institution as of January 1, 1987, and that receives no
				  public funds.
"Complaint" means an accusation against a licensed or
				  certified facility regarding an alleged violation of standards or law.
"Contraband" means any item prohibited by law or by the rules
				  and regulations of the agency, or any item that conflicts with the program or
				  safety and security of the facility or individual residents.
"Corporal punishment" means punishment administered through
				  the intentional inflicting of pain or discomfort to the body through actions
				  such as, but not limited to (i) striking or hitting with any part of the body
				  or with an implement; (ii) pinching, pulling, or shaking; or (iii) any similar
				  action that normally inflicts pain or discomfort.
"Corrective action plan" means violations documented by the
				  department and the facility's submitted pledged corrective action to the
				  documented violations cited by the regulatory authority.
"Day" means calendar day unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise.
"Department" means the State Department of Social
				  Services.
"Electronic record" means a record created, generated, sent,
				  communicated, received, or stored by electronic means.
"Emergency" means a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence
				  or set of circumstances demanding immediate action. Emergency does not include
				  regularly scheduled time off for permanent staff or other situations that
				  should reasonably be anticipated.
"Emergency admission" means the sudden, unplanned, unexpected
				  admittance of a child who needs immediate care except self-admittance to a
				  temporary emergency shelter facility or a court-ordered placement.
"Goal" means expected results or conditions that usually
				  involve a long period of time and that are written in behavioral terms in a
				  statement of relatively broad scope. Goals provide guidance in establishing
				  specific short-term objectives directed toward the attainment of the
				  goal.
"Good character and reputation" means findings have been
				  established and knowledgeable and objective people agree that the individual
				  maintains business or professional, family, and community relationships that
				  are characterized by honesty, fairness, truthfulness, and dependability, and
				  has a history or pattern of behavior that demonstrates that the individual is
				  suitable and able to care for, supervise, and protect children. Relatives by
				  blood or marriage, and persons who are not knowledgeable of the individual,
				  such as recent acquaintances, shall not be considered objective
				  references.
"Group home" means a children's residential facility that is
				  a community-based, home-like single dwelling, or its acceptable equivalent,
				  other than the private home of the operator, and serves up to 12
				  residents.
"Health record" means the file maintained by a provider that
				  contains personal health information.
"Human research" means any systematic investigation including
				  research development, testing, and evaluation, utilizing human subjects, that
				  is designed to develop or contribute to generalized knowledge. Human research
				  shall not include research exempt from federal research regulations pursuant to
				  45 CFR
				  46.101(b).
"Immediately" means directly without delay.
"Independent living program" means a competency-based program
				  that is specifically approved by the department to provide the opportunity for
				  the residents to develop the skills necessary to live successfully on their own
				  following completion of the program.
"Independent living services" means those services and
				  activities designed to assist in self-sufficiency preparation of children aged
				  14 and older or individuals who have turned 18 but not yet turned 21 years old.
				  Such services shall include counseling, education, housing, employment, and
				  money management, skills development, and access to essential documents and
				  other appropriate services.
"Individualized service plan" means a written plan of action
				  developed, and modified at intervals, to meet the needs of a specific resident.
				  It specifies measurable short-term and long-term goals, objectives, strategies
				  and timeframes for reaching the goals, and the individuals responsible for
				  carrying out the plan.
"Legal guardian" means the natural or adoptive parents or
				  other person, agency, or institution that has legal custody of a child.
"License" means a document verifying approval to operate a
				  children's residential facility and that indicates the status of the facility
				  regarding compliance with applicable state regulations.
"Live-in staff" means staff who are required to be on duty
				  for a period of 24 consecutive hours or more during each work week.
"Living unit" means the space in which a particular group of
				  children in care of a residential facility reside. A living unit contains
				  sleeping areas, bath and toilet facilities, and a living room or its equivalent
				  for use by the residents of the unit. Depending upon its design, a building may
				  contain one living unit or several separate living units.
"Mechanical restraint" means the use of an approved
				  mechanical device that involuntarily restricts the freedom of movement or
				  voluntary functioning of a limb or portion of a person's body as a means to
				  control his physical activities when the individual receiving services does not
				  have the ability to remove the device.
"Medication error" means an error made in administering a
				  medication to a resident, including the following:
(i) the wrong medication is given to a resident;
(ii) the wrong resident is given the medication;
(iii) the wrong dosage is given to a resident;
(iv) medication is given to a resident at the wrong time or
				  not at all; and
(v) the proper method is not used to give the medication to a
				  resident. A medication error does not include a resident's refusal of offered
				  medication.
"Objective" means expected short-term results or conditions
				  that must be met in order to attain a goal. Objectives are stated in
				  measurable, behavioral terms and have a specified time for achievement.
"On duty" means that period of time during which a staff
				  person is responsible for the supervision of one or more children.
"Parent" means a natural or adoptive parent. "Parent" means
				  either parent unless the facility has been provided documentation that there is
				  a legally binding instrument, a state law or a court order governing such
				  matters as divorce, separation, or custody, that provides to the
				  contrary.
"Pat down" means a thorough external body search of a clothed
				  resident.
"Personal health information" means the information that
				  encompasses the universe of oral, written or otherwise recorded information
				  that is created or received by an entity relating to either an individual's
				  physical or mental health or the provision of or payment for health care to an
				  individual.
"Pharmacological restraint" means the use of a medication
				  that is administered involuntarily for the emergency control of an individual's
				  behavior when the individual's behavior places him or others at imminent risk
				  and the administered medication is not a standard treatment for the
				  individual's medical or psychiatric condition.
"Physical restraint" (also referred to as a "manual hold")
				  means use of a physical intervention or "hands-on" hold to prevent an
				  individual from moving his body when that individual's behavior places him or
				  others at imminent risk.
"Placement" means an activity by any person that provides
				  assistance to a parent or legal guardian in locating and effecting the movement
				  of a child to a foster home, adoptive home, or children's residential
				  facility.
"Premises" means the tracts of land on which any part of a
				  residential facility for children is located and any buildings on such tracts
				  of land.
"Provider" or "licensee" or "sponsor" means the individual;
				  corporation; partnership; association; limited liability company; local
				  government; state agency, including any department, institution, authority,
				  instrumentality, board, or other administrative agency of the Commonwealth; or
				  other legal or commercial entity to whom a license is issued and who is legally
				  responsible for compliance with the regulatory and statutory requirements
				  relating to the facility.
"Resident" means a person admitted to a children's
				  residential facility for supervision, care, or training on a 24-hour per day
				  basis.
"Rest day" means a period of not less than 24 consecutive
				  hours during which a staff person has no responsibility to perform duties
				  related to the facility.
"Routine admission" means the admittance of a child following
				  evaluation of an application for admission and execution of a written placement
				  agreement.
"Rules of conduct" means a listing of a facility's rules or
				  regulations that is maintained to inform residents and others about behaviors
				  that are not permitted and the consequences applied when the behaviors
				  occur.
"Sanitizing agent" means any substance approved by the
				  Environmental Protection Agency to destroy bacteria.
"Seclusion" means the involuntary placement of an individual
				  alone in an area secured by a door that is locked or held shut by a staff
				  person by physically blocking the door or by any other physical or verbal means
				  so that the individual cannot leave it.
"Self-admission" means the admittance of a child who seeks
				  admission to a temporary emergency shelter facility as permitted by Virginia
				  statutory law without completing the requirements for "routine
				  admission."
"Severe weather" means extreme environment or climate
				  conditions that pose a threat to the health, safety, or welfare of
				  residents.
"Standard" means a statement that describes in measurable
				  terms a required minimum performance level. The term "standard" and the term
				  "regulation" may be used interchangeably.
"Strategies" means a series of steps and methods used to meet
				  goals and objectives.
"Strip search" means a visual inspection of the body of a
				  resident when that resident's outer clothing or total clothing is removed and
				  an inspection of the removed clothing. Strip searches are conducted for the
				  detection of contraband.
"Structured program of care" means a comprehensive planned
				  daily routine, including appropriate supervision that meets the needs of each
				  resident both individually and as a group.
"Student/intern" means an individual who simultaneously is
				  affiliated with an educational institution and a residential facility. Every
				  student/intern who is not an employee is either a volunteer or contractual
				  service provider depending upon the relationship among the student/intern,
				  educational institution, and facility.
"Substantial compliance" means that while there may be
				  noncompliance with one or more standards that represents minimal risk,
				  compliance clearly and obviously exists with most of the standards as a
				  whole.
"Target population" means individuals with a similar,
				  specified characteristic or disability.
"Temporary contract worker" means an individual who is not a
				  direct salaried employee of the provider but is employed by a third party and
				  is not a consistently scheduled staff member.
"Temporary emergency shelter facility" means an emergency
				  shelter specifically approved to provide a range of services, as needed, on an
				  individual basis not to exceed 90 days, except that this term does not include
				  secure detention facilities.
"Therapy" means provision of direct diagnostic, preventive
				  and treatment services where functioning is threatened or affected by social
				  and psychological stress or health impairment.
"Time out" means the involuntary removal of a resident by a
				  staff person from a source of reinforcement to a different open location for a
				  specified period of time or until the problem behavior has subsided to
				  discontinue or reduce the frequency of problematic behavior.
"Volunteers" means any individual or group who of their own
				  free will, and without any financial gain, provides goods and services to the
				  program without compensation.
"Wilderness program" means a facility specifically approved
				  to provide a primitive camping program with a nonpunitive environment and an
				  experience curriculum for residents nine years of age and older who cannot
				  presently function in home, school, or community. In lieu of or in addition to
				  dormitories, cabins or barracks for housing residents, primitive campsites are
				  used to integrate learning, mentoring, and group process with real living needs
				  and problems for which the resident can develop a sense of social
				  responsibility and self worth.
Statutory Authority: §§
											63.2-217 and
					 63.2-1737 of the Code of
					 Virginia.