West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 78 - Human Services › Title 78 - LEGISLATIVE RULE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES BUREAU FOR SOCIAL SERVICES › Series 78-03 - Minimum Licensing Requirements for Residential Child Care and Treatment Facilities for Children and Transitioning Adults and Vulnerable and Transitioning Youth Group Homes and Programs in West Virginia › Section 78-3-18 - Residential Crisis Support/Emergency Shelter Care for Vulnerable Children

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
18.1. Service
				Description.
18.1.1. Children's emergency
				shelter care services are provided to children in need of room, board,
				supervision, and support during a familial or personal crisis.
18.1.2. Children's emergency shelter care
				services are provided to all children unless services are limited to a specific
				target population through a written program description or through contract
				with the Secretary.
18.1.3.
				Children's emergency shelter care is responsible for making reasonable efforts
				to assist individuals to find appropriate placement if admission is impossible
				because of census, program description, or client variables.
18.1.4. When children are provided shelter
				without permission of a parent or guardian, the organization shall:
18.1.4.a. Establish the child's legal
				status;
18.1.4.b. Conduct a brief
				interview to ascertain the circumstances of the need for admission;
18.1.4.c. Notify the parent or guardian of
				the admission unless the Shelter documents that the child;
18.1.4.c.1. Is an emancipated
				minor;
18.1.4.c.2. Has reached age
				of majority; or
18.1.4.c.3. Could
				be endangered as a result of notification.
18.1.4.d. Notify the local representative of
				the Department; and
18.1.4.e.
				Obtain authorization to provide care for the child if appropriate and
				necessary.
18.1.4.f. The child
				shall be informed of the planned notification that shall occur immediately
				after admission.
18.1.5.
				Stays in the shelter are voluntary unless the child has been ordered into the
				facility by a legal entity with authority to do so. If a child voluntarily
				enrolled as a participant chooses to leave the facility, employees shall
				document efforts to persuade him or her to remain or to arrange safe
				alternative placement, or both. If in the employee's assessment, the child is
				not capable of adequate self-protection, the employee will take action as
				delineated by the Department's policy.
18.1.6. Children in Shelter care shall be
				supervised at all times unless the child is engaged in an activity away from
				supervision authorized by the clinical team (e.g., home visit, public school,
				employment, etc.). The shelter shall ensure that when children leave the
				building, there is a procedure for signing or being checked in and out. The
				checklist or sign-in sheet shall be dated and shall include the time in/out,
				the person responsible for the child, as appropriate, and the location at which
				the child may be contacted if necessary.
18.1.7. The shelter shall have policies and
				procedures for expelling an individual from a shelter. Policies and procedures
				shall be described in an understandable fashion to the individual at admission
				and he or she shall also receive a copy of policies regarding standards of
				conduct in the shelter at that time. Policies and procedures shall:
18.1.7.a. Define the reasons or conditions
				for which an individual may be expelled;
18.1.7.b. Delineate a clearly defined process
				for expulsion, including timely due process provisions;
18.1.7.c. Describe the conditions or process
				for re-admission to the shelter; and
18.1.7.d. Require that all reasonable efforts
				be made to provide an appropriate alternative placement.
18.1.8. All shelters provide services that
				are designed to meet the immediate safety and basic needs of the child. As
				such, they shall provide, either directly or by referral, the following:
18.1.8.a. Sleeping accommodations;
18.1.8.b. Food;
18.1.8.c. Clothing;
18.1.8.d. Personal hygiene supplies and
				facilities;
18.1.8.e. Crisis
				intervention;
18.1.8.f. Case
				management and assistance;
18.1.8.g. A mailing address;
18.1.8.h. Information and referral for
				services;
18.1.8.i. Linkage to
				medical services;
18.1.8.j. Eyes-on
				supervision;
18.1.8.k. Supportive
				group counseling;
18.1.8.l.
				Supportive individual counseling;
18.1.8.m. Access to recreational activities;
				and
18.1.8.n. Educational
				assistance, if necessary.
18.1.9. The Shelter shall:
18.1.9.a. Provide prompt admission;
18.1.9.b. Emphasize short term stay by
				working aggressively to arrange more appropriate alternative
				placement;
18.1.9.c. Provide an
				organized written program of daily activities for each child that includes
				social, recreational, and educational activities;
18.1.9.d. Provide sex trafficking prevention
				programming that shall include (i) education about sex trafficking including
				what it is and the prevalence of it; (ii) education about understanding one's
				vulnerabilities and how to protect self from traffickers; (iii) education about
				how to enhance the child's existing support system of family, friends, and
				community; (iv) education about services for housing, homelessness prevention,
				and educational support; and (v) education to prevent running away.
18.1.9.e. Promote continued contact and
				communication between a parent or guardian and his or her child unless legally
				or clinically contraindicated; and
18.1.9.f. Assist in developing supportive
				aftercare or other services to ameliorate the problems that led to the need for
				the shelter.
18.1.10.
				Shelters are exempt from subsection 14.9. (educational services) of this rule.
				Shelters shall:
18.1.10.a. Informally evaluate
				educational needs upon admission of school-age children;
18.1.10.b. Arrange admission to the public
				school system; and
18.1.10.c.
				Provide educational activities for each school age child in the Shelter
				environment as required by the state Department of Education.