§ 483-E — Restraint and crisis intervention technique committee

§ 483-e. Restraint and crisis intervention technique committee. 1.\nCommittee established. There is hereby established within the council a\nrestraint and crisis intervention technique committee comprised of the\ncommissioner of children and family services, the commissioner of mental\nhealth, the commissioner of the office for people with developmental\ndisabilities, the commissioner of education and the commissioner of\nhealth. The committee shall include at least two representatives of\nstatewide and regional provider organizations that represent providers\nof educational and residential services to children, at least two mental\nhealth professionals who provide direct care on a regular basis to\nchildren served by the program types provided in subdivision two of this\nsection and at least one representative of parents of children requiring\nspecial services.\n 2. Establishment of coordinated standards. The committee shall\nidentify the most effective, least restrictive and safest techniques for\nthe modification of a child's behavior in response to an actual or\nperceived threat by such child of harm or bodily injury to such child,\nor to another person, where such child is a resident of, or otherwise\nserved by a residential treatment facility, a children's day treatment\nprogram, a family based treatment home, a community residence, an\nindividualized residential alternative, a family care home, day\nhabilitation, day treatment, an intermediary care facility, residential\nhabilitation, an agency operated boarding home, an approved private\nresidential school or an approved private non-residential school. Such\ntechniques shall include, but not be limited to, the use of physical\nrestraint, therapeutic crisis intervention, crisis management or such\nother de-escalation techniques designed to help staff assist children to\nmanage crisis situations. The committee shall review models of crisis\nprevention and intervention, including the use of physical restraints.\nThe committee shall establish uniform and coordinated standards giving\npreference to the least restrictive alternative for the use of such\ntechniques in such children service settings.\n 3. Recommendations and report. The committee shall develop additional\nrecommendations regarding crisis intervention as it deems appropriate\nincluding, but not limited to, appropriate staffing patterns to safely\nimplement such techniques, specific training curriculum and regulatory\namendments governing the oversight of staff training efforts implemented\nby the commissioners. Such recommendations, together with proposed\nregulations relating thereto, shall be included in a report submitted to\nthe governor and the legislature no later than September first, two\nthousand seven.\n 4. Future responsibilities. In addition to the duties provided in\nsubdivisions one through three of this section, the committee shall have\nthe following responsibilities:\n (a) the committee shall report to the governor and legislature, on or\nbefore October thirty-first, two thousand nine, on the progress made to\nimplement the recommendations outlined in the September, two thousand\nseven report; on aggregate agency-specific data and improvements in\nagency-specific tracking systems in order to provide evidence of system\nchanges; and shall revise the report to specifically include children's\nday treatment programs and any other setting serving children that\nauthorizes the use of restraints in each of the findings and\nrecommendations presented in such report; and\n (b) the committee shall report to the governor and legislature, no\nlater than October thirty-first, two thousand ten, and each year\nthereafter, on the progress made to implement the recommendations\noutlined in the September, two thousand seven report, and any new\nrecommendations made in the two thousand nine report, along with any\nother outstanding issues and recommendations for implementing uniform\nand coordinated standards that the committee deems appropriate. The\ncommittee shall include in its report the implementation of the\ncoordinated standards by each agency, including but not limited to the\nrevision and coordination of regulations, modifications to training\ncurricula and staffing models, and may include a recommendation as to\nwhether the committee should be continued as its exists, expanded, or\ndiscontinued.\n