Zumbro House Security Policy

2014 March Training

Zumbro House Security Policy

House Rules & Boundaries

Bipolar Disorder

Zumbro House, Inc.

SECURITY POLICY

Zumbro House, Inc. serves individuals with high behavior needs, including those with oppositional behavior, aggression, sexual acting out, elopement (running away), and other behaviors that place the client at risk or the community at large, at risk. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are doing everything within the scope of the clients’ risk management plans, our policies, and our license, to ensure the safety of our clients and those around them. Because of these overriding behavioral issues, staff assigned to supervise these clients are obligated to maintain supervision and security protocols as directed by supervisors or documented in the client’s risk management plan. The following supervision and security protocols must be followed for each and every client, unless an exception is specifically noted in that individual’s protocols or Risk Management Plan. Significant harm can occur to the client(s) and/or community if these protocols are not adhered to with the utmost vigilance. Staff assigned to supervise our clients will be spot checked to ensure seamless continuity with supervision and security protocols. Any staff person who is found not enforcing these mandated supervision and security protocols will incur an unpaid suspension of employment, ranging in length from 2-5 days/shifts. Some more severe infractions will result in immediate termination of employment. Severity of infraction will be determined by the Program Coordinator, and will be based on the level of risk that the client and/or community were placed in as a result of the supervision or security protocol infraction.

Again, the following protocols apply to every client, unless otherwise specified in their individual protocols or Risk Management Plan.

·  Clients may not wear shoes in the house and shoes must be kept in the designated cabinet or closet which will remain locked at all times.

·  Alarms on the exit doors and applicable bedroom windows will be armed whenever a client is in the facility. They will only be unarmed when someone is entering or exiting the house, and then will be re- armed immediately. This includes times when clients are frequently coming in or going out, such as when they are going out to smoke or arriving home from their day programs

·  Clients cannot, under any circumstances, be in other clients’ bedrooms.

·  Clients are not permitted to go into the community for any recreational activity when on Level 1. In addition, clients who attend certain day treatment programs will not attend activities that have not been approved by the treatment program, regardless of their current level.

·  Staff must never deviate from the activity schedule without prior approval from the Lead Counselor. Changes to the activity schedule will only be approved in circumstances such as inclement weather or safety-related situations – never based on the preference of the staff. Staff will not take clients anywhere that is not explicitly listed on the activity schedule. For example, stopping at Super America for a snack would not be acceptable unless it was part of the approved activity schedule. Staff will not do any personal errands, complete personal shopping or engage in any related personal activity during their shifts, as that would likely distract them from providing the required line of sight supervision.

·  Clients will not watch R rated or unrated movies at the house or in the theater.

·  Activities that primarily child-focused, such as water parks, carnivals, etc. will not be approved activities.

·  Client must be within line of sight supervision in the community. For example, while shopping at Walmart, the clients must remain in the same aisle as the staff and are not permitted to go around the corner or shop even one aisle away out of line of sight supervision.

·  Clients are not able to have personal computers, cell phones, or any devices that have internet capability. If a team has approved this type of device, staff must follow whatever process has been established to ensure the inability to access the internet.

·  At the library, clients are not allowed to access the internet unless approved by their interdisciplinary team. Clients who have been given approval must be directly supervised by staff while accessing the internet. This means that staff must be positioned immediately next to the client while he or she is accessing the internet so that staff are in direct view of the computer screen at ALL times. Staff cannot supervise more than one client at a time on the internet.

·  Clients are not able to access chat rooms or social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, etc.

·  Any items purchased, rented, or checked out (such as from the library), must be looked over by staff to ensure that they do not contain any material that is sexually provocative, photos of scantily clad individuals, or are child-focused. If there is any question about the appropriateness of an item, the client will not obtain the item at that time.

·  Visits to the mall must be on the activity schedule and must be for a specific purpose. Under no circumstances will clients enter stores that sell inappropriate items, such as stores that sell primarily women’s clothing/undergarments (with the exception of the female clients), that sell only children’s clothing, or that sell pornographic media of any kind.

·  The medication cabinet and any other locked cabinets or offices must remain locked when not in use. The medication cabinet must be secured if staffs are more than one arm’s length away from it. Keys must remain in a staff’s possession at all times. Staff may not hand keys (including staff keys, alarm keys, vehicle keys, etc.) over to a client for any reason.

·  Clients may not be left in a vehicle for any period of time, for example, while the staff runs back into the house to grab something they have forgotten. The driver of the vehicle should never leave the vehicle without shutting off the engine and taking the keys with them, even if a second staff is present in the van.

·  Personal belongings should be left in employee cars if possible. If items are brought into the house, such as a purse, these items should be locked in the med cabinet and should never be left out in areas where they could be accessed by clients.

·  Staff must review and sign off on the Risk Management Plans, Protocols, and ISP for each individual they are supervising. Client Risk Management Plan supervision protocols must be followed and enforced without exception.

·  Kitchen knives must remain locked in a cabinet when not in use. When a client is using a knife or any other dangerous item, staff will remain within line of sight supervision.

·  Staff will carry the house phone on their person or lock it in the medication cabinet when not in use. If a client is on a level where he or she is able to answer the house phone, staff will hand it to them when it rings.

·  Clients are only able to make call to or receive calls from individuals on their approved call list, located in their Program Book. Individuals can only be added to the call list by the Program Coordinator. If an individual calls who is not on the approved list, staff will tell the caller that the client is unable to speak to them at that time, take their name and phone number, and report that information to the Lead Counselor or Program Coordinator. Although the level program indicates that clients are able to take calls in the privacy of their bedrooms on a specific level, that does not apply to those individuals who have call restrictions based on their behavioral history.

·  Staff must provide line of sight supervision when a client goes outside to smoke or for any other reason. It is not acceptable to periodically check on the client while he or she is alone outside of the house. Failure to provide this line of sight supervision could result in elopement or other behavioral challenges. If a staff is going outside with a client to smoke and clients are remaining inside, the door must be re-armed or the staff must stay within 10 feet of that door to ensure that another client is unable to go out the door unnoticed. Clients will be able to smoke once per hour at the designated time. Staff will not offer the availability to smoke any more or less often.

·  Borrowing or giving of any items between clients and staff or clients and their peers is not allowed. This includes borrowing of CD’s, games, movies, money, cigarettes, candy, or any other item. Clients are able to play games or listen to music together in the common area.

·  There are no minors allowed in any Zumbro House location or at any Zumbro House organized function. If staff are unsure of the age of an individual or if they appear under the age of 20, staff will ask the person to provide identification to verify their age.

·  Staff must remain awake and alert at all times. When clients are awake, staff must be engaged and interacting with them.

·  Clients should not be watching violent or sexually suggestive television shows, such as Cops, NCIS, CSI, etc. While clients are awake, the television should only be on if clients are watching it. Staff should not be watching television, as it can be a distraction which limits their ability to supervise and be aware of the clients.

·  Clients must be visually checked on at the specified intervals – no less than every 30 minutes at the houses and every two hours at the apartment programs.

·  Any changes to the staff schedule must be approved by the Lead Counselor. Leaving the house with one staff to four clients (or one staff to more than six clients in the apartment programs) without notifying the Program Coordinator will be considered a safety infraction.

·  Staff will never assume that something is approved or okay for a client based on their observation of other staff. Any exception to the protocols listed above must be communicated clearly in the individual protocol, Risk Management Plan, or directly from the Lead Counselor or Program Coordinator.

·  If a staff witnesses a violation of any of the above-mentioned protocols, they must report the violation to the Lead Counselor or Program Coordinator

Zumbro House Rules & Boundaries

1.  Appropriate Clothing

Clients must be dressed appropriately when in the common areas & when going from the bathroom to the bedroom after a bath/shower. Socks and/or soft soled slippers must be worn at all times when outside of the bedroom. Clean, unwrinkled, unstained, undamaged, well fitting clothes must be worn whenever going to work or into the community. Staff will assist clients to determine appropriate clothing combinations and outfits. Staff will not take a client into the community if the aforementioned qualifications are not met. “Sagging” pants is not permitted. Shoes may not be worn in the house.

2.  Before You Go Outside…

Dress appropriately for the weather. Shorts should not be worn unless the temperature is 60 degrees or higher (at the time of departure). Let staff know before going outside and be respectful of the level of supervision that staff is required to maintain. Leaving the house property without staff permission will be considered elopement.

3.  Morning Routine

Overnight staff should not have to cue clients more than once to get up and get ready for the day. Clients must be ready to go when their transportation arrives to pick them up in the morning. This means that all morning hygiene tasks are completed adequately. Clients who miss their morning transportation due to not being ready will incur a level vote in community meeting.

4.  Hygiene

Clients are expected to shower daily, unless contraindicated by a physician. Showers must be thorough and soap and shampoo must be used. Showers should last a minimum of 5 minutes. Clients are expected to attend to all other areas of hygiene also, including brushing teeth twice daily and using deodorant. Shaving daily and/or trimming beard, along with brushing/combing hair. Staff may cue a client to improve or re-do an area of hygiene that is deemed deficient or improperly done.

5.  Community Meeting

Community Meetings are a required component of ZH programming, and clients are expected to attend these meetings on a daily basis, which will be held in the house living room at a time designated on the program schedule. Clients demonstrating inappropriate group behavior, such as yelling or verbal aggression, may be asked to leave the community meeting.

6.  Horse Play

Horse play, such as wrestling, tickling, poking, or play fighting is not tolerated.

7.  Inappropriate Behavior

Individuals may be asked to leave common areas such as the kitchen, living room, dining room if they are engaging in inappropriate behavior such as verbal threatening, posturing, cursing, name calling, spitting, hitting, kicking, etc. If another client is having these behaviors, and they refuse to leave the area, then the other clients must go to their respective bedrooms, to ensure the safety of all clients.

8.  Chores

Clients will be asked to participate and assist with normal daily household chores, such as emptying the trash, cleaning the bathroom, shoveling the walk, mowing the grass, vacuuming, or dusting. Clients are expected to complete their chores to a reasonable quality standard and to the best of their ability.

9.  Kitchen Use