Montana Administrative Code

37.98.1713 HIGH ADVENTURE REQUIREMENTS: REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL ROCK CLIMBING All rock climbing activities must be supervised by a climbing supervisor meeting the requirements of this rule and ARM 37.98.1715 and 37.98.1717. The climbing supervisor must be assisted by climbing instru…

37.98.1715 HIGH ADVENTURE REQUIREMENTS: BASIC/SINGLE-PITCHED ROCK CLIMBING AND RAPPELLING The following requirements apply to basic/single-pitched rock climbing and rappelling: The climbing supervisor and the climbing instructors must have verified knowledge of technical climbing…

37.98.1717 HIGH ADVENTURE REQUIREMENTS: ADVANCED/MULTI-PITCHED ROCK CLIMBING The following requirements apply to advanced/multi-pitched climbing: The climbing supervisor must: hold a current American red cross community first aid and safety certificate or equivalent and a current…

37.98.1719 HIGH ADVENTURE REQUIREMENTS: ROPE COURSES All rope course activities must be supervised by a rope course supervisor with training and experience on the type of rope course being used. The rope course supervisor must hold a current American red cross community first aid…

37.98.1721 HIGH ADVENTURE REQUIREMENTS: HIKING AND BACKPACKING All hiking or backpacking trips and activities shall be supervised by a hiking or backpacking supervisor meeting the requirements of this rule. The hiking or backpacking supervisor shall: hold a current American red c…

37.98.1723 HIGH ADVENTURE REQUIREMENTS: BICYCLING All bicycling trips and activities must be supervised by a bicycling supervisor who meets the requirements and qualifications set forth in this rule. The bicycling supervisor must: be familiar with state laws about bicycling; be k…

37.98.1801 EXPEDITION: FIELD OFFICE REQUIREMENTS A program shall have a field office in Montana. A field office may be a vehicle, a camp, a building, or the administrative office. The field office must be staffed and monitored 24 hours a day when there are youth in care in the fi…

37.98.1803 EXPEDITION: STAFF During any expedition: expedition staff shall carry a copy of the itinerary placed on file at the field office; expedition staff shall remain in contact with the field office via satellite phone, with contacts occurring at a minimum of once each morni…

37.98.1804 EXPEDITION: STAFF TRAINING All outdoor experience and expedition staff training must be documented and kept on file for each staff member, intern and volunteer. A program shall have written policies, procedures and training curriculum regarding minimum requirements for…

37.98.1805 EXPEDITION: YOUTH/STAFF RATIO Each group of youth must be staffed as follows: two staff members for the first four youth or fraction thereof and one additional staff member for every four youth or fraction thereof; each group of youth must have at least one staff membe…

37.98.1810 EXPEDITION: BASIC REQUIREMENTS Prior to embarking on an expedition: An itinerary of the expedition, including a written description and schedule of every planned expedition activity, and the location of each expedition camp site, must be prepared and filed at the field…

37.98.1811 EXPEDITION: POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Policies and procedures must be adopted by the program regarding back country etiquette and the leave no trace principle. Participating staff and youth must be trained on the policies and procedures. At a minimum, the policies and pr…

37.98.1812 EXPEDITION: COMMUNICATIONS The program shall have written policies and procedures establishing a system of communication that meets the following criteria: each group away from the field office must have a satellite phone and extra charged battery packs for the satelli…

37.98.1815 EXPEDITION: HEALTH CARE Additional health care requirements for youth on expedition include the following: Each youth's hydration, skin condition, extremities and general physical condition must be monitored and documented by field staff on a daily basis. Each youth's …

37.98.1816 EXPEDITION: NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS A program shall have and follow written policies and procedures on nutritional requirements. Each program shall have a written menu, approved by a qualified dietitian or nutritionist with knowledge of the program activities and leve…

37.98.1817 EXPEDITION: WATER REQUIREMENTS A program shall have and follow written policies and procedures on expedition water requirements. At a minimum they must consist of the following: Youth must have access to potable water while hiking. The program shall provide each youth …

37.98.1821 EXPEDITION: SOLO EXPERIENCE If the program utilizes solo experiences as part of the therapeutic process during expeditions, the program shall have policies and procedures for the utilization of solo experiences. Policies and procedures for solo experiences, at a minimu…

37.98.1822 EXPEDITION: PARTICIPANT CLOTHING, EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES Each expedition participant must have appropriate clothing, equipment and supplies for the types of activities and for the weather conditions likely to be encountered. Clothing, equipment and supplies must includ…

37.98.301 LICENSE APPLICATION PROCESS Application for a license accompanied by the required fee must be made to the Department of Public Health and Human Services, Quality Assurance Division, Licensure Bureau, 2401 Colonial Drive, P.O. Box 202953, Helena, MT 59620-2953. The appli…

37.98.303 LICENSE RESTRICTIONS A license is not subject to sale, assignment or other transfer, voluntary or involuntary. A license is valid only for the premises for which the original license was issued. The license remains the property of the department and shall be returned to…

37.98.304 LICENSE DENIAL, SUSPENSION, RESTRICTION, REVOCATION, OR REDUCTION TO PROVISIONAL STATUS AND HEARING PROCEDURES The department, after written notice to the applicant, may deny an application for licensure upon finding that the applicant has not met the minimum requiremen…

37.98.308 ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES The program shall have established policies and organizational plans clearly defining legal responsibility, administrative authority and responsibility for services to program participants and the community. The program shall have …

37.98.312 QUALITY ASSESSMENT The program shall implement and maintain an active quality assessment program for improving policies, procedures and services. At a minimum, the quality assessment program must include procedures for: conducting youth satisfaction surveys at least ann…

37.98.315 CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION All records maintained by a program and all personal information made available to a program pertaining to an individual youth must be kept confidential, and are not available to any person, agency or organization except as spe…

37.98.316 REPORTS The program shall submit to the department, upon its request, any reports required by federal or state law or regulation. The program shall report any of the following changes in writing to the Department of Public Health and Human Services, Quality Assurance Di…

37.98.319 CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT AND SERIOUS INCIDENTS Each program staff member and employee shall read and sign a statement clearly defining child abuse and neglect and explaining the staff member's responsibility to report all known or suspected incidents of child abuse or neg…

37.98.401 ADMINISTRATOR QUALIFICATIONS Each program shall employ an administrator. The administrator is responsible for operation of the program at all times and shall ensure 24-hour supervision of the residents. The program administrator is the person ultimately responsible for …

37.98.403 STAFF A program shall have written personnel policies covering the following items: job qualifications; job descriptions; supervisory structure; fringe benefits; insurance; hours of work; and performance evaluations. A program shall maintain records for each employee re…

37.98.404 PROGRAM PROFESSIONAL STAFF AND QUALIFICATIONS Each program shall employ or contract with professionals to serve as program professional staff members. Program professional staff members must have knowledge of the physical and emotional demands of the program and provide…

37.98.405 PROGRAM EXPEDITION FIELD DIRECTOR QUALIFICATIONS The staff of each program expedition must include a field director. The field director shall be primarily responsible for: the quality of the field activities; coordinating field operations; supervising direct care staff;…

37.98.406 PROGRAM STAFF BACKGROUND CHECKS The administrator, staff, volunteers and interns must have a state criminal, a child protective services/adult protective services and if applicable, a tribal criminal and child protective services background check conducted. The departme…

37.98.411 STAFF TRAINING A program shall have written policies, procedures and training curriculum regarding minimum requirements for initial and ongoing training. All direct care staff shall complete a minimum of 40 hours of initial staff training. Initial staff training must co…

37.98.415 YOUTH/STAFF RATIOS A program shall maintain the following minimum staff ratios: Youth/staff ratio must be no more than 4:1 each day for a 15-hour period beginning at, or between, 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., (or beginning at, or between, some other reasonable morning half hour…

37.98.701 YOUTH CASE RECORDS A program shall maintain a written case record for each youth which must include administrative, treatment and educational data from the time of the youth's admission until the time the youth leaves the program. A youth's case record must include the …

37.98.702 YOUTH RIGHTS A program shall develop and maintain a youth's rights policy that supports and protects the fundamental human, civil, constitutional and statutory rights of all youth. These rights shall include, but are not limited to the following: each youth has the righ…

37.98.705 PHYSICAL EXAMINATION All physical examinations must be completed by an appropriate licensed practitioner. A youth must have a physical examination: within 30 days prior to admission into the program; at least annually after entering the program; and at any time when cir…

37.98.706 ASSESSMENTS A program shall have written admission and assessment policies, procedures and forms. Prior to enrollment in the program, an admission assessment must be done for each youth by a program professional staff member. This admission assessment must include a rev…

37.98.707 DEVELOPMENT AND CONTENT OF THE CASE PLAN A case plan for each youth must be developed within 14 days of admission and prior to entering into the expedition portion of the program. The case plan team must include at minimum the appropriate members of the program professi…

37.98.715 DISCHARGE SUMMARY Within 10 business days of the discharge of a youth from the program, a discharge report must be completed, including: a written summary of services provided, the youth's participation and progress, results of evaluations, condition of the youth, brief…

37.98.801 BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT POLICIES A program shall have and follow written behavior management policies and procedures including a description of the model, program or techniques to be used with youth. The program shall have policies addressing discipline, therapeutic de-esca…

37.98.802 USE OF NONVIOLENT CRISIS INTERVENTION STRATEGIES The program shall have written policies and procedures governing the appropriate use of nonviolent crisis intervention strategies, including: the use of de-escalation techniques; physical assists; and physical restraints.…

37.98.803 TIME OUT Time out must only be used when a youth's behavior is disruptive to the youth's ability to learn, to participate appropriately, or to function appropriately with other youth or the activity and when other de-escalation techniques have failed. Restraint, seclusi…

37.98.806 ANIMALS AND PETS A program may make use of domesticated animals or pets as part of a youth's treatment plan, provided that animals and pets are vaccinated, free from disease, not a danger to the youth, and cared for in a safe and clean manner. The program shall have doc…

37.98.811 POTENTIAL WEAPONS A program shall have and follow written policy and procedures on management of weapons and potential weapons. Firearms must not be allowed in programs. Program staff shall inventory knives, hatchets, other edged tools or any item which might pose a dan…

37.98.812 CONTRABAND A program shall define prohibited contraband in a written policy. Law enforcement must be notified as appropriate when illegal contraband is discovered. All contraband that is not illegal must be returned to the youth's parent or guardian, or must be destroye…

37.98.813 PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS: SEARCHES The provisions of this rule apply to all searches by program staff of youth and their personal property, including searches of personal correspondence. Youth may not be subjected to a search of the youth's person, personal property or corr…

37.99.101 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: PURPOSE These rules establish licensing procedures and licensing requirements for private alternative adolescent residential or outdoor programs. Authorizing statute(s): 52-2-803, 52-2-805, MCA Implementing statute(s)…

37.99.102 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: DEFINITIONS "Adolescent" means any person between the ages of 10 and 19 years who is placed in a program by a parent/legal guardian. Upon admission to the program, the adolescent is considered a program participant. T…

37.99.106 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: APPLICATION OF OTHER RULES Any program that includes in its marketing, advertising, information packet, or other similar document reference to providing primary, inpatient, or residential chemical dependency treatment…

37.99.107 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: LICENSING FEE SCHEDULE Programs must submit payment for licensure annually. Licensing fees are based on the number of participants the program is licensed to serve as shown in the table below. Number of participants L…