Montana Administrative Code

37.99.109 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING A LICENSE: ISSUANCE AND RENEWAL OF A LICENSE Application for a program license must be made on an application form provided by the department. Renewal applications must be received within 30 da…

37.99.110 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: LICENSE DENIAL, SUSPENSION, RESTRICTION, AND REVOCATION The department, after written notice to the applicant or program, may deny, suspend, cancel, reduce, modify, or revoke a license upon a finding of any of the fol…

37.99.115 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: WRITTEN POLICY AND PROCEDURE A current written policy and procedure manual that includes all policies required in this chapter and describes all services provided in the program, must be developed, implemented, and ma…

37.99.117 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: ADMISSIONS The program will admit only those program participants for whom it has an operational program and who meet its admissions policies. The program must have written policies and procedures for screening all re…

37.99.118 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: WRITTEN AGREEMENT The program must enter into a written agreement with the program participant's parent/legal guardian at the time of admission into the program. The written agreement must include: the terms of the pl…

37.99.119 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: DISCHARGE The program must assist the program participant and family in preparing for the participant's discharge from the program. At the time of discharge of a program participant from the program, a written dischar…

37.99.124 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: CASE PLAN Each program must develop and implement a case plan for each program participant in care. The case plan must include: the program participant's physical and medical needs; behavior management issues; mental …

37.99.125 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: RIGHTS AND GRIEVANCES The program must have a written program participant rights policy that supports and protects the fundamental human, civil, constitutional, and statutory rights of all program participants. These …

37.99.126 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: BACKGROUND CHECKS All administrators, staff, volunteers, persons associated with the program, and any adult living at the program must complete a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) fingerprint-based background c…

37.99.127 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT AND SERIOUS INCIDENTS A program must require each program participant, person associated with the program and staff member to read and sign a statement that clearly defines child abuse and negle…

37.99.132 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Each program must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, laws, and building codes. Adequate space must be provided for all phases of daily living, including recreation, …

37.99.133 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: LAUNDRY AND BEDDING If a program processes its laundry on site, it must: use areas solely for laundry purposes; equip the laundry room with at least one mechanical washer and hot-air tumble dryer, handwashing faciliti…

37.99.134 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: WATER SUPPLY An adequate and potable supply of water must be provided. Before a license may be issued, a program using an individual, shared, or multiple user water supply must submit the following to the department o…

37.99.135 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: SEWAGE SYSTEM AND SOLID WASTE An adequate and safe wastewater system must be provided for conveying, treating, and disposing of all sewage. Immediate measures must be taken to alleviate health and sanitation hazards c…

37.99.136 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: FIRE SAFETY The department adopts and incorporates by reference the current edition of the locally adopted Fire Code (FC), which sets forth the fire safety regulations that apply to all programs. The local or state fi…

37.99.137 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: EMERGENCY AND EVACUATION PLANS A program must have and follow a written emergency plan developed in conjunction with emergency services in the community, and it must include specific procedures for evacuations, disast…

37.99.138 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: SAFETY A program must have written policies and procedures on safety and equipment. There must be a first aid kit with sufficient supplies available at all times. A first aid kit must: be readily available on site as …

37.99.145 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: CASE RECORDS A program must maintain a written case record for each program participant which contains administrative, treatment, and educational data from the time of admission until the time the program participant …

37.99.146 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION All records maintained by a program and all personal information made available to a program pertaining to a program participant must be kept confidential and are not availab…

37.99.147 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: REPORTS The program must submit to the department, upon its request, any reports required by federal law, state law, or regulations. The program must report any of the following changes in writing to the department's …

37.99.148 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL ADMINISTRATORS, STAFF MEMBERS, AND VOLUNTEERS A program must have written personnel and program policies and procedures covering the following items: screening procedure for all applicants…

37.99.149 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: PERSONNEL RECORDS The program is responsible for maintaining a file on each administrator, person associated with the program, staff member, or volunteer. Files may be inspected by the department at any time. If the f…

37.99.150 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: QUALITY ASSESSMENT The program must implement and maintain an active quality assessment program for improving policies, procedures, and services. At a minimum, the quality assessment program must include procedures fo…

37.99.151 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: ADMINISTRATOR Each program must employ an administrator that is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the program. The administrator must have formal training and/or experience in residential or outdoor programs…

37.99.152 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: STAFF Each program must maintain the minimum program participant to awake-staff ratios: from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., eight program participants to one staff; from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., or any other reasonable eigh…

37.99.153 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: STAFF TRAINING A program must have written policies, procedures, and initial and ongoing training curriculum that meets the minimum requirements in this rule. Programs must provide adequate and timely training to ensu…

37.99.159 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: PHYSICAL CARE Every program participant must have access to the services of at least one licensed health care professional as defined in 50-5-101, MCA. Medical, dental, psychiatric, psychological care, and counseling …

37.99.160 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: MEDICATION STORAGE AND ADMINISTRATION A program must have written policies and procedures regarding the storage, administration, and disposal of prescription, nonprescription, and over-the-counter medication. All medi…

37.99.161 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: CARE AND GUIDANCE A program must provide to each program participant sufficient staff to ensure: appropriate medical care, supervision, safety, treatment, and guidance; opportunities for educational, social, and cultu…

37.99.162 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: NUTRITION A program must provide for or serve three regular, well-balanced meals per day, and snacks. Foods must be served in amounts and a variety sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of each program participant.…

37.99.163 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: FOOD PREPARATION AND HANDLING Safe food handling and preparation practices must be followed in all programs. All food must be from an approved source and must be transported, labeled, stored, covered, prepared, and se…

37.99.164 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: PERSONAL NEEDS The program must ensure that each program participant has clothing suitable to the program participant's age and size and comparable to the clothing of other adolescents in the community. Program partic…

37.99.170 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT POLICIES A program must have written behavior management policies and procedures which include a description of the model, program, or techniques to be used with program participants. The program m…

37.99.171 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: TIME-OUT A program must develop a written time-out policy and procedures which clearly provide: length of time the program participant may remain in time-out which must be age appropriate; guidelines for staff observa…

37.99.172 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: USE OF CRISIS INTERVENTION AND PHYSICAL RESTRAINT STRATEGIES The program must have written policies and procedures governing the appropriate use of crisis intervention and physical restraint methods if used by the pro…

37.99.173 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: SEARCHES The provisions of this rule apply to all searches by program staff of the program participant's person and personal property, including searches of personal correspondence. The facts and circumstances support…

37.99.174 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: CONTRABAND AND POTENTIAL WEAPONS A program must define prohibited contraband in a written policy. Law enforcement must be notified as appropriate when illegal contraband is discovered. All contraband that is not illeg…

37.99.175 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: MONEY AND ADOLESCENT TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT Money earned or received as a gift or allowance must be part of the program participant's personal property and accounted for separately from the program funds. If the prog…

37.99.176 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: RECREATION The program may have an on-grounds recreation program that is operated by the program staff. However, when available, the program must provide the program participant access to community recreation and cult…

37.99.181 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: INFECTION CONTROL A program must develop and implement an infection prevention and control program. At a minimum the program must develop, implement, and review, at least annually, written policy and procedures regard…

37.99.182 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: RELIGION AND CULTURE The program must have written policies and procedures on how the program participant's individual religious and cultural beliefs will be addressed. The program must provide program participants wi…

37.99.183 PRIVATE ALTERNATIVE ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS: TRANSPORTATION All staff transporting program participants must possess a valid driver's license for the type of vehicle used in transporting the program participants. Any person transporting program participants must…

37.99.201 PRIVATE OUTDOOR PROGRAMS: DEFINITIONS "Administrative office" means the office where business operations, public relations, and management procedures take place. "Expedition" means an excursion undertaken for specific treatment purposes that takes the program participan…

37.99.202 PRIVATE OUTDOOR PROGRAMS: APPLICATION OF OTHER RULES In addition to requirements established in this subchapter a private outdoor program must meet the requirements for all private alternative adolescent residential programs established in ARM Title 37, chapter 99, subc…

37.99.206 PRIVATE OUTDOOR PROGRAMS: PHYSICAL EXAMINATION All physical examinations must be completed by an appropriate licensed health care professional. A program participant must have a physical examination: within 30 days prior to admission into the program; at least annually …

37.99.208 PRIVATE OUTDOOR PROGRAMS: FIELD DIRECTOR REQUIREMENTS Each program expedition must include a field director responsible for: the quality of the field activities; coordinating field operations; supervising direct care staff; managing the field office; and ensuring compli…

37.99.209 PRIVATE OUTDOOR PROGRAMS: ADDITIONAL STAFF TRAINING In addition to training requirements in ARM 37.99.153, staff orientation training must include: supervision of program participants; procurement, preparation, and conservation of water, food, and shelter; instruction i…

37.99.210 PRIVATE OUTDOOR PROGRAMS: RESIDENTIAL OUTDOOR PROGRAM PARTICIPANT-TO-STAFF RATIO A residential outdoor program must maintain the following program participant to awake staff ratios: from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., eight program participants to one staff; from 11:00 p.m. t…

37.99.211 PRIVATE OUTDOOR PROGRAMS: EXPEDITION AND HIGH ADVENTURE ACTIVITY PROGRAM PARTICIPANT-TO-STAFF RATIO Each expedition group of program participants must have the following: two staff members for the first four program participants and one additional staff member for each …

37.99.212 PRIVATE OUTDOOR PROGRAMS: OUTDOOR BEHAVIORAL PROGRAM: HIGH ADVENTURE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS High adventure activities may include the following: target sports; aquatics; adventure challenge courses; climbing and rappelling; spelunking; white water activities; use of horse…