(1)(a) The Department of Human Services shall adopt by rule training standards and certification requirements regarding the placement of a child in care in a restraint or involuntary seclusion, consistent with this section.

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(b) The department shall designate two or three nationally recognized providers of crisis intervention training that meet the department’s training standards and whose certifications issued upon completion of the training programs the department will recognize as satisfying the department’s certification requirements.

(2) The department’s rules under this section must:

(a) Ensure consistency of training and professional development across all programs;

(b) Require the teaching of techniques for nonviolent crisis intervention that do not require restraint;

(c) Focus on de-escalation and trauma-informed behavioral support as the core of a training program;

(d) Offer options for certification in skills that do not include the use of restraint to improve agency-wide safety, culture and trauma-informed practices;

(e) Prioritize the reduction or elimination of the use of restraint and involuntary seclusion;

(f) Ensure that any physical intervention skills taught are trauma-informed, age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate for children in care, reduce the risk of physical or emotional harm and are consistent with all state and federal laws;

(g) Include training to identify the physical, psychological and emotional risks for children and program staff related to the use of restraint and involuntary seclusion;

(h) Ensure fidelity of training through the publication of consistent training materials and resources for certified instructors and certified program staff;

(i) Include requirements for instructor training and certification; and

(j) Require regular, ongoing support to certified instructors, including quality control, monitoring of outcomes and provision of information regarding networks for professional collaboration and support.

(3) The department’s rules must require that training instructors:

(a) Be certified to conduct the type of training the instructor is providing;

(b) Complete a minimum of 26 hours of initial education with a focus on de-escalation, nonviolent intervention and methods consistent with the department’s rules for the use of physical intervention;

(c) Complete a minimum of 12 hours of continuing education every two years;

(d) Be recertified at least once every two years; and

(e) Demonstrate written and physical competency before receiving certification or recertification.

(4) The department’s rules must provide that an individual who places a child in care in a program in a restraint must be certified in the use of the specific type of restraint used. The department’s rules must describe the minimum certification requirements, including:

(a) Completion of a minimum of 12 hours of initial training in person from an instructor certified as provided in subsection (3) of this section, including at least six hours of training in positive behavior support, nonviolent crisis intervention and other methods of nonphysical intervention to support children in care in crisis;

(b) Annual continuing education with a certified instructor; and

(c) Demonstration of a mastery of the training program material both in writing and by physical competency before receiving certification.

(5) A certification issued under this section:

(a) Must be personal to the individual certified by the training provider;

(b) May be valid for no more than two years without recertification;

(c) Must require annual continuing education to maintain;

(d) Must require additional training to renew the certification;

(e) Must be portable between employers; and

(f) Must include:

(A) The dates during which the certification is current;

(B) The types of restraint in which the individual is certified, if any;

(C) The types of training the individual is certified to conduct, if any;

(D) Any special endorsements earned by the individual;

(E) The level of training; and

(F) The name of the certified instructor who conducted the training and administered the assessment of proficiency.

(6) An individual whose certification is consistent with the department’s rules under this section shall maintain the documentation of the certification and make that documentation available to the department upon request. [2021 c.672 § 9; 2021 c.672 § 10]

See note under 418.519.

[Formerly 419.262; repealed by 1989 c.41 § 2]