Family Services, Dept. of

Providers of Substitute Care Services, Certification of

Chapter 16: Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES)

Effective Date: 11/08/2017 to Current

Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations

Reference Number: 049.0029.16.11082017

CHAPTER 16

BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES (BOCES)

Section 1. Program Specific Certification Standards.

(a) All BOCES shall comply with all sections of this Chapter and with the following Chapters and Sections of these rules:

1. (i) Chapter 1: All
2. (ii) Chapter 2: All
3. (iii) Chapter 3: Sections 1-29 and 31-32.

Section 2. Program Description.

BOCES provide services for children who require a combination of therapeutic and educational services in a group care setting.

(a) BOCES shall provide:

(i) Wyoming Department of Education approved or accredited on-grounds school, a High School Equivalency program, or a program which works with the local school district to meet the educational needs of the child;

(ii) Specialized services shall be provided at a frequency as required by the ITPC and/or Individualized Education Program (IEP), and may include a combination of behavior modification, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, recreation therapy, and individual, group and family therapy (as able). The specific services shall be determined by the treatment team through the creation and implementation of an ITPC and/or IEP that is family based, child guided and culturally responsive; and

(iii) Ongoing discharge and continuing care planning.

Section 3. Maximum Capacity.

(a) All levels of BOCES shall provide services for no more than twenty (20) children in each living unit.

Section 4. Program Personnel.

(a) BOCES shall have, at a minimum:

1. (i) Administrator/Executive Director;

(ii) Licensed or certified professionals on staff or under contract to direct the ITPCs and/or IEP;

(iii) Certified educational staff;

(iv) Direct care staff; and

(v) Medical personnel on staff or under contract, to include, at a minimum, a licensed practical nurse (LPN).

Section 5. Specialized Training (Chapter 3, Section 11).

All BOCES staff shall complete a thirty (30) hour orientation program and twenty (20) hours of annual training.

Section 6. Admissions Criteria.

(a) In order to qualify for placement in a BOCES program, a child shall have an evaluation in process or be referred for an evaluation, to determine if an IEP is necessary. In addition, a child must exhibit one (1) or more of the following conditions:

(i) Child cannot function in his/her community;

(ii) Child has treatment issues requiring therapeutic intervention;

(iii) There are documented attempts to treat the child with the maximum intensity of services available at a less intensive level of care that cannot meet or has failed to meet the needs of the child;

(iv) Without intervention, there is clear evidence that the child will likely decompensate and present a risk of serious harm to self or others;

(v) The child’s needs cannot be met by the public school, as determined by the treatment team; and

(vi) The child has special education or generalized education needs.

(b) The following are required within 14 days of admission to a BOCES:

(i) Initial diagnostic assessment;

(ii) Child assets and strengths;

(iii) Developmental history and current developmental functioning with respect to physical, psychological and social areas, including age appropriate adaptive functioning, self harm, institutional behaviors and social problem-solving;

(iv) Medical assessment;

(v) Complete or review psycho-educational assessment; and

(vi) A problem list, related to the reasons why the child was admitted to this level of care.

Section 7. Staffing Ratios.

(a) BOCESs shall maintain one (1) full time equivalent licensed or certified professional/child ratio of 1:10 or a ratio of 1:12 when the licensed or certified professional works with an aide for the delivery of any therapeutic services.

(b) Direct care staff for BOCESs:

(i) Daytime and evening hours. The minimum ratio of direct care staff to child ratio is 1:6. If the teacher is counted in the staff/child ratios, he/she shall complete all training required for direct care staff.

(ii) Nighttime sleeping hours.

(A) There shall be awake direct care staff/child ratio 1:10 during nighttime sleeping hours;

(B) Bedroom checks of children shall be conducted at a minimum of three (3) times per hour, on a random, unscheduled basis and the exact time of the check shall be documented in an overnight log; and

(C) One (1) or more staff members shall be available on-call to provide direct care to any child in crisis or in need of supervision during the nighttime hours.

(iii) Direct supervision of individual youth shall be adjusted to meet his/her specific needs (ie. runaway risk, youth on room restriction, risk to self or others).