210 IAC 8-5-17 Physical restraint

Sec. 17. (a) Written policy, procedure, and practice provide that the use of physical force or physical restraint is not used as a means of punishment or reprisal toward a juvenile and includes the following: (1) Staff uses the minimal degree of force necessary to maintain the custody, control, safety, and security of the facility, juvenile, or situation. (2) The use of physical force is restricted to instances of: (A) self-protection from imminent threat of harm; (B) protection of others from imminent threat of harm; (C) prevention of self-inflicted injury; (D) protection of property; and (E) prevention of escapes; and then only the amount of force necessary to regain or maintain control is used and only as a last resort. (3) Facility staff shall receive regular training in the areas of: (A) conflict resolution; (B) deescalation; and (C) crisis intervention; to ensure staff has the necessary skills to reduce the need for the use of physical force. (4) Facility staff receive regular training on the approved use of physical force techniques to ensure appropriate application. (5) For all use of physical force incidents, on-duty staff shall ensure that health care staff are contacted as soon as possible so that the juvenile's physical and emotional condition can be assessed and any injuries treated. If health care staff are not on-duty at the time of the use of physical force, health trained, on-duty staff shall: (A) contact the on-call health care staff as soon as possible following the use of force; and (B) provide the health care staff with detailed information regarding any injuries or complaints by the juvenile. (6) Health care staff shall assess the juvenile's injuries or complaints, or both, and determine whether the juvenile needs to been seen immediately or can be seen during the next scheduled sick call. In the event that a juvenile is injured and contact cannot be made with health care staff, on-duty staff will follow established procedures to obtain necessary medical evaluation and treatment. (7) A written report is prepared following all uses of physical force by each staff involved in the incident, prior to the end of the shift, and submitted to the facility administrator for review. (b) This is a mandatory standard.