Discipline is an essential part of child rearing and when used positively it contributes to the healthy growth and development of a child and establishes positive patterns of behavior in preparation for adulthood. The object of discipline is to promote behaviors beneficial to the child's development and welfare and to change and/or eliminate behaviors which are injurious to his or her well-being. Therefore, we encourage positive discipline as a most important aspect of child rearing practices for children and youth for whom the Department for Children and Families purchases and/or provides services and care.
Positive discipline when used for purposes of guiding and teaching the child, provides the child encouragement, a sense of satisfaction, and helps the child understand the consequences of his/her behavior. Effective, positive discipline imposes behavioral limitations on the child which can provide the child a sense of security, engender a respect for order, and effectively enlists the child's help rather than locking the child and adult into a power struggle or adversary, punishing relationship, and promotes the child's discovery of those values that will be of the greatest benefit to the child, both now and in the future.
There are laws which protect adults against actions which many children must endure and suffer under the guise of discipline. Many children who are in the care of DCF have previously suffered too much physical pain, fear, humiliation, and emotional stress. We cannot perpetuate this when we assume the positive roles in our child-rearing practices - of which positive discipline is an essential part.
Therefore, DCF does not view as positive, acceptable discipline any action administered in a fashion which may cause any child to suffer physical or emotional damage. Disciplinary acts which cause pain, such as hitting, beatings, shaking, cursing, threatening, binding, closeting, prolonged isolation, denial of meals, and derogatory remarks about the child or his or her family or other acts of substantially the same nature or which have substantially the same effect are not acceptable.
IT IS THE POLICY OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES THAT WE NOT PURCHASE OR CONTINUE TO PURCHASE SERVICES FROM THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS WHO USE DISCIPLINARY ACTS WHICH CAUSE PAIN SUCH AS HITTING, BEATINGS, SHAKING, CURSING, THREATENING, BINDING,
CLOSETING, PROLONGED ISOLATION, DENIAL OF MEALS, AND DEROGATORY REMARKS ABOUT THE CHILD OR HIS OR HER FAMILY. NOR SHALL SUCH DISCIPLINARY ACTS BE TOLERATED WHEN PRACTICED BY DCF EMPLOYEES IN REGARD TO CHILDREN IN CARE OF THE AGENCY.
A. Physical Restraint
The purpose of physical restraint in a Youth Residential Center is to prevent a youth from causing injury to self or others and is used only when other means of behavior control is unsuccessful.
It is expected that therapeutic relationships among staff and residents will usually be sufficient to de-escalate incidents of out-of-control behavior of youth in care. When it is not possible to avoid the use of restraint in helping a youth regain control, passive physical restraint may be used to:
Physical restraint shall not be used for the purpose of punishment or discipline.
The Department for Children and Families will not purchase or continue to purchase services from providers who use physical restraint in a manner contrary to methods jointly approved by the Department for Children and Families and the Department of Health and Environment or otherwise in violation of statute or regulations.
B. Use of Time Out in Residential Child Care Facilities
Time out is a procedure used to assist the individual to regain emotional control by removing the individual from his or her immediate environment and restricting the individual to a quiet area or unlocked quiet room.
C. Emergency Safety Intervention
An emergency safety intervention must be performed in a manner that is safe, proportionate, and appropriate to the severity of the behavior, and the resident's chronological and developmental age, size, gender physical, medical, behavioral health and personal history must be taken into consideration.
The use of emergency safety interventions must be performed only through the use of nationally recognized restraint procedures applicable to this population designed to prevent a resident from harming self or others by exerting external control over physical movement. The approved interventions are listed in the YRC Standards and General Guidelines.
Physical restraint is the application of physical force without any mechanical device, for the purpose of restricting the free movement of a resident’s body. Physical restraint should be used only as last resort after all verbal de-escalation techniques have failed and when the resident is at-risk of harming themselves or others.
Mechanical restraint is the use of mechanical devices to restrict the free movement of the resident’s body, most often for purposes of preventing self-destructive behavior. Mechanical restraints are not allowed in YRC group or residential facilities.