Chapter DOC 346

DOC 346.38(4)(a)4. 4. The facility shall document the reason for all youth strip, body cavity, and cross-gender pat down searches and any items discovered through the search.

DOC 346.38(4)(a)5. 5. All youth strip, body cavity, and cross-gender pat down searches shall require the documented approval of a supervisor or designee.

DOC 346.38(4)(b) (b) Visitors. The facility shall develop protocols for the searching of visitors and their possessions.

DOC 346.38(4)(c) (c) Facility. At a minimum, monthly facility searches of all youth accessible areas shall be conducted and documented to control the existence of contraband.

DOC 346.38(5) (5) Door and lock inspections. Staff shall conduct and document monthly inspections of all doors and locks within and to the secure perimeter of the facility to determine if they are in good working order.

DOC 346.38(6) (6) Facility repair. Any damage to the facility that compromises safety or security shall promptly and securely be repaired.

DOC 346.38 History History: CR 24-065: cr. Register July 2025 No. 835, eff. 8-1-25.

DOC 346.39 DOC 346.39 Observation of youth.

DOC 346.39(1) (1) The facility shall have a system for providing wellness checks of youth. All youth shall be personally observed by facility security staff at staggered intervals not to exceed any of the following:

DOC 346.39(1)(a) (a) Thirty minutes for youth in the general population.

DOC 346.39(1)(b) (b) Fifteen minutes for any of the following:

DOC 346.39(1)(b)1. 1. Youth on a suicide or self-harm watch.

DOC 346.39(1)(b)2. 2. Youth in administrative confinement.

DOC 346.39(1)(b)3. 3. Youth in a receiving room or holding room.

DOC 346.39(1)(b)4. 4. Youth voluntarily requests.

DOC 346.39(1)(b)5. 5. Youth in room restriction.

DOC 346.39(1)(c) (c) Staff shall provide continuous personal observation when a youth is mechanically restrained for non-routine purposes.

DOC 346.39(2) (2) Each wellness check shall be documented.

DOC 346.39(3) (3) A video monitoring system may be used to supplement but not replace personal observations.

DOC 346.39(4) (4) The facility shall conduct and document formal physical counts of youth at least 3 times per day, with a minimum of one count per shift.

DOC 346.39(5) (5) The facility shall ensure there is no physical or visual contact between youth and adult inmates.

DOC 346.39 History History: CR 24-065: cr. Register July 2025 No. 835, eff. 8-1-25.

DOC 346.40 DOC 346.40 Administrative confinement.

DOC 346.40(1) (1) Administrative confinement may only be used for the following reasons:

DOC 346.40(1)(a) (a) A youth poses a serious risk of imminent physical harm to themselves, another person, or property.

DOC 346.40(1)(b) (b) A youth threatens the security and order of the facility.

DOC 346.40(1)(c) (c) A youth inhibits a pending disciplinary investigation.

DOC 346.40(2) (2) The facility shall designate on-site supervisory staff who may initiate and remove youth from administrative confinement.

DOC 346.40(3) (3) A youth’s progress in administrative confinement shall be reviewed by a supervisor or designee at least once a shift. Each review shall be documented.

DOC 346.40(4) (4) If the supervisor or designee determines the youth no longer poses a risk under sub. (1), the youth must be immediately returned to the general population.

DOC 346.40(5) (5) The facility shall notify the following individuals of an administrative confinement placement as soon as practicable:

DOC 346.40(5)(a) (a) Superintendent or supervisory designee.

DOC 346.40(5)(b) (b) A qualified mental health professional.

DOC 346.40(5)(c) (c) A qualified health care professional.

DOC 346.40(5)(d) (d) Affected facility staff.

DOC 346.40(5)(e) (e) The youth’s parent or guardian.

DOC 346.40(5)(f) (f) The county or tribe of placement.

DOC 346.40(6) (6) The facility shall document all actions and decisions regarding youth in administrative confinement including:

DOC 346.40(6)(a) (a) Date, time, and name of supervisor making placement.

DOC 346.40(6)(b) (b) Reason placement is initiated.

DOC 346.40(6)(c) (c) Date, time, names of individuals notified, and method of notification to the individuals in sub. (5).

DOC 346.40(6)(d) (d) Date, time, and name of supervisor or supervisory designee removing placement.

DOC 346.40(7) (7) At least quarterly, the facility shall review the use of administrative confinement. The review shall be documented and include:

DOC 346.40(7)(a) (a) Identification of any patterns indicated by similarities in the time of day, day of the week, duration of use, individuals involved, or other factors associated with the use of administrative confinement.

DOC 346.40(7)(b) (b) Actions needed to correct identified deficiencies in the facility’s implementation of administrative confinement.

DOC 346.40(7)(c) (c) A review of available options to minimize the use of room confinement.

DOC 346.40 History History: CR 24-065: cr. Register July 2025 No. 835, eff. 8-1-25.

DOC 346.41 DOC 346.41 Use of force.

DOC 346.41(1) (1) General provisions.

DOC 346.41(1)(a) (a) Force may be used as a last resort and in accordance with appropriate statutory authority.

DOC 346.41(1)(b) (b) Staff may only use the amount of force reasonably necessary to achieve the objective for which force is used.

DOC 346.41(1)(c) (c) Staff shall only use force by employing the least restrictive appropriate means and only for the amount of time necessary to bring the situation under control.

DOC 346.41(1)(d) (d) Using force for punishment, discipline, retaliation, or as a substitute for treatment is prohibited.

DOC 346.41(2) (2) Incident reporting.

DOC 346.41(2)(a) (a) Any staff member who uses force or witnesses a use of force shall submit a written report describing the incident to their supervisor for review. The report shall include all known relevant facts and be submitted by the end of the shift.

DOC 346.41(2)(b) (b) A supervisor shall document the review of all use of force incidents.

DOC 346.41(2)(c) (c) The facility shall conduct and document a multi-disciplinary operational review following a use of force.

DOC 346.41(2)(d) (d) Facility procedures shall address the role, notification, and follow-up of qualified health care and mental health professionals following use of force incidents.

DOC 346.41 History History: CR 24-065: cr. Register July 2025 No. 835, eff. 8-1-25.

DOC 346.42 DOC 346.42 Use of mechanical restraints.

DOC 346.42(1) (1) Mechanical restraints may only be applied to youth if staff determine that they are the least restrictive means of addressing an imminent threat of physical harm to themselves or others, or damage to property.

DOC 346.42(2) (2) Mechanical restraints must be removed immediately upon the youth regaining composure and when the threat of harm or the safety concern has abated.

DOC 346.42(3) (3) Mechanical restraints may never be used as punishment.

DOC 346.42(4) (4) When a youth is mechanically restrained for non-routine purposes, the incident reporting procedure outlined in s. DOC 346.41 (2) shall apply. Documentation shall include the reason for use, duration of use, corresponding continuous personal observation and wellness checks required under s. DOC 346.39 (1) (c) and (2).

DOC 346.42(5) (5) A staff person shall be assigned to monitor a youth who is placed in mechanical restraints and shall remain in continuous auditory and visual contact with the youth.

DOC 346.42(6) (6) Observations of the youth’s behavior and any staff interventions shall be documented at least once every 15 minutes, with the actual time of the observation or intervention recorded.

DOC 346.42 History History: CR 24-065: cr. Register July 2025 No. 835, eff. 8-1-25; correction in (4) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register July 2025 No. 835.

DOC 346.43 DOC 346.43 Fire safety and emergency preparedness.

DOC 346.43(1) (1) The facility shall comply with applicable federal, state, and local fire safety codes.

DOC 346.43(2) (2) The facility shall have and shall properly maintain self-contained breathing apparatuses and fire extinguishers sufficient to support the need of the facility as determined by the local fire department. The facility shall place the equipment in accordance with the advice of the local fire department.

DOC 346.43(3) (3) The facility shall maintain a record of all fire inspections conducted as required under sub. (1).

DOC 346.43(4) (4) Staff shall conduct and document monthly fire inspections of the facility.

DOC 346.43(5) (5) A written fire evacuation plan shall be developed and maintained in accordance with recommendations from the local fire department. The evacuation routes developed as a part of the evacuation plan shall be posted in a conspicuous place for staff.

DOC 346.43(6) (6) Fire drills shall be conducted at least quarterly on each shift and documented.

DOC 346.43(7) (7) The facility shall develop and maintain an emergency operations procedure. The procedure shall be readily accessible for staff to reference and shall include instructions for all of the following:

DOC 346.43(7)(a) (a) Major disturbances.

DOC 346.43(7)(b) (b) Natural disasters.

DOC 346.43(7)(c) (c) Physical plant disruptions.

DOC 346.43(8) (8) First aid kits and other emergency response equipment shall be available in designated areas of the facility. Inventories shall be conducted and documented monthly.

DOC 346.43(9) (9) The facility shall have access to an alternate power source to maintain essential services in an emergency. Quarterly tests of the alternate power source shall be conducted and documented.

DOC 346.43 History History: CR 24-065: cr. Register July 2025 No. 835, eff. 8-1-25.

subch. X of ch. DOC 346 Subchapter X — Behavior Management

DOC 346.44 DOC 346.44 Discipline.

DOC 346.44(1) (1) At the time of admission, each youth shall be notified of and provided access to the rules of behavior required in the facility and the potential disciplinary actions imposed for violation of the rules. Documentation of the youth’s receipt of the facility rules shall be maintained.

DOC 346.44(2) (2) The facility shall have a graduated array of dispositions to address youth rule violations.

DOC 346.44(3) (3) Disciplinary action shall be determined on an individual basis. Staff shall not use group punishment as a sanction for the negative behavior of an individual youth.

DOC 346.44(4) (4) Youth may not administer rule violation dispositions.

DOC 346.44(5) (5) Staff may consider whether a youth’s disability, mental illness, special education status, or limited-English proficiency status contributed to the behavior when assigned consequences for violations of the facility’s rules.

DOC 346.44(6) (6) Staff may restrict a youth’s privileges for a rule violation if all of the following occur: