Chapter DOC 347

DOC 347.47(4) (4) Searches.

DOC 347.47(4)(a) (a) Youth.

DOC 347.47(4)(a)1. 1. Searches shall not be conducted as a form of harassment, punishment, or discipline.

DOC 347.47(4)(a)2. 2. Searches of youth, except in exigent circumstances, shall be conducted by a staff member of the same gender as the youth. The facility’s transgender protocol must be followed for youth when this applies.

DOC 347.47(4)(a)3. 3. Body cavity searches shall be conducted by a qualified health care professional.

DOC 347.47(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 347.47(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 347.47(4)(b) (b) Visitors. The facility shall develop protocols for the searching of visitors and their possessions.

DOC 347.47(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 347.47(5) (5) Door and lock inspections. Monthly inspections shall be conducted and documented to determine if all facility doors and locks within and to the secure perimeter of the facility are in good working order.

DOC 347.47(6) (6) Facility repair. Any damage to the facility that compromises safety or security shall be promptly and securely repaired.

DOC 347.47 History History: CR 20-030: cr. Register October 2021 No. 790, eff. 11-1-21.

DOC 347.48 DOC 347.48 Observation of youth.

DOC 347.48(1) (1) A youth may be placed in their room only for any of the following purposes:

DOC 347.48(1)(a) (a) Sleeping purposes.

DOC 347.48(1)(b) (b) Healthcare reasons.

DOC 347.48(1)(c) (c) Upon a voluntary request.

DOC 347.48(1)(d) (d) To maintain the safety and security of other youth, staff, and the facility during an emergency situation.

DOC 347.48(1)(e) (e) Administrative confinement.

DOC 347.48(2) (2) 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 347.48(2)(a) (a) Thirty minutes for youth in the general population.

DOC 347.48(2)(b) (b) Fifteen minutes for any of the following:

DOC 347.48(2)(b)1. 1. Youth on a suicide or self-harm watch.

DOC 347.48(2)(b)2. 2. Youth in administrative confinement.

DOC 347.48(2)(b)3. 3. Youth in a receiving room or holding room.

DOC 347.48(2)(b)4. 4. Youth voluntarily requests.

DOC 347.48(3) (3) Each wellness check shall be documented.

DOC 347.48(4) (4) A video monitoring system may be used to supplement but not replace personal observations.

DOC 347.48(5) (5) Staff shall provide direct continuous personal observation when a youth is mechanically restrained.

DOC 347.48(6) (6) 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 347.48(7) (7) The facility shall ensure there is no physical or visual contact between youth and adult inmates.

DOC 347.48(8) (8) The facility shall ensure there is no sustained sound contact between youth and adult inmates.

DOC 347.48 History History: CR 20-030: cr. Register October 2021 No. 790, eff. 11-1-21.

DOC 347.49 DOC 347.49 Administrative confinement.

DOC 347.49(1) (1) Administrative confinement may only be used for a youth who poses a serious risk of imminent physical harm to others or facility security.

DOC 347.49(2) (2) The facility shall designate on-site supervisory staff who may initiate administrative confinement and remove youth from administrative confinement.

DOC 347.49(3) (3) If at any point the youth no longer poses a risk of imminent physical harm, the youth must be immediately returned to general population.

DOC 347.49(4) (4) An initial period of administrative confinement may not exceed 4 hours for a youth posing a risk of imminent physical harm to others.

DOC 347.49(5) (5) Administrative confinement may be extended 4 hours with one additional 4-hour extension thereafter (for a total of up to 12 hours) if all of the following occur:

DOC 347.49(5)(a) (a) A qualified mental health professional recommends continued confinement because the youth poses a risk of imminent physical harm to others.

DOC 347.49(5)(b) (b) A plan is commenced to either promptly return the youth to general population or transfer the youth to another facility.

DOC 347.49(6) (6) Administrative confinement time limits may be tolled from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

DOC 347.49(7) (7) Administrative confinement may only be used beyond 24 hours to effectuate transfer of the youth to another facility under a commenced plan.

DOC 347.49(8) (8) The facility shall notify the following individuals of an administrative confinement placement as soon as practicable:

DOC 347.49(8)(a) (a) A qualified mental health professional.

DOC 347.49(8)(b) (b) A qualified health care professional.

DOC 347.49(8)(c) (c) Affected facility staff.

DOC 347.49(8)(d) (d) The youth’s parent or guardian.

DOC 347.49(8)(e) (e) The county or tribe of placement.

DOC 347.49(9) (9) The facility shall document all actions and decisions regarding youth in administrative confinement to include all of the following:

DOC 347.49(9)(a) (a) Date, time, and name of supervisor making placement.

DOC 347.49(9)(b) (b) Reason placement is initiated or extended.

DOC 347.49(9)(c) (c) Date, time, names of individuals notified, and method of notification to the individuals in sub. (8).

DOC 347.49(9)(d) (d) Date, time, reason, and name of qualified mental health professional extending the placement.

DOC 347.49(9)(e) (e) Date, time, and name of supervisor removing placement.

DOC 347.49 History History: CR 20-030: cr. Register October 2021 No. 790, eff. 11-1-21.

DOC 347.50 DOC 347.50 Use of force.

DOC 347.50(1) (1) General provisions.

DOC 347.50(1)(a) (a) Physical force may be used as a last resort and in accordance with appropriate statutory authority.

DOC 347.50(1)(b) (b) Staff may only use the amount of force reasonably necessary to achieve the objective for which force is used.

DOC 347.50(1)(c) (c) Staff shall only use physical force by employing the least restrictive appropriate means and only for the amount of time necessary to bring the situation under control.

DOC 347.50(1)(d) (d) Using physical force for punishment, discipline, retaliation, or as a substitute for treatment is prohibited.

DOC 347.50(2) (2) Incident reporting.

DOC 347.50(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 347.50(2)(b) (b) A supervisor shall review and document all use of force incidents.

DOC 347.50(2)(c) (c) The facility shall conduct and document a multi-disciplinary operational review following a use of force.

DOC 347.50(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 347.50 History History: CR 20-030: cr. Register October 2021 No. 790, eff. 11-1-21.

DOC 347.51 DOC 347.51 Use of mechanical restraints.

DOC 347.51(1) (1) Youth may never be restrained to a fixed object, unless specifically ordered by a qualified mental health professional to attempt to prevent active self-harm.

DOC 347.51(2) (2) 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 self or others or damage to property.

DOC 347.51(3) (3) Mechanical restraints must be removed immediately upon the youth regaining composure and when the threat of harm or the safety concern has abated.

DOC 347.51(4) (4) Mechanical restraints may never be used as punishment.

DOC 347.51(5) (5) A youth may be placed in the least restrictive mechanical restraints when leaving the secure perimeter of the facility to prevent harm to youth or staff.

DOC 347.51(6) (6) Except under circumstances described in sub. (5), the incident reporting procedure outlined in s. DOC 347.50 (2) shall apply if a youth is mechanically restrained.

DOC 347.51(7) (7) 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. 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 347.51 History History: CR 20-030: cr. Register October 2021 No. 790, eff. 11-1-21.

DOC 347.52 DOC 347.52 Fire safety and emergency preparedness.

DOC 347.52(1) (1) The facility shall comply with applicable federal, state, and local fire safety codes.

DOC 347.52(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 347.52(3) (3) The facility shall maintain a record of all fire inspections conducted as required under sub. (1).

DOC 347.52(4) (4) Staff shall conduct and document monthly fire safety inspections of the facility.

DOC 347.52(5) (5) The facility shall have the means to evacuate youth in the event of fire or other emergency.

DOC 347.52(6) (6) 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 347.52(7) (7) Fire drills shall be conducted at least quarterly on each shift and documented.

DOC 347.52(8) (8) The facility shall develop and maintain an emergency operation procedure. The procedure shall be readily accessible for staff to reference and include instructions for all of the following:

DOC 347.52(8)(a) (a) Major disturbances.

DOC 347.52(8)(b) (b) Natural disasters.

DOC 347.52(8)(c) (c) Physical plant disruptions.