441—114.8(237) Staff.
	114.8(1) Qualifications of staff.
	a. 	A caseworker shall have graduated from a four-year college or university with a bachelor’s degree in a human services field related to social work, psychology or a related behavioral science or in education and the equivalent of one year of full-time experience in social work or in the delivery of human services in a public or private agency, or six years of supervised child welfare experience in residential care or a combination of advanced education in the behavioral sciences and experience equal to six years.
	b. 	A casework supervisor shall have either a master’s degree in social work with one year of supervised experience after the master’s degree or a master’s degree in psychology or counseling with two years of experience beyond the master’s degree, one of which was under supervision. The experience shall be in the area of child welfare services.
	c. 	Child care workers shall be at least 18 years of age.
	d. 	Any licensed facility having persons in employment in positions for which present rules require higher qualifications will be considered to meet rules with the present staff. New staff will need to meet the requirements of these rules.
	e. 	A person who has a record of a criminal conviction or founded child or dependent adult abuse report shall not be employed, unless an evaluation of the crime or founded child or dependent adult abuse has been made by the department which concludes that the crime or founded child or dependent adult abuse does not merit prohibition of employment. If a record of criminal conviction or founded child or dependent adult abuse exists, the person shall be offered the opportunity to complete and submit Form 470-2310. In its evaluation, the department shall consider the nature and seriousness of the crime or founded abuse in relation to the position sought, the time elapsed since the commission of the crime or founded abuse, the circumstances under which the crime or founded abuse was committed, the degree of rehabilitation, and the number of crimes or founded abuses committed by the person involved.
	114.8(2) Number of staff.
	a. 	Children shall be provided with 24-hour awake supervision. There shall be at least one awake and readily accessible staff person on duty for each currently occupied living unit. The staff person shall make regular visual checks at least every hour throughout the night. A log shall be kept of all checks, including the time of the check and any significant observations. Policies for nighttime checks shall be in writing.
	b. 	Each facility shall have the services of a casework supervisor and a caseworker adequate to fulfill the staff duties.
	c. 	There shall be an on-call system operational 24 hours a day to provide supervisory consultation. There shall be a written plan documenting this system.
	d. 	The number and qualifications of the staff will vary depending on the needs of the children. There shall be at least a one to eight staff to client ratio during all times children are awake and present in the facility and during supervised outings.
	114.8(3) Staff duties.
	a. 	The casework supervisor shall provide in-person case specific supervision at the site of the facility for one hour per month per caseworker and be available for consultation in case of emergency.
	b. 	Caseworkers shall:
	(1)	Develop a service plan for each child containing goals and objectives with projected dates of accomplishment and shall involve the client, referral agency, and family whenever possible.
	(2)	Develop a specific plan relating to the involvement of the child’s parents unless documented by the caseworker that their involvement would be counterproductive.
	c. 	The facility staff shall be responsible for the following:
	(1)	Documenting case reassessments quarterly, involving the same personnel as previously involved in service plan development.
	(2)	Documenting the implementation of the service plan.
	(3)	Providing for scheduled in-person conferences with each resident.
	(4)	Providing a supportive atmosphere for the child.
	(5)	Providing for coordination of internal and external activities of the child.
	(6)	Providing for liaison with the referring agency.
	(7)	Providing leadership and guidance to the children.
	(8)	Providing a mechanism for dealing with day-to-day program operations.
	(9)	Being responsible for overseeing and maintaining general health and well-being of children.
	(10)	Supervising the living activities of the children.
	(11)	Monitoring and recording behavior on a daily basis.
	(12)	At all times, knowing where the children are and where they are supposed to be to assure ongoing safety.
	114.8(4) Staff development. Staff development shall be appropriate to the size and nature of the facility. There shall be a written format for staff training that includes:
	a. 	Orientation for all new employees to acquaint them with the philosophy, organization, program practices, and goals of the facility.
	b. 	Training of new employees in areas related to their job assignments.
	c. 	Provisions for all staff members to improve their competency. This may be accomplished through such means as:
	(1)	Attending staff meetings.
	(2)	Attending seminars, conferences, workshops and institutes.
	(3)	Visiting other facilities.
	(4)	Access to consultants.
	(5)	Access to current information and evidence-based practices relevant to the facility’s services.
	d. 	An individual designated responsible for staff development and training, who will complete a written staff development plan which shall be updated annually.
	114.8(5) Volunteers. A facility that utilizes volunteers to work directly with a particular child or group of children shall have a written plan for using volunteers. This plan shall be given to all volunteers. The plan shall indicate that all volunteers shall:
	a. 	Be directly supervised by a paid staff member.
	b. 	Be oriented and trained in the philosophy of the facility and the needs of children in care, and methods of meeting those needs.
	c. 	Be subject to character, reference, and record check requirements described in subrule 114.24(1).
[ARC 9488B, IAB 5/4/11, effective 7/1/11; ARC 4793C, IAB 12/4/19, effective 1/8/20; ARC 6962C, IAB 4/5/23, effective 6/1/23]