SECTION 749.2301. What follow-up actions must caregivers take after the child's behavior no longer constitutes an emergency situation?

(a) The caregivers must take appropriate actions to help the child return to routine activities. The follow-up actions of the caregivers must include:

(1) Providing the child with an appropriate transition and offering the child an opportunity to return to regular activities;

(2) Observing the child for at least 15 minutes; and

(3) Providing the child with an opportunity to discuss the situation that led to the need for emergency behavior intervention and the caregiver's reaction to that situation. The discussion must be held in private as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after the child's use of an emergency medication or release from any emergency behavior intervention.

(b) Caregivers involved in the emergency behavior intervention must conduct a post-emergency behavior intervention discussion. The goal of the discussion is to allow the child and caregiver to discuss:

(1) The child's behavior and the circumstances that constituted the need for an emergency behavior intervention;

(2) The strategies attempted before the use of the emergency behavior intervention and the child's reaction to those strategies;

(3) The emergency behavior intervention itself and the child's reaction to the emergency behavior intervention;

(4) How caregivers can assist the child in regaining self-control in the future to avoid the administration of an emergency behavior intervention; and

(5) What the child can do to regain self-control in the future to avoid the administration of an emergency behavior intervention.

(c) Caregivers involved in the emergency behavior intervention must:

(1) Debrief with child placement staff concerning the incident as soon as possible after the situation has stabilized; and

(2) Make reasonable efforts to debrief with children in care who witness the incident.

(d) The child placement staff must review the use of the emergency behavior intervention within 72 hours of the intervention.

(e) The caregivers do not have to return the child to previous activities or place the child in current activities that the group is participating in if the caregivers deem the child's participation is not in the best interests of the child or the other children in the group. However, caregivers must engage the child in an alternative routine activity.

(f) This rule does not apply to short personal restraint.

Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2301 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be effective September 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 7522; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909