Md. Code Regs. 07.02.09.10

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 26, December 27, 2024

Section 07.02.09.10 - Behavior Management of Children in Care

A. The local department shall provide kinship caregivers with developmentally appropriate and trauma-responsive resources to manage the behaviors of children in care, including behavior management methods, and connect the kinship caregiver with community programs to address concerning behaviors.

B. Kinship caregivers shall establish clear expectations for behavior and understand and manage challenging behaviors in a trauma-responsive manner, rewarding good behavior.

C. Only a kinship caregiver or other adult caregiver approved by the local department and known to the children in care may discipline children in care.

D. Kinship caregivers may only physically restrain a child in care to protect the child in care from self-injury or from injuring others.

E. Prohibited punishments include:

(1) Using corporal punishment that includes spanking, shaking, physical hitting, or any other type of physical punishment, no matter how inflicted;

(2) Requiring physical exercises such as running laps or performing pushups;

(3) Forcing a child in care to assume or hold an uncomfortable position, such as squatting or bending, or to repeat physical movements;

(4) Confining a child in care in a locked room;

(5) Using mechanical or chemical restraints;

(6) Making remarks that belittle or ridicule a child in care or a child in care's family;

(7) Denying essential program services, such as not taking a child in care to a planned appointment for educational, psychiatric, or psychological services;

(8) Withholding visitation or communication with the child in care's family;

(9) Withholding meals, clothing, or bedding, or disrupting a child in care's sleep; and

(10) Threatening to have a child in care removed from the home.

Md. Code Regs. 07.02.09.10

Regulation .10 adopted effective 51:24 Md. R. 1081, eff. 12/12/2024.