Section 40.06. Personnel qualifications.

 

(1)   Policies.

(a) A mental health day services program shall have written personnel policies.

(b) A program shall maintain written documentation of employee qualifications and shall make that information available for inspection by clients, their parents or guardians and the department.

(2)   General qualifications.

(a) Each employee shall have the ability and emotional stability to carry out his or her assigned duties.

(b)

1. An applicant for employment shall provide character references from at least 2 people and references from all previous employers within the last 5 years and verification from educational institutions of degrees obtained.

2. References shall be documented either by letter or in a record of verbal contact giving dates, person making the contact, persons contacted and contact content.

(c) A program shall obtain a state criminal records check on each applicant before allowing that person to work for the program, and the program's governing board shall obtain a state criminal records check on a person being considered for appointment to be center director before allowing the person to work as program director. If the person lived in another state, a criminal records check shall be requested from that state.

(3)   Qualifications of program director.

(a) A program shall have a program director. The program director shall have overall responsibility for operation of the program. The program director shall:

1. Possess a thorough knowledge of mental health services for children and their families and have demonstrated skills in leadership and program management;

2. Be a graduate of an accredited college or university and meet the qualifications for any of the program staff listed in sub. (4) (a) to (g) , or demonstrate equivalent experience in children's mental health services; and

3. Have at least 2 years of relevant experience in an administrative or supervisory position.

(b) One or more staff members qualified under sub. (4) (a) to (g) shall be identified by the program director as persons to whom authority may be delegated in the absence of the program director. Either the program director or a person with delegated authority to be responsible for operation of the program shall be on the premises at all times the program is in operation.

(4)   Qualifications of clinical staff.

(a) The clinical coordinator shall be a psychiatrist qualified under s. DHS 61.06 (2) , a licensed psychologist listed or eligible to be listed in the national register of health service providers in psychology or a mental health professional. A mental health professional shall have a master's degree in psychology, clinical psychology, school psychology, counseling and guidance, counseling psychology, clinical social work, marriage and family counseling or mental health nursing, or a master's degree in a behavioral science or a related field from a graduate program that meets nationally recognized accreditation requirements approved by the department, with a minimum of 28 hours of graduate course credit in mental health theory and supervised clinical training; and have either 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience in a practice where the majority of the clients are children with mental illness or severe emotional disturbance, or 1,500 hours of supervised clinical experience in a program certified under this chapter.

(b) Psychiatrists shall be physicians licensed under ch. 448 , Stats. , to practice medicine and surgery and shall have completed 3 years of residency training in psychiatry in a program approved by the American medical association and be either board-certified or eligible for certification in child psychiatry by the American board of psychiatry and neurology. If a program can demonstrate that no board-certified or eligible child psychiatrists are available, psychiatrists who have had a minimum of 2 years of clinical experience working with children may be employed.

(c) Registered nurses shall be licensed as registered nurses under s. 441.06 , Stats. Licensed practical nurses shall hold a current license under s. 441.10 , Stats. Registered and licensed practical nurses shall have had either training in psychiatric nursing, including training in work with children with mental health disorders, or one year of experience working in a clinical setting with these children.

(d) Psychologists shall be licensed under ch. 455 , Stats. , and shall have a minimum of one year of training or work experience related directly to the assessment and treatment of children with mental health disorders.

(e) Clinicians shall have a master's degree from a graduate school of social work accredited by the council on social work education, or a master's degree in behavioral science or a related field from a graduate program that meets nationally recognized accreditation requirements, with a minimum of 28 hours of graduate course credit in social service, marriage and family counseling, mental health theory, human behavior or similar area of study, and shall have a minimum of one year of experience working in a clinical setting serving children with mental health disorders.

(f) Occupational therapists shall have a bachelor's degree, a minimum of one year of experience working with children with mental disorders and shall meet the requirements of s. DHS 105.28 (1) .

(g) Specialists in specific areas of therapeutic assistance, such as rehabilitation counselors, recreational therapists, music therapists and vocational counselors shall have complied with the appropriate certification or registration procedures for their profession as required by state statutes and administrative rules or the governing body regulating their profession, and shall have at least one year of educational or work experience serving children with mental health disorders.

(h) Other qualified mental health professionals shall have at least a bachelor's degree in a relevant area of education or human services and a minimum of 2 years of work experience serving children with mental health disorders, or a minimum of 6 years of work experience and training providing direct services to children with mental health disorders.

(i) Certified occupational therapy assistants shall have at least one year of experience working with children with mental disorders and shall meet the requirements s. DHS 105.28 (2) .

(j) Mental health technicians shall be paraprofessionals who are employed on the basis of personal aptitude and life experience which suggest they are able to provide positive and effective services for children with mental health disorders. A mental health technician shall have a suitable period of orientation and in-service training and shall work under the supervision of the program's clinical coordinator.

(5)   Clinical supervision.

(a) Each program shall develop and implement a written policy for clinical supervision of all staff who provide treatment for children in the program.

(b) Clinical supervision of individual program staff shall include direct clinical review and assessment of each staff person's performance in providing treatment services to children in the program, and letting the staff member know how well he or she is doing and what improvements are needed.

(c) Clinical supervision shall be provided by the clinical coordinator or other staff member who meets the qualifications for a clinical coordinator under sub. (4) (a) .

(d) Clinical supervision shall be accomplished by one or both of the following means:

1. Individual, face to face sessions with the staff member to review cases, assess performance and let the staff member know how he or she is doing; or

2. Individual side-by-side sessions in which the supervisor is present while the staff person provides treatment or counseling for a client and in which the supervisor assesses, teaches and gives advice regarding the staff member's performance with the particular client.

(e) A minimum of 2 hours per month of clinical supervision shall be provided for each mental health professional on staff providing services to clients or their families.

(f) Clinical supervision provided for individual program staff shall be documented in writing.

(6)   Orientation and in-service training.

(a) Orientation. Each program shall develop and implement an orientation program which all new staff and regularly scheduled volunteers shall complete. The orientation shall be designed to ensure that staff and volunteers know and understand the following:

1. Pertinent parts of this chapter;

2. The program's policies and procedures;

3. Job responsibilities of staff persons in the program;

4. Applicable parts of chs. 48 , 51 , 55 and 115 , Stats., (including s. 48.981 ) and any related administrative rules;

5. Basic mental health treatment concepts applicable to providing day services for children and their families;

6. The provisions of ch. DHS 94 and s. 51.61 , Stats., regarding patient rights;

7. The provisions of ch. DHS 92 regarding confidentiality of treatment records; and

8. Techniques and procedures for providing non-violent crisis management for individuals or for groups of children.

(b) Inservice training.

1. Each program shall develop and implement a training program for all staff, which shall include:

a. Time set aside for in-service training;

b. Presentations by community resource staff from other agencies;

c. Attendance at conferences and workshops; and

d. Discussion and presentation of current principles and methods of treatment for children with mental illness or severe emotional disturbance.

2. Each staff person shall participate in a minimum of 48 hours of documented training each year on topics relevant to that staff person's responsibilities in the program. This training may include inservice training and consultation provided by staff of the program or consultants.

History: Cr. Register, August, 1996, No. 488 , eff. 9-1-96; corrections in (4) (f), (i) and (6) (a) 7. made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7, Stats., Register January 2004 No. 577 ; corrections in (4) (a), (f), (i), (6) (a) 6. and 7. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register November 2008 No. 635 .

Note

For a state of Wisconsin criminal records check, obtain the name, sex, race and date of birth of the person about whom you are requesting the check. Send this information in a stamped self-addressed envelope to the Crime Information Bureau, Wisconsin Department of Justice, P.O. Box 2718, Madison, WI 53701-2718. There is a $2 fee per check for nonprofit agencies and a $5 fee per check for government agencies. Those agencies must specify their tax exempt number. For all other agencies there is a $13 fee per check. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1