REMARKS
Commissioner explains staff training and de-escalation techniques in residential care
0:58:18
ยท
3 min
Commissioner Jess Dannhauser provides a comprehensive explanation of the measures in place to ensure safety in residential care facilities and address violent incidents.
- Describes staff training in de-escalation and restraint policies
- Emphasizes the importance of programming and trust-building with youth
- Discusses ongoing efforts to improve safety protocols and reduce incidents
- Highlights the dedication of residential care staff and the need for investment in their skills
Jess Dannhauser
0:58:18
For for young people who are in any kind of congregate care, whether it's sort of residential guy, a group home or a campus or the children's center, all the
Nantasha M. Williams
0:58:28
staff Or like one of the juvenile facilities.
Jess Dannhauser
0:58:31
Mhmm.
0:58:31
Mhmm.
0:58:31
So all the staff are trained both in de escalation and in restraint policies as needed in that sort of ongoing training.
0:58:41
So much of this is about the programming that young people are engaged in, the trust that they have in the staff.
0:58:48
We're looking at sort of ways in which we can continue to invest in the staff because my belief is that that core staff, in addition to adding clinical services and things that we have, that that core staff is the difference between a young person getting upset, they might have learned something that triggers them, them getting upset and having a violent incident.
0:59:10
And so we're also working with the providers in an ongoing conversation about advocacy we can do with OCFS.
0:59:18
I think there are certain times when particular protocols are appropriate, whether that be if a young person has had a weapon before, the ability to do some to warn them, to make sure everybody is safe.
0:59:31
We wanna make sure we are respecting the liberty of our young people, but also making sure that the every single place is safe.
0:59:39
The Children's Center has a series of protocols and we've been able to drive down a lot of the incidents there, in large part through programming and relationship and trust building.
0:59:52
And so and obviously sort of a lot of attentiveness and making sure that the staffing is strong.
0:59:57
These are incidents that we don't want ever to happen.
1:00:00
We're working with young people.
1:00:02
Sometimes they get triggered, and we have to have all the skills and staff to make sure that they are safe and that staff are safe.
1:00:08
I'm deeply grateful to young people.
1:00:10
I think sometimes residential gets a bad name, because of horrors that have happened in the past, but we have some really dedicated wonderful staff who show up every day.
1:00:21
They're with kids twenty four seven that deserve our investment and respect.
1:00:26
And so as we look at a declining residential care population, as we've invited the providers to bring to us innovative ideas.
1:00:36
One provider said, I don't think I can operate a campus anymore with these new models.
1:00:40
All of them have evidence based models infused.
1:00:43
I wanna go to sort of a group home model and we work with them on that.
1:00:46
We wanna keep hearing sometimes I think smaller sites are better.
1:00:50
So we have a series of what's called AOBHs, agency operated boarding homes, which is an old name but it's about four to six kids who live together and that's a different environment.
1:01:01
The Heart Shire of St.
1:01:02
Vincent's, I visited one of their group homes recently where they've really built a sort of healing sort of environment through an evidence based program.
1:01:12
So all the providers are trying to do different things and to a lot of success, but also there are times when things are not safe enough and we gotta continue to deal with that.
Nantasha M. Williams
1:01:22
Yeah.