LIS

Administrative Code

Virginia Administrative Code
11/21/2024

Part IV. Safety and Security

Article 6
Records

6VAC35-101-510. Emergency and evacuation procedures.

A. A written emergency preparedness and response plan shall be developed. The plan shall address:

1. Documentation of contact with the local emergency coordinator to determine (i) local disaster risks; (ii) communitywide plans to address different disasters and emergency situations; and (iii) assistance, if any, that the local emergency management office will provide to the detention center in an emergency;

2. Analysis of the detention center's capabilities and potential hazards, including natural disasters, severe weather, fire, flooding, work place violence or terrorism, missing persons, severe injuries, or other emergencies that would disrupt the normal course of service delivery;

3. Written emergency management procedures outlining specific responsibilities for provision of administrative direction and management of response activities; coordination of logistics during the emergency; communications; life safety of employees, contractors, interns, volunteers, visitors, and residents; property protection; fire protection service; community outreach; and recovery and restoration;

4. Written emergency response procedures for assessing the situation; protecting residents, employees, contractors, interns, volunteers, and visitors; equipment and vital records; and restoring services. Emergency procedures shall address:

a. Communicating with employees, contractors, and community responders;

b. Warning and notification of residents;

c. Providing emergency access to secure areas and opening locked doors;

d. Conducting evacuations to emergency shelters or alternative sites and accounting for all residents;

e. Relocating residents, if necessary;

f. Notifying parents and legal guardians, as applicable and appropriate;

g. Alerting emergency personnel and sounding alarms;

h. Locating and shutting off utilities when necessary; and

i. Providing for a planned, personalized means of effective egress for residents who use wheelchairs, crutches, canes, or other mechanical devices for assistance in walking.

5. Supporting documents that would be needed in an emergency, including emergency call lists, building and site maps necessary to shut off utilities, designated escape routes, and list of major resources such as local emergency shelters; and

6. Schedule for testing the implementation of the plan and conducting emergency preparedness drills.

B. Emergency preparedness and response training shall be developed for all employees to ensure they are prepared to implement the emergency preparedness plan in the event of an emergency. Such training shall be conducted in accordance with 6VAC35-101-180 (required initial orientation) through 6VAC35-101-200 (retraining) and include the employees' responsibilities for:

1. Alerting emergency personnel and sounding alarms;

2. Implementing evacuation procedures, including evacuation of residents with special needs (i.e., deaf, blind, nonambulatory);

3. Using, maintaining, and operating emergency equipment;

4. Accessing emergency information for residents including medical information; and

5. Utilizing community support services.

C. Contractors and volunteers shall be oriented in their responsibilities in implementing the evacuation plan in the event of an emergency. Such orientation shall be in accordance with the requirements of 6VAC35-101-180 (required initial orientation) and 6VAC35-101-300 (volunteer and intern orientation and training).

D. The annual review of the emergency preparedness plan shall be documented, and revisions shall be made as deemed necessary. Such revisions shall be communicated to employees, contractors, interns, and volunteers and incorporated into training for employees, contractors, interns and volunteers, and orientation of residents to services.

E. In the event of a disaster, fire, emergency, or any other condition that may jeopardize the health, safety, and welfare of residents, appropriate actions shall be taken to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and to remedy the conditions as soon as possible.

F. In the event of a disaster, fire, emergency, or any other condition that may jeopardize the health, safety, and welfare of residents, the detention center first should respond and stabilize the disaster or emergency. After the disaster or emergency is stabilized, the disaster or emergency shall be reported to the legal guardian and the applicable court service unit and the conditions at the detention center and the disaster or emergency shall be reported to the director or designee as soon as possible, but no later than 24 hours after the incident occurs and in accordance with 6VAC35-101-80 (serious incident reports).

G. Floor plans showing primary and secondary means of emergency exiting shall be posted on each floor in locations where they can be seen easily by staff and residents.

H. The responsibilities of the residents in implementing the emergency and evacuation procedures shall be communicated to all residents within seven days following admission or a substantive change in the procedures.

I. At least one evacuation drill (the simulation of the detention center's emergency procedures) shall be conducted each month in each building occupied by residents. During any three consecutive calendar months, at least one evacuation drill shall be conducted during each shift.

J. Evacuation drills shall include, at a minimum:

1. Sounding of emergency alarms;

2. Practice in evacuating buildings;

3. Practice in alerting emergency authorities;

4. Simulated use of emergency equipment; and

5. Practice in accessing resident emergency information.

K. A record shall be maintained for each evacuation drill and shall include the following:

1. Buildings in which the drill was conducted;

2. Date and time of drill;

3. Amount of time to evacuate the buildings;

4. Specific problems encountered;

5. Staff tasks completed including:

a. Head count, and

b. Practice in notifying emergency authorities; and

6. The name of the staff members responsible for conducting and documenting the drill and preparing the record.

L. One staff member shall be assigned to ensure that all requirements regarding the emergency preparedness and response plan and the evacuation drill program are met.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-520. Control center.

To maintain the internal security, a control center that is secured from residents' access shall be staffed 24 hours a day and shall integrate all external and internal security functions and communications networks.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-530. Control of perimeter.

A. In accordance with a written plan, the detention center's perimeter shall be controlled by appropriate means to provide that residents remain within the perimeter and to prevent unauthorized access by the public.

B. Pedestrians and vehicles shall enter and leave at designated points in the perimeter.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-540. Escapes.

Written procedure shall govern staff actions to be taken regarding escapes and any absence from the facility without permission. Any such procedure shall provide for the release of information consistent with the provisions of § 16.1-309.1 of the Code of Virginia.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-550. Contraband.

Written procedure shall provide for the control, detection, and disposition of contraband. Such procedures shall govern searches of residents, as required by 6VAC35-101-560 (searches of residents), and other individuals, and searches of the premises and shall provide for respecting residents' rights.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-560. Searches of residents.

A. Written procedures shall govern searches of residents, including patdown and frisk searches, strip searches, and body cavity searches, and shall include the following:

1. Searches of residents' persons shall be conducted only for the purposes of maintaining facility security and controlling contraband while protecting the dignity of the resident.

2. Searches are conducted only by personnel who are authorized to conduct such searches.

3. The resident shall not be touched any more than is necessary to conduct the search.

B. Patdown and frisk searches shall be conducted by employees of the same sex as the resident being searched, except in emergencies.

C. Strip searches and visual inspections of the vagina and anal cavity areas shall be subject to the following:

1. The search shall be performed by personnel of the same sex as the resident being searched;

2. The search shall be conducted in an area that ensures privacy; and

3. Any witness to the search shall be of the same sex as the resident.

D. Manual and instrumental searches of the anal cavity or vagina, not including medical examinations or procedures conducted by medical personnel for medical purposes, shall be:

1. Performed only with the written authorization of the facility administrator or by a court order;

2. Conducted by a qualified medical professional;

3. Witnessed by personnel of the same sex as the resident; and

4. Fully documented in the resident's medical file.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-570. Communications systems.

A. There shall be a means for communicating between the control center and living areas.

B. The detention center shall be able to provide communications in an emergency.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-580. Telephone access and emergency numbers.

A. There shall be at least one continuously operable, nonpay telephone accessible to staff in each building in which residents sleep or participate in programs.

B. There shall be an emergency telephone number where a staff person may be immediately contacted 24 hours a day.

C. An emergency telephone number shall be provided to residents and the adults responsible for their care when a resident is away from the facility and not under the supervision of direct care staff or law-enforcement officials.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-590. Keys.

A. The detention center shall have a written key control plan to keep keys secure at all times.

B. Fire and emergency keys shall be instantly identifiable by sight and touch.

C. There shall be different master keys for the interior security and outer areas.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-600. Weapons.

Written procedures shall be developed and implemented to govern the possession and use of firearms, pellet guns, air guns, and other weapons on the detention center's premises. The procedure shall provide that no firearms, pellet guns, air guns, or other weapons shall be permitted on the premises unless the weapons are:

1. In the possession of and use by authorized law-enforcement personnel admitted to facilities in response to emergencies; or

2. Stored in secure weapons lockers outside the secure perimeter of the facility by law-enforcement personnel conducting official business at the facility.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-610. Area and equipment restrictions.

Written procedure shall govern the inventory and control of all security, maintenance, recreational, and medical equipment of the detention center to which residents reasonably may be expected to have access.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-620. Power equipment.

Written safety rules shall be developed and implemented for the use and maintenance of power equipment.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-630. Transportation.

A. Each detention center shall have transportation available or make the necessary arrangements for routine and emergency transportation.

B. There shall be written safety rules for transportation of residents and for the use of vehicles.

C. Written procedure shall provide for the verification of appropriate licensure for staff whose duties involve transporting residents.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

6VAC35-101-640. Transportation of residents; transfer to department.

A. Residents shall be transported in accordance with Guidelines for Transporting Juveniles in Detention issued by the board in accordance with § 16.1-254 of the Code of Virginia.

B. When a resident is transported to the department from a detention center, all information pertaining to the resident's medical, educational, behavioral, and family circumstances during the resident's stay in detention shall be sent either in a written document or electronically to the department (i) with the resident, if the detention center is given at least 24 hours notice; or (ii) within 24 hours after the resident is transported, if such notice is not given.

Statutory Authority

§§ 16.1-309.9, 16.1-322.7, and 66-10 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.

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