Regulations for community treatment facilities adopted pursuant to Section 4094 shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) Only seriously emotionally disturbed children, as defined in Section 5699.2, for whom other less restrictive mental health interventions have been tried, as documented in the case plan, or who are currently placed in an acute psychiatric hospital or state hospital or in a facility outside the state for mental health treatment, and who may require periods of containment to participate in, and benefit from, mental health treatment, shall be placed in a community treatment facility. For purposes of this subdivision, lesser restrictive interventions shall include, but are not limited to, outpatient therapy, family counseling, case management, family preservation efforts, special education classes, or nonpublic schooling.

(b) A facility shall have the capacity to provide secure containment. For purposes of this section, a facility or an area of a facility shall be defined as secure if residents are not permitted to leave the premises of their own volition. All or part of a facility, including its perimeter, but not a room alone, may be locked or secure. If a facility uses perimeter fencing, all beds within the perimeter shall be considered secure beds. All beds outside of a locked or secure wing or facility shall be considered nonsecure beds.

(c) A locked or secure program in a facility shall not be used for disciplinary purposes, but shall be used for the protection of the minor. It may be used as a treatment modality for a child needing that level of care. The use of the secure facility program shall be for as short a period as possible, consistent with the child’s case plan and safety. The department shall develop regulations governing the oversight, review, and duration of the use of secure beds.

(d) Fire clearance approval shall be obtained pursuant to Section 1531.2 of the Health and Safety Code.

(e) (1) Prior to admission, any child admitted to a community treatment facility shall have been certified as seriously emotionally disturbed, as defined in Section 5699.2, by a licensed mental health professional. The child shall, prior to admission, have been determined to be in need of the level of care provided by a community treatment facility, by a county interagency placement committee, as prescribed by Section 4096.

(2) Any county cost associated with the certification and the determination provided for in paragraph (1) may be billed as a utilization review expense.

(Added by Stats. 1993, Ch. 1245, Sec. 5. Effective October 11, 1993.)