Greater accuracy and detail in staff communications leads to improved consistency in staff and resident interactions. The more one knows about young people, the easier it is to express an interest in them, to talk with them, and to share concerns. The observer can easily fill the job safety observation after the surveying entire area. Unfortunately, they may hurry because they want to complete their assigned work and leave their shift or because they simply do not enjoy doing paperwork. Typically it is a format that is used when an external observer is available who has the time and ability to observe and document behaviors during specified periods of the day. Fortunately, many facilities now have computer-generated reports, and the writer may use the spell-check function.
Clear: There were 25 youth in the unit that had a rated capacity of 15. As staff members assume responsibility in the facility, those staff members should do the same thing within each living or activity area with newer peers. Asking the right questions before you begin an observation will help you stay focused on what is really important. This can apply to students and patients as you can establish consistent monitoring patterns so as to watch them more closely. If his mother is not smiling or paying attention to him, he will bring her a toy after watching her for a moment.
Ch.16 Behavior Observation, Recording, and Report Writing
It is important to note that the skillful observer looks for patterns of behavior that characterize what is typical for each resident. They may be used to compile statistics or other important information. Instead, these questions should be referred to administrative staff or to a team discussion supervised by a qualified staff member. Such recognition is likely to cause youth to lose trust and confidence in those adults and view them as hypocrites. Participation helps develop healthy relationships with youth, without appearing to be a guard or a watchdog. Therefore, each facility encompasses several contexts education, recreation, group counseling, court.
The completion of forms varies with the type of document being considered e. Why Observe Facility staff are responsible for supervising the youth under their care. Ryon crawled to the toy car and came up alongside it. Abbreviations can also be confusing and misunderstood by a reader. Paperwork may be the most important issue in helping staff members protect the rights of detained youth and protect their own careers.
Well Organized An agency may have a required format for incident reports that staff should follow. She continues to watch him even when he is interested in a toy or moving away from her. While this system may be more efficient, you will note that much of the richness of the narrative is missing. The risk for staff of being sued or being found liable in a lawsuit can be mitigated when staff carefully observe and document behaviors. What behavioral states affect the infant-caregiver relationship? A word may be spelled correctly and not be the word that was intended by the report writer e. The video record can provide helpful information when there is a review or investigation of an incident or of youth behavior. Professions, jurisdictions and facilities all have abbreviations that they commonly use that outsiders may not understand.
Working in an institution is a stressful job. It is complex and interdisciplinary. This simple approach helps to define those issues that should be committed to writing. In Clark County, where I teach, there are well trained floating aides who are trained to collect this information and have been a great help to me. Joe again refuses to leave. Where: Anywhere the behavior occurs is an appropriate place to collect data. They may believe that doing so is efficient and allows them to spend more time with youth.
Part of the responsibility of recording is to note details of staff behavior. Then he puts his other hand on the couch and pulls himself up. Legible Reports must be legible. Therefore, objectivity is accomplished only by keeping personal biases from interfering with the ability to perceive reality. These criteria provide a list of themes that direct-care workers might use in crafting their written communications, particularly in their logs. Cameras and recording systems are useful tools for confirming direct observations by staff.
In juvenile and adult correctional facilities, staff must use observation to help establish treatment and service goals and to determine progress towards meeting those goals, including readiness for return to the community. About the Author Nicole Vulcan has been a journalist since 1997, covering parenting and fitness for The Oregonian, careers for CareerAddict, and travel, gardening and fitness for Black Hills Woman and other publications. It is important to communicate that information so that the oncoming staff can appropriately approach and respond to that youth and to the group as a whole. . Passivity on the part of youth may reflect apathy toward improving their attitudes and behavior. If a line staff member questions the value of his reports, he should bring concerns to administrators. Electronic systems can be an aide to managers and a motivator to security staff, as they require that staff go to the checkpoints at the times specified for the required watch.
Ch.16 Behavior Observation, Recording, and Report Writing
Child-Caregiver Interaction I s there any adult interaction with the newborn? Did he go to court and learn that he is getting released? The difficulty for juvenile and adult detention and corrections staff is that they are often more adept at recognizing and identifying inappropriate behavior rather than positive behavior. In addition, there may be specialized reports for particular types of facilities or specific kinds of incidents. These comments and suggestions must be stated in an , which will be sent to the management or institution whom the observer is working with. Good observation helps to create a safe environment. Suicide Screening, Assessment, and Monitoring Reports Suicide screening, assessment, and monitoring are discussed separately because they have crucial and unique components. The juvenile court, placement agencies, treatment professionals, release or parole, and other stakeholders involved with the social, educational, and emotional development of troubled youth all need credible information about those youth.
