INTRODUCTION
Especially for our youth in the residential treatment component (RTC), the right and privilege of making/receiving phone calls is important. There are also over 20 day students on the campus during the week and a growing number of youth in our Community Programs placements. With these different programs, the different needs of youth based on developmental, emotional and behavioral issues, the right for some phone calls, the privilege/loss of other calls (behavioral consequence) and the concern of families about incoming calls, it makes sense to try to summarize the various phone call related policies which have arisen over the years.

 PHONE CALLS DURING "ORIENTATION PERIOD"
As explained to all parents/guardians involved with the youth's admission process, to encourage the youth to focus on "joining" into the program at HHS, contact and communication with the outside world may need to be restricted initially after placement. Part of this involves phone calls. For up to the youth's first 30 days in placement, usually a shorter time and never to exceed  30 days, the Therapist assigned to the youth and family maintains the prerogative to control all phone calls except Official Calls (see below).

Typically, the Therapist arranges for outgoing calls from the boy to his family to be made from his/her office at times the family has designated as convenient. Typically this would be 1 or 2 calls per week during the orientation period (which typically lasts only a week or two). Additionally, it is typical for the Therapist to arrange between the family and the unit/dorm in which the new youth is placed for 1-2 incoming calls from the family to be made per week, usually in the evening after dinner.

All of these initial calls will be monitored by the Therapist or Youthcare staff. Parents are reminded here that if the youth becomes verbally abusive or appears upset, staff are authorized to intervene, take the phone, indicate that there are problems with the call, and end the call. The Therapist will be informed and follow-up as a clinical intervention.

Note that for these calls, and for all the call types below, though with more leeway on "official calls," there will be time limits on calls. This is both a financial and a logistical issue for the School -- ten (10) minutes would be the maximum that would be allowed for a call. Also note that the Therapist will, shortly after the admission of a new youth, and then periodically during the youth's treatment, develop with the family a list with any special phone call instructions. This will be kept at the switchboard and in the dorms/units. The most typical uses of this list are to qualify certain callers for collect calls and to place restrictions on certain callers or even forbid contact with others.

 INCOMING CALLS FROM KEY ADULTS IN YOUTH'S FAMILY
The overarching philosophy about incoming calls from key adults is to allow them during appropriate hours. However, because of the number of adults involved with some youth, the logistics of the units, and the deficiencies in phone calling as a means of communication for youth/families having emotional difficulties, a general guideline of a maximum of 3 such calls per week is given (this maximum can be reduced by the Therapist). Such incoming calls are to be made from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM Monday thru Friday/ from 10AM until 9PM Sat. and Sunday.

If a youth has an "early bedtime" as a behavioral consequence, he will not be able to take the call. Also a youth who has caused a major disruption may be temporarily "off-privileges" or in "alternative program"—he would not be able to receive a call. The Youthcare Staff have been trained to explain these circumstances to incoming callers.

 INCOMING CALLS FROM MINORS, INCLUDING SIBLINGS & FRIENDS
These calls are a lower priority than those from key family adults. A guideline is that there can be 1 such call per week for younger boys and 2 such calls for older boys – what is referred to here are calls on which a youth is the speaker at the time our switchboard takes the call. If a key adult has called, we certainly are comfortable with them using good judgement in putting a sibling or minor friend of the boy in placement onto the phone.

 OUTGOING CALLS TO KEY ADULTS IN FAMILY
Each of the residential and community programs units has guidelines about outgoing calls. The guidelines generally specify times at which calls can be made and allow a baseline of 1 outgoing call per week unless the youth is "off-privileges" or in "alternative program" at the time a call can be made. Depending on the particular unit, if a youth is "on privileges", he would be able to make 1-4 additional outgoing calls per week depending on his behavioral "level". If a youth only qualifies for 1 outgoing call, staff will require that it be to family. When the youth has the right/privilege to make more than 1 call, we suggest that at least occasionally such calls be used to call key family adults.

 OUTGOING CALLS TO MINORS
Generally, youth can make calls to minors from the number of outgoing calls they have available as being "on privileges" and at a certain behavioral level. Outgoing calls to minors will be more closely monitored than calls to key adults. If staff were to consider such a call inappropriate, it can be terminated. The youth has then lost one call from his count of available calls. These calls, too, are to be made during specified times and different units may have additional guidelines; e.g. on the length of calls.

 INCOMING CALLS FROM OFFICIALS
The overarching guideline on these calls is that they are not restricted except on the dimension of schedule, specifically that even an official caller (e.g., a state caseworker or an attorney) should not be allowed to interrupt a youth in class during the school day or in a therapy or a lifeskills session. We encourage official callers to know our schedule and call at 10:15AM (recess), over the lunch hour, or after 3PM in the afternoon, or anytime over the weekend. The only risk of weekend calls by officials is that the youth will be off campus on a visit or on a trip. To expedite matters for the officials, if they call when a youth is in a formal education or therapy activity, the official will be asked when the youth can call back and how to get "put through". Staff will then make every effort to assist the youth with this call.

 OUTGOING CALLS TO OFFICIALS
Youth will often insist that they have an absolute right to call their state social worker, their probation officer, or their attorney. Harmony Hill does not believe that is the case. Youth will be be considered to have the right to make such calls during times they are not in formal education or treatment activities, or in the case of the latter, the Therapist will make an effort to allow the youth to make the call from the Therapist's office. Since it is often the case on such calls that the official is not there when the youth calls, it is to be stated that the youth will unequivocally be allowed to leave a message. For both incoming and outgoing calls to officials, if the youth is frustrated after several attempts within these guidelines, staff is to contact a Supervisor or Administrator who will intervene to allow such a call outside the guidelines.

 CELL PHONES
Recently, a youth asked if he could have a cell phone.  Harmony Hill's policy is that this will not be allowed on the main campus (nor are beepers). See Community Programs below.

 COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
This Department of HHS currently/in the future encompasses group homes, fostercare, and supervised apartments. Obviously there is a wide variety in the ages, developmental needs, behavioral and mental status of youth in such programs. Further, the programs themselves can be very different—with regard to phone issues, a clear example is that foster families are "contractors" for Harmony Hill. While they are asked to follow certain guidelines on phone use by youth we place in their homes, they still retain great leeway as they "own" the phone.  If there are any specific questions about client phone use in Community Programs, these should be addressed to the Director of Community Programs.

 DAY STUDENT PHONE CALLS
Because day students will normally be returning home each evening, the general rule is that they do not make outgoing calls from HHS except in the context of a Therapist supervised situation. If a day student were to miss a bus home or need to spend a negative overnight, the parent would be contacted by the Day Program staff or the Therapist. For those day students' parents with no phone or who don't hear from their "emergency phone back-up" and whose boy doesn't get off the usual school bus, they should call into HHS. Additionally, when a parent is aware that a youth is doing a negative overnight, they may call in once that evening to check on their son. Staff, at their discretion may allow the youth to briefly talk with the parent. The parent is asked to keep in mind that the negative overnight is a behavioral consequence and that phone contact may help the youth psychologically "minimize" the impact—which staff would prefer not occur.

 APPROVED CALLER LIST
The Therapist is to develop, at the outset of a placement and with the help of the parents/guardians, a list of approved callers or a list of those who should not have contact with the youth. We will also attempt to manage, to a degree and on a situation by situation basis, approved callers "with restrictions." This is an aspect of the phone calling policy which requires parents/guardians to be proactive, i.e. circumstances may change during a youth's placement, and it is necessary that you stay in touch with the Therapist in this regard.

 REVIEW OF PHONE CALL ISSUES
Any youth or other concerned party who has a concern about phone call issues, whether for information or to complain/seek a change, is advised that the Administration delegates decision making to the Therapist for up to the first 30 calendar days of placement. Once the Therapist relinquishes authority to the placement unit, the decision making authority transfers to the Unit Supervisor. Their decision will be final unless a youth or other concerned party (guardian or official) submits a written question or appeal to the Administration – this can be addressed to either the Executive Director or any of the Directors (Social Services, Youthcare, Education, Quality Assurance, Community Programs). Any such question or appeal will be answered promptly, with a phone call (!) to discuss the matter, or a written decision.