Description of the Moderate Service Level
The Moderate Service Level consists of a structured supportive setting, preferably in a family, in which most activities are designed to improve the child’s functioning including:
- More than routine guidance and supervision to ensure the child’s safety and sense of security;
- Affection, reassurance, and involvement in structured activities appropriate to the child’s age and development to promote the child’s well-being;
- Contact, in a manner that is deemed in the best interest of the child, with family members and other persons significant to the child to maintain a sense of identity and culture; and
- Access to therapeutic, habilitative, and medical intervention and guidance from professionals or paraprofessionals to help the child attain or maintain functioning appropriate to the child’s age and development.
- In addition to the description in subsection (a) of this section, a child with primary medical or habilitative needs may require intermittent interventions from a skilled caregiver who has demonstrated competence.
Characteristics of a child who needs Moderate Services
A child needing moderate services has problems in one or more areas of functioning. The youth needing moderate services may include:
- A child whose characteristics include one or more of the following:
- Frequent non-violent, anti-social acts;
- Occasional physical aggression;
- Minor self-injurious actions; and
- Difficulties that present a moderate risk of harm to self or others.
- A child who abuses alcohol, drugs, or other conscious-altering substances whose characteristics include one or more of the following:
- Substance abuse to the extent or frequency that the child is at-risk of substantial problems; and
- A historical diagnosis of substance abuse or dependency with a need for regular community support through groups or similar interventions.
- A child with developmental delays or mental retardation whose characteristics include:
- Moderate to substantial difficulties with conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills to include daily living and self-care; and
- Moderate impairment in communication, cognition, or expressions of affect.
- A child with primary medical or habilitative needs, whose characteristics include one or more of the following:
- Occasional exacerbations or intermittent interventions in relation to the diagnosed medical condition;
- Limited daily living and self-care skills;
- Ambulatory with assistance; and
- Daily access to on-call, skilled caregivers with demonstrated competence.