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Your daily behavior
is a reflection of your ability to succeed in treatment and in developing a
sober lifestyle. House and individual consequences are tied directly to your
behaviors and the behaviors of your peers. The following is a list of rules for
all clients in Next Step.
* Anytime you step outside of Next Step; your behavior must be respectful and
appropriate. Anytime we have a house visitor of
any kind; your
behavior in the house must be respectful and appropriate. This is our home and
we are family. Treat people well.
1. General House Rules
- No running in the house.
- No sleeping during the day.
- No client should ever be in any counselors office except
at the request of staff.
- You cannot enter into another peer’s room or visit in
doorways. Socialize in the living areas and group room.
- Do not abuse furniture. Feet should be on the floor at
all times. Do not jump over furniture. Do not put your feet on the
furniture. Do not lean back in chairs.
- Food and drink are only allowed in the kitchen and at the
dining table. No food is to be brought into the facility from anyone outside
the facility. You are allowed in the kitchen only at meal times unless you
have permission from a staff member.
- No talking with any females at AA/NA meetings or outside
activities (no relationships).
- No personal hygiene items containing alcohol are allowed.
- Hand made signs & posters must be posted within the area
of your personal bulletin board in your room. Staff may remove items or
pictures deemed inappropriate.
- TV will be allowed in the morning only, for news. This
will be allowed after jobs are done and checked.
- No sexual or offensive talk or gestures.
- No spitting is allowed in or out of the house (except in
proper receptacles).
- Clients are not allowed over $15.00 on their person at
any time.
- You need to be aware of any medication that you must
take. Medications are available in the morning before school (8:00 a.m.) and
at bedtime (9:30 p.m.) unless there is a special time documented. Staff will
ask/remind you to take your meds and you need to be responsible for taking
your own medications in front of staff.
- Mail is distributed at 4:00 p.m. daily and must be opened
in front of staff. Clients are encouraged not to write using friends or
friends in other treatment centers/facilities.
- You may not voluntarily switch jobs. Staff will assign a
substitute for your job if you are on a pass or appointment. There is a
chore list for group jobs and a check sheet for checking jobs. Your group
job will be checked by staff according to the job check sheet. If your job
does not pass you will be asked to do it again. If it still does not pass or
you refuse to do it again, you will be assigned that job plus your regular
job for a week. You are to use the downstairs bathroom only during the day.
The upstairs bathroom is off limits after morning showers until bedtime.
- No gambling of any kind, no gang related items, patches,
colors, symbols, writing, gestures, etc, no trading selling or giving away
of anything, including clothes, jewelry, etc, no black lights or colored
light fixtures, No tape players, personal movies, CD’s, CD players, Walkman,
Radios or MP3 players. No inappropriate reading material or pictures (Porn,
playboy, etc or Marilyn Manson).
- No swearing, drug talk, disrespectful talk, gang talk, or
“war stories,” no violent speech, no racist comments, or sexually
inappropriate speech. Above all do not glorify your drug use and previous
poor behavior.
- No burning, cutting, piercing, scratching, tattooing or
writing on yourself. Threats, intimidation, physical violence are not
tolerated.
- Do not provoke others. Do not throw things or slam doors.
- No yelling out of the windows or hand/body gestures out
of the house or the van. No food or drink in the van at any time. When
entering and exiting the van, you must wait for staff to open and close the
door. Seatbelts must be worn at all times. The van will not move unless all
seat belts are fastened. Clients breaking this rule will be out of the van
for a week.
- No matches and lighters are allowed. If you are suspected
of using tobacco or drugs, you can expect the following: a room and/or
person search, a drug screen.
- Visitors are to visit with clients only in designated
areas. Those areas are the group room and kitchen inside and the back deck
and back yard, outside, (with staff permission only).
Visiting is not allowed in the client’s room, front yard or in cars.
Visitors are not permitted in the facility if they are suspected of being
under the influences of alcohol or drugs, or if they are disruptive towards
others. If your family is unable to be here please be considerate of another
peer’s family and visit with other peers or catch up on work during visiting
times. Family is here to visit with their family member.
- Phone day is Thursday (during the winter months) and
Wednesday (during the summer). Monthly letters are sent to parents by Next
Step outlining activity schedule, the phone day or visiting day changes.
Phone times are from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. You will be responsible to make
a phone call list and please stick to your list. You are allowed 2
ten-minute phone calls to family members only. If this phone day doesn’t
work for your parent, you can make arrangements with staff for a different
day.
If there is an emergency or your parents need to contact you, they can call
and ask to speak to staff. Staff will determine how to set up contact
between you and your parents outside your normal phone day.
2. Personal conduct
Appropriate Behavior
Be honest, responsible, considerate of others, and respectful towards
staff and peers. Help your peers and all staff to accomplish
group/individual goals for each day. Participation is required in all
therapy, leisure activities, community service and all group activities
unless there is a medical reason.
Do your group job and keep your room neat and clean. You must remain on your
chair or couch working on treatment work during meal prep and after meal
until kitchen clean up is completed.
Daily Requirements:
Weekday Mornings: Be out of bed by 6:30 a.m., showered, bed made,
hygiene completed, rooms cleaned and picked up by 7:45 a.m. Meditation is
scheduled at 7:45 a.m. You must not be late. On weekends, you must be up by
8:00 a.m., showered, bed made, rooms cleaned and picked up by 9:15 a.m.
Showers are limited to designated times for each shower. Clothing and
personal items that you may need for the day must also be retrieved before
you come downstairs. Weekday Bedtimes: Reflections are scheduled at 9:30
p.m. You must be upstairs getting ready for bed by 10:00 p.m. with lights
out at 10:30 p.m. On Friday and Saturday nights you must be in your room by
11:30 p.m. with lights out at 12:00 a.m.
3. Personal and program safety:
Appropriate Behavior:
Our facility uses an alarm system at night. Please use the front door
when arriving back from your pass or home visit.
*If you feel unsafe for any reason or you have thoughts of hurting yourself
or others, tell staff immediately. If you feel you are losing control, leave
the area, and if staff directs you to leave the area, do it.
4. Clothing/Personal Appearance:
Appropriate clothing is required at all times (the
clothing should cover the belly, butt and chest areas – no short shorts, low
cut pants). No hats in the house. When caps are worn they must be worn so
the brim points fully forward. Socks and a shirt must be worn inside at all
times, no exceptions. All peers must be fully clothed until bedtime.
Bedclothes must be worn. No hair dyes, no body or facial piercing, (piercing
may be worn during sleep-time to keep piercing intact but NEVER at any other
time). You must shower daily.
Pants: Must be worn at the waist. Belts are
required. No undergarments should show.
Shirts: Must be free of sexual, gang or drug related references.
No wife-beaters.
Shoes: Must be worn outside at all times. Laces must be tied for
safety reasons at all times.
Dirty Clothes: You must keep dirty clothes in your laundry
bag/container and in your closet until you do your laundry on your
assigned laundry day.
Individual Consequences:
Certain Behaviors, aggressive actions, verbal comments,
disrespectful actions could result in your peers feeling threatened by you. Your
inappropriate actions may also disrupt the milieu of the house and negatively
effect the treatment of other clients.
- In the event of rule infractions you will meet with a
counselor/tech to determine the most appropriate course of action. And
develop a behavioral contract to assist you in developing more appropriate
behaviors.
- Be prepared to discuss with your counselor/tech what
consequence and actions you believe are appropriate for you. You will be
asked to assist in developing the behavioral contract.
- Repeated infractions may result in discharge or transfer
to a more appropriate facility. Or you may lose your passes, be placed on
Step Zero, be a staff trailer or lose a step level. Infractions may also
involve loss of part or all of money requests/store privileges and
additional treatment assignments.
Consequences for clothing violations:
You will be asked to change your offensive clothing.
Clothing may be confiscated for three days. Other consequences for repeated
offenses may include additional treatment assignments, loss of Step levels,
passes, Step Zero and discharge for repeated offenses.
Consequences for Community (Next Step) wide problems:
May include All-group restrictions on leisure activities,
special group treatment assignments, loss of free time or passes,
restrictions on outside meetings, being placed on Step Zero or loss of Step
Level(s).
The consequences listed above will be the only consequences
used by Next Step in promoting appropriate client behavior.
Tell the truth-No Secrets-No Protecting-Ask, don’t
Demand-Talk, don’t Yell-Don’t Grunt, Growl, Whine or act Impatient-Wait your
turn-Don’t interrupt-Don’t Talk Over Others-Trust Staff Direction. |
