VISITS BY THE JOINT COMMISSION 6 – CHILD AND YOUTH WELFARE FACILITIES In 2015 the Joint Commission visited two youth welfare facilities in which children and youths were accommodated in closed units. One of these facilities is responsible for male children and youths aged 11 and over and can accommodate up to 16 detainees in two intensive pedagogical therapy groups, with casespecific placement in partially open plan areas. The other facility can accommodate more than 35 male children and youths aged between 12 and 16 in four intensive pedagogical residential groups and a fifth closed residential group for youths being detained for sexual abuse. In one of the facilities the Joint Commission in particular noted the poor state of repair and the lack of an emergency call system in the detention rooms. In addition, the facility had no fenced-off yard area in which all the children and youths could spend at least one hour exercising in the fresh air every day. Further, there were no rooms in which the pedagogical therapy work can be done. The Commission positively noted the committed and empathetic attitude of the staff towards the children and youths, as well as the wide range of therapies on offer. Positive mention should also be made of the fact that there were no rooms in which children and youths can be isolated (known as “time-out rooms”). All the staff are given de-escalation training and the opportunity for individual and group supervision, which is important when it comes to treating the youngsters professionally and appropriately. The Joint Commission is still engaged in an exchange with the competent supervisory authority regarding the findings of another visit to a youth welfare facility. The results of this visit will be presented in the Annual Report 2016. 7 – RESIDENTIAL CARE HOMES AND NURSING HOMES FOR THE ELDERLY All residential care homes and nursing homes for the elderly are permitted to carry out court approved measures to deprive people of their liberty, for instance the use of bed side rails or therapy tables. That is why residential care homes and nursing homes for the elderly, regardless of whether they have a closed unit or not, are defined as places of detention as per Article 4 of the OPCAT. As the Joint Commission gained new members at the start of the year who have the competencies required to conduct visits in this field, during the period under review the Commission carried out preparatory work both regarding the content and methodology of its visits to these facilities and went on one factfinding visit. As part of its preparations regarding the content of its visits to these facilities the Joint Commission got an overview of those aspects of the profession which are relevant to its inspection visits. The focus was on the following issues: + Medical Service of the Health Funds (MDK); + + + Delimiting the National Agency’s remit pursuant to its mandate from that of other monitoring mechanisms in the field of residential nursing care for the elderly, such as the home supervisory authorities and the 28 Legal aspects of measures depriving people of their liberty carried out in residential nursing homes for the elderly, possible measures, aids (incl. the use of sedatives) and means of avoiding the need for such measures; Researching and analysing the relevant legal bases for residential nursing care for the elderly, the institutional context and relevant codices, such as Germany’s Charter of Rights for People in Need of Long-Term Care and Assistance28 and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities29; Facilities providing residential nursing care for the elderly as the place of residence and permanent home of those in need of longterm care and assistance; See www.pflege-charta.de (where an English version of the Charter is also available), retrieved on 16 February 2016 29 Federal Law Gazette 2008 II, p. 1419 34