18 Miss. Code. R. 6-1-A-I-XIX
Disclosure of all information, including records of every kind, shall be governed by these regulations as set out below, and the applicable section of the MS Code 43-21-261 and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).
Requests for information from State office records shall be referred to the Director of Family and Children's Services for information on individuals or families who have requested services. The Director of Family and Children's Services will obtain information about the request and make a decision in accordance with the applicable section of the Youth Court Act.
Requests for information from local DFCS records shall be referred to the ASWS who will investigate the request and release the information in accordance with the applicable section of the MS Code 43-21-261 and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), or deny the request if not in accord. Do not disseminate case record information without a youth court order.
When a state or county staff member receives a subpoena for the child's record the Youth Court of the applicable jurisdiction must be contacted to authorize the release of the information. The Worker or the ASWS will also notify the Special Assistant Attorney General for DFCS regarding the receipt of the Subpoena. See discussion, Subpoena of Case Records.
The handling of requests by custodial or non-custodial legal parent(s) or legal guardian(s) regarding information from the case record is determined by the purpose of the request as stated below.
If a custodial or non-custodial legal parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian requests information from the record in regard to an upcoming Youth Court hearing, Section 43-21-261(3) of the Youth Court Act indicates that "Upon request, the parent, guardian or custodian of the child who is the subject of a Youth Court cause . . . shall have the right to inspect any record, report, or investigation which is to be considered by the Youth Court at a hearing, except that the identity of the reporter shall not be released, nor the name of any other person where the person or agency making the information available finds that disclosure of the information would be likely to endanger the life or safety of such person".
This information, usually a Worker's court summary, should be made available to a custodial or non-custodial legal parent, legal guardian or legal custodian in order for them to effectively prepare and participate in hearings involving their children and wards. A copy of the summary should be given to the parent/guardian with the name of the reporter(s) removed [redacted] along with any reference to the reporter's identity.
The court summary shall be made available to the youth court, Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) prior to the youth court hearing for the official youth court file. Future access to this information will be determined by the court.
In no case should the entire record be released, unless court ordered. (See Subpoena of Case Records.)
The County and District Prosecuting Attorneys and law enforcement shall have access to information from the case records as is stated in MISS. CODE ANN. § 43-21-353(4) as shown below.
"Reports made under subsection (1) of this section by the Department of Human Services to the law enforcement and to the district attorney's office shall include the following if known to the department":
When the court issues a subpoena to DFCS RD, ASWS or Worker to personally appear or produce a case record the employee must appear or be held in contempt of court. Follow these procedures:
Immediately forward a copy of the summons and complaint, or any other legal pleadings, other than those to youth court, to the Special Assistant Attorney General for DFCS.
The federal regulations also provide for the disclosure of such information to a committee or legislative body (Federal, State or local) when such a body certifies that the information is needed in connection with their official duties with regard to the program and that the information will not be used for any other purpose. Refer to MISS. CODE ANN. § 43-21-261 and § 43-21-353 of the Youth Court Act (Supp. 1998).
DFCS shall enter into contracts and service agreements with due regard for practices that promote efficient use of resources.
Availability of contract funds is announced through a request for information (RFI)/request for proposals (RFP) or a formal bidding process, which includes, unless prohibited by law or regulation:
The following contain comprehensive guidelines regarding this policy and can be accessed at:
http://www.spbrez.ms.gov/SPB%20Documents/SPB/Policy%20Proc2010/MSPB_PPM_100110.PDF
DFCS shall contract for services in compliance with MDHS Administrative Policy, AP-1 for standardized contracting practices for Personal or Professional Services Contracts and the Sub-grantee Manual for sub-grants, and will use the standardized agreements for sub-grants and personal or professional services.
The MDHS Sub-grantee Manual provides guidelines which DFCS must follow regarding standardized contracting practices and oversight.
DFCS has a separate sub-unit solely for contracts and sub-grants within the Administrative/ Finance Unit. The Division Director of this unit shall be responsible for oversight of contracts.
All contracts are reviewed by MDHS assigned legal counsel or another qualified individual prior to signing.
DFCS shall monitor and evaluate the quality of social and human services purchased from other provider organizations under the MDHS umbrella as follows:
The MDHS is required to monitor the activities of its sub-grantees by following the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations, and the OMB Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement. MDHS must monitor each project, program, sub-grant, function, or activity supported by the Fede3ral award to assure compliance with applicable Federal regulations and that performance goals are achieved.
DFCS shall routinely monitor contractor progress toward fulfilling the terms of the contract as outlined in the Sub-grantee Manual. The Office Directors of the direct services programs, Office Director for Field Operations and Office Director of Monitoring and Evaluation shall coordinate routine and ongoing assessments of the quality and effectiveness of direct services provided through contractors.
In addition, the Division of Program Integrity of MDHS monitors the programmatic, as well as the fiscal portion, when conducting reviews with sub-grantees. Criteria for performance are based on programmatic worksheet(s) submitted by each sub-grantee specific to the Scope of Service within the sub-grant agreement. DFCS shall re-evaluate the information provided by the sub-grantee(s) on the programmatic worksheets to determine that the Scope of Services for each program is met.
The Initial Report of Findings and Recommendations that is forwarded to the sub-grantee and to the MDHS funding division will require a written response from the sub-grantee within fifteen working days. Upon receipt of the response from the sub-grantee, the Director of the Bureau of Audit and Evaluation and other appropriate staff will assess each response for adequacy.
If all responses are adequate, the response will be accepted by a letter to the sub-grantee clearing all findings. If any responses do not adequately address the findings, the sub-grantee will be notified in writing by the issuance of a Status Report, which will require a second response from the sub-grantee within ten working days.
If the sub-grantee fails to satisfactorily resolve all of the monitoring findings, the Bureau of Audit and Evaluation will issue a Final Notice Letter to the sub-grantee demanding that the sub-grantee refund the amount of questioned costs and advising the sub-grantee of the procedures to follow if they wish to request an administrative hearing with the MSHS Executive Director.
If the sub-grantee does not respond to the Final Notice Letter, the sub-grantee will be referred to the State of Mississippi Office of the Attorney General to recover the unresolved questioned costs, and, the MDHS will begin procedures for debarment and suspension against the sub-grantee organization and the sub-grantee authorized official.
DFCS is committed to providing healthy and safe administrative and service environments and ensuring the health and safety of its personnel and service recipients.
MISS. CODE ANN. § 29-5-161(2007) prohibits smoking in any government building, including all
MDHS and/or DFCS buildings. All DFCS offices must have and maintain "NO SMOKING" signs posted. Each county office must have an area that is designated for smoking separate from administrative and service areas.
For additional information, please see DFCS Safety and Security Guide at: http://dfcsmacweb/DFCSWEB/.
Although DFCS offices are not owned, rented, or leased by DFCS, DFCS employees should do everything possible to ensure that the service environment promotes the health and safety of employees and service recipients. DFCS Facility Walkthrough Checklist must be completed on a monthly basis for each county office by DFCS employees.
An ASWS will be designated in each county location to ensure that ongoing facility inspections are documented and communicated through normal administrative channels. Any deficits found during these regular inspections as well as any preventive maintenance that needs to be done should be discussed with the Division of Economic Assistance's County Director or other MDHS designee who is responsible for the physical plant.
Window guards, security systems, alarms, and keypads shall be installed in counties where a need has been identified. Should ongoing facility inspections reveal the need for full time security guards; the ASWS will communicate this need through administrative channels. Fire drills shall also be conducted annually to ensure preparedness for a fire emergency.
In the event of an emergency maintenance issue that is not life threatening, DFCS staff shall notify the Economic Assistance County Director or designee, who then handles contacting the appropriate county officials in order to have the issue corrected.
All employees are to consider the environmental impact of their daily operations. When possible, employees shall use environmentally friendly products and reduce waste and energy consumption.
Although most decisions in planning for new buildings is outside of the DFCS's control, DFCS employees should consider the accessibility, availability, and affordability of public transportation; location of other relevant community resources; and the special needs of service recipients and communicate them clearly to those responsible for planning for a new county office.
DFCS will issue and update, as needed, safety and security guides for staff. DFCS employees should refer to DFCS Safety and Security Guide on http://dfcsmacweb/DFCSWEB/ for details related to safety and security in the workplace. This Guide serves as a comprehensive tool for safety regarding staff, service recipients, and volunteers.
Each direct services staff member will be provided a cell phone in order to communicate when working off-site. Direct service staff will be provided safety training in the CWPD and the NonViolent Crisis Intervention training. Direct service workers will be required to complete the CWPD training before carrying a caseload of any type.
DFCS has consulted with the Mississippi State Department of Health regarding blood and airborne pathogen exposure for employees. A video training program is required of all employees. The program has been incorporated into CWPD, to ensure all new direct service staff view the film prior to assuming a caseload and each existing employee will be required to view the DVD annually as a part of ongoing training. Although the program is designed for individuals who work with children, it also covers general universal precautions, blood and air borne pathogens, and exposure control.
The risk of exposure to contagious and infectious disease is also covered in the Safety and Security Guide.
Based on epidemiological data analysis from the CDC, direct service staff are not considered to be members of a "high risk" group for Tuberculosis (TB). The vast majority of our service population is not defined as "high risk"; therefore, a mandatory skin testing program for staff will not be implemented. TB testing and Hepatitis B vaccinations are included in MDHS Insurance Wellness benefit and are available for all employees.
Prior to being employed, all prospective employees undergo fingerprinting and background checks which should indicate if a Worker has a felonious driving offense on their record.
Upon commencing employment with DFCS, all employees who may possibly have occasion to transport service recipients will sign the Statement Regarding Transportation when they complete their new hire packet with their supervisor within their first five days of employment. Additionally, when their personnel file is set up within their first thirty days of employment, and they sign their initial duties and standards packet, the Transportation Checklist tracking form will be completed by the Worker's immediate supervisor and filed in the personnel file. For existing employees, the Transportation Checklist tracking form will be reviewed as a part of their Annual Performance Appraisal.
MDHS AP-9, addresses policy for MDHS owned vehicles. Service recipients are not transported in DFCS owned vehicles.
DFCS Worker Safety Guide includes information and instruction for emergency situations and hazardous conditions. Every Worker shall have access to a telephone, either cellular or land based, and should call 911 in a life threatening emergency.
"The Executive Director of MDHS approves and determines all employee requests for reasonable workplace accommodations under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The laws applicable to compliance with the ADA are complex and they interact with other federal and/or state laws. The MDHS has a single point of contact for case resolution, the Division of Human Resources. This serves to ensure continuity, equity and access to legal counsel in the decision making process." (See MDHS AP-44)
MDHS Division of Economic Assistance (EA) is the division that is charged with the responsibility of coordinating with all federal, state, and local authorities and emergency responders in the case of a disaster. They have developed the MDHS Disaster Operations Plan. DFCS has developed the Disaster Preparedness Plan which addresses the evacuation, relocating, and accounting for the location of staff and service recipients. Each county office shall retain a form with pertinent information on all foster children and resource parents/facility regarding placement information and address, contact information which shall be kept in the county office and state office in the permanency unit. Emergency situations which would involve the threat of harm or violence or actual harm or violence are addressed in the Safety Handbook, which includes procedures for numerous situations which may arise.
The MDHS Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) addresses alternate facility operations in the event of a disaster. Both the Family and Children's Services Disaster Plan, and the COOP outline procedures for communication with senior management, personnel, service recipients, the public and the media.
For additional information regarding the Emergency Response Plan, please refer to the MDHS Disaster Operations Plan, DFCS Disaster Preparedness Plan, and the MDHS Continuity of Operations Plan which is located at http://www.msema.org/plans/cemp.html.
18 Miss. Code. R. 6-1-A-I-XIX