18 Miss. Code. R. 6-1-A-I-XV
The SPB governs the Human Resource management of the MDHS, as it does for all state agencies. All personnel processes and procedures shall be made in accordance with the Mississippi State Employee Handbook. This publication can be found on the SPB website: www.SPB.ms.gov.
This employee handbook shall be distributed to all new employees of DFCS as a part of the "New Hire Packet", along with other essential employment information and paperwork. When revisions are made to the Employee Handbook, all DFCS employees will receive a copy through
an email link to access the handbook online for review and printing. Each employee is responsible for being aware of and adhering to the personnel policies and procedures. Directors/Supervisors shall be responsible for knowing and following the rules outlined in the SPB Policy and Procedures Manual. In addition to the Mississippi State Employees Handbook, MDHS has outlined some of the SPB policies within the MDHS Administrative Policies.
DFCS has a personnel office within the division which is responsible for ensuring all personnel action requests are accurate prior to forwarding to MDHS Office of Human Resources for processing. All Personnel Action requests should be routed to this unit. The employees in this branch office are under the supervision of the Director of the Office of Human Resources for human resource matters, and work cooperatively with the Office Directors in DFCS in a support capacity for other matters, (i.e. MACWIS Payroll Input and e-Leave coordination).
Policies related to the work environment of DFCS are found in the Mississippi State Employee Handbook at www.SPB.ms.gov . These policies include:
* prohibition of any unlawful discrimination against any person or category of persons;
* prohibition of any personnel from engaging in any form of harassment, as defined by federal and state law; and
* prohibition of preferential treatment and nepotism with regard to hiring, supervision, and promotion.
Please refer to the Handbook for a detailed discussion of these policies. Training on these polices is provided through the Division of Human Resources and is offered at several different locations throughout the year as scheduled on the HR training calendar. This training calendar is distributed to all employees via email quarterly. Employees wishing to attend one of the training sessions must register as instructed in the quarterly email.
As a part of the annual strategic planning process, the program areas, field staff and the Workload Management System, in collaboration with DFCS Financial Services, are responsible for planning human resource needs. With this information, recommendations are made to the MDHS administration about DFCS human resource budgetary needs.
Job descriptions for all State positions are listed on the SPB website, and the selection criteria are outlined in the SPB Policies and Procedures Manual. Employees are notified of vacant positions within MDHS through In-House Promotional Opportunities memoranda which are e-mailed to all employees. At the request of the hiring supervisor, the available positions are posted on the State Personnel Board website as well as the MDHS website.
Much of the recruitment efforts outside the DFCS are aimed at the university schools of social work in the state. By working collaboratively with the schools, students are encouraged to consider field placements in DFCS county offices. Often these students in field placement choose to make application for employment. Other recruitment efforts include, but are not limited to, ads in local newspapers in critical needs areas, job fairs and presentations to college classes.
In order to fill a vacant position at the county level, the hiring manager must follow the procedures outlined in the Human Resource section on the DFCS Connection website: http://dfcsmacweb/DFCSWEB/policy.htm.
Also employees who may transport clients will be required to complete and sign a Permission For Background Check Form.
DFCS Personnel Unit will coordinate with the Division of Program Integrity for a national criminal background check and DFCS Child Abuse Central Registry for a registry check. See MDHS AP-46, for more specific information on performing criminal background checks and the collection of fingerprint images.
As a condition of employment, applicants are required to review and sign the Transportation Statement. (See Appendix B) Perspective and current direct service workers and supervisors who transport clients must have and maintain reliable transportation, as well as the following:
The aforementioned items will be checked and validated annually during the employee's performance appraisal review. Failure to maintain either of these requirements will be cause for personnel action, including termination.
Upon receipt of the driving records, MDHS State Office staff will review them to ensure the applicant and/or the employee is not a high risk driver. If an applicant is determined to be a high risk driver, employment may not be offered. If employment is not offered as a result of driving records validation, the applicant will be notified pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
If a current employee is determined to be a high risk driver, there will be cause for personnel action/recommendations.
DFCS defines a high risk driver as a person who has any of the following convictions, whether contested or not, within a 12 month period:
All applicants are required to furnish 3 employment references which will be verified and their comments documented by the interviewer. These references, with comments will be submitted with the new hire paperwork and should be filed in the official personnel file with copies in the applicant's personnel file in the county.
DFCS Professional Development Unit (PDU) publishes a monthly newsletter which is posted on the DFCS Connection Website with information about training opportunities, new policies, special projects, new staff and spotlights staff in the field and their work with families and children.
DFCS employees are encouraged to make suggestions and recommendations for changes or improvements in all areas of the DFCS, and can do this via email: suggestions@mdhs.ms.gov. The suggestions submitted are presented and discussed at the state office senior management meetings monthly. The identities of the individuals making the suggestions are not revealed at the meetings to preserve their anonymity. Following the discussion, a response is emailed to the employee making the suggestions.
The State Personnel Board Employee Handbook as well as MDHS AP-11, outlines the procedure for the employee grievance process.
Compensation is tied to the SPB classifications of staff positions and is listed on the SPB website. Benefits available to state employees are negotiated by the State Personnel Board and the Department of Finance and Administration. Information about open enrollment periods for insurance products is communicated to employees by the Division of Human Resources.
Every DFCS employee who is employed for twelve (12) continuous months must have a performance appraisal review (PAR) annually. New employees must have a PAR at six months and at the end of the first year. In addition, when supervisors leave or employees are promoted, reclassified, reallocated or transferred to another supervisor they must have a Close-Out PAR.
The current supervisor will complete the Close-Out PAR within ten (10) days of notification of the proposed personnel action and route it directly to the new supervisor. The new supervisor shall complete MDHS-DHR-219 "Request for Transfer" and route it along with the Close-Out PAR to the DFCS Personnel Unit. Detailed instructions for these procedures are outlined in MDHS AP-12.
DFCS employees' official personnel files are maintained in the MDHS Division of Human Resources. The supervisor of each employee also maintains a Supplemental Employee Performance Folder (SEPF). When an employee moves from one supervisor to another, the current supervisor will close out the employee's SEPF and the new supervisor will set up a new supplemental file. The employee may view his/her official personnel file at any time by contacting the Division of Human Resources to request an appointment.
18 Miss. Code. R. 6-1-A-I-XV