Miss. Code. tit. 18, pt. 7, ch. 1, DEFINITIONS
Current through December 10, 2024
See Appendix for MS Code Citations
| "Abandonment" | Term used in parental rights termination proceedings, which constitutes certain grounds for termination of parental rights; to surrender rights; desertion or willful forsaking |
| "Abuse" | Includes sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, emotional abuse, mental injury, non-accidental physical injury or other maltreatment. See MS Code § 43-21-105 |
| "Abused Child" | Child, whose parents, guardian or custodian or any person responsible for care or support, whether legally obligated to do so or not, has caused or allowed to be caused upon the child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, emotional abuse, mental injury, non-accidental physical injury or other maltreatment. See MS Code § 43-21-105(m) |
| "Adopt" | To take by choice into a legal relationship; to take voluntarily (a child of other parents) as one's own child. |
| "Adoption" | Legally transferring of parental rights and obligations from natural parents to adoptive parents. A process granting social, emotional and legal family and kinship membership, usually to a child. |
| "Adoption Disruption" | An adoptive placement which ends prior to finalization. It can also disrupt after finalization. |
| "Adoptive Services" | Assistance in finding the most appropriate adoptive home for each child who is free for adoption and for whom the permanent plan is adoption. |
| "Administrator" | The person responsible for the on-site daily implementation and supervision of the overall facility's operation. |
| "Adult" *See Note on "child" or "children". | A person age twenty-one (21) years or older. See 93-11-65(8) for emancipation of child and see MS Code § 43-21-105(d) |
| "Agency Provider" | A residential child-caring agency or a child-placing agency. |
| "Applicant" | A person who submits a written application to the licensing authority or a licensing agency to become licensed or to renew a license as a Resource Parent. An applicant means both spouses if adult household caregivers are married. |
| "Board Payment" | State and Federal dollars appropriated by the Mississippi Legislature for use by Resource Parents(s) for child's food, clothing, shelter, and other needs while in state custody. |
| "CASA" | Acronym for Court Appointed Special Advocate for a child. |
| "Case Plan/ Individual Service "Plan" | A written document which is a distinct part of a child's case record and which identifies the child's permanent plan and target date, desired outcomes, tasks, time frames, and responsible parties. It is a comprehensive, time-limited, goal- oriented, individualized plan for the care, treatment and education of a child in care of an agency or home. The service plan is based on a current comprehensive evaluation of the child's needs. |
| "Child" or "children" Note: There are different definitions in Mississippi law for "adult" and "child" according to the Section referenced. | Any unmarried person or persons under the age of eighteen. See MS Code § 43-15-103(b) and § 43-21-105(d) |
| "Child Care Staff" | A child care worker, house parent, teaching house parent or cottage worker. |
| "Child Placing" | Receiving, accepting or providing custody or care for any child under eighteen (18) years of age, temporarily or permanently, for the purpose of: 1. Finding a person to adopt the child; 2. Placing the child temporarily or permanently in a home for adoption; 3. Placing a child temporarily in a Resource Home or residential child-caring agency until the child is returned home or another permanent plan is achieved. |
| "Child-placing agency" | Any entity or person which places children in foster boarding home or foster home for temporary care or for adoption or any other entity or person or group of persons who are engaged in providing adoption studies or foster care studies or placement services as defined by the rules of the Department. See MS Code § 43-15-103(c) |
| "Child in need of Special Care" | A child with any mental or physical illness that cannot be treated with dispositional alternatives ordinarily available to the court. See MS Code § 43-15-103(o) |
| "Corrective Action Plan" | A plan that describes steps a Resource Parent, residential and child placing agencies must take to remedy violations of foster care requirements within a specified period of time. |
| "Custody" | The physical possession of the child by any person. See MS Code § 43-21-105(q) |
| "Department" | The Mississippi Department of Human Services, the agency responsible for administering the licensing standards. See MS Code 43-15-103(e) |
| "Director" | The Director of the Division of Family and Children's Services. See MS Code § 43-15-103(f) |
| "Discipline" | An educational process by which staff assist the children to develop the self-control, self-esteem, self-reliance and self-direction necessary to assume responsibility for their actions, make daily living decisions, and live in conformity to accepted levels of social behavior. |
| "Disposition" | A legal term used in youth and family court proceedings describing the action(s) taken by the court. |
| "Division" | The unit or section of the Department that carries out licensing activities. |
| "Domestic Adoption" | This term relates to an adoption that involves adoptive parents and a child that are citizens and residents of the United States. |
| "Emergency Shelter Care" | A facility offering short term residential placement not to exceed forty-five (45) days. Its purpose is to provide care for children in an emergency. |
| "Final Decree of Adoption" | Decree of the court granting and finalizing the adoption and vesting legal custody of the child with the adoptive parents |
| "Group" | Refers to the number of children who share a common space and relate to one primary staff member (who may be assisted by others) on a consistent or daily basis. |
| "Group Home" | A child care facility where at least seven (7) but no more than twelve (12) children are received and maintained for the purpose of providing care, training, nurturing or transitional living services. See MS Code § 43-15-103(i) |
| "Guardian" | The person, or persons, appointed by the court, with ongoing legal responsibility for a child. See MS Code § 43-21-105(f) |
| "ICPC" | Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children |
| "Independent Living Placement" | Placement in an apartment, house, or rooming house with supervision from a licensed placement agency. |
| "Judge" | The judge of the Youth Court Division. See MS Code § 43-21-105(b) |
| "Legal Custody" | The legal status created by a court order which gives the legal custodian the responsibilities of physical possession of the child and the duty to provide him with food, shelter, education and reasonable medical care, all subject to residual rights and responsibilities of the parent or guardian of the person. See MS Code § 43-21-105(r) |
| "License" | A written document, initial and/or renewal, of a facility's legal authorization to operate. License is based on meeting required standards developed and published by the Department. |
| "Licensee" | Any person, agency or entity licensed under this article. See MS Code § 43-15-103(j) |
| "Licensure Unit | The entity within the Department responsible for overseeing all facets of residential child caring and child placing licensing. |
| "Maternity Home" | Any place or facility operated by any entity or person which receives, treats or cares for more than one (1) youth who is pregnant out of wedlock. See MS Code § 43-15-103(k) |
| "Neglected" | When a child whose parent, guardian, custodian or any person responsible for his/her care or support, neglects or refuses, when able to do so, to provide for him/her proper and necessary care or support, or education as required by law, or medical, surgical, or other care necessary for his/her well-being. When a child is otherwise without proper care, custody, supervision or support. When a child lacks the special care made necessary for him/her by reason of his mental condition, health, morals or well-being. See MS Code § 43-21-105(l)(i-iv) |
| "New Construction | New buildings, additions to existing building (s), or the conversion of existing building(s) or portions thereof. |
| "Parent"(s) | Legal parent(s), natural parent(s), adoptive parent(s), foster parent(s) (determined by context) See MS Code § 43-21-105(e) |
| "Placing Agency" | An organization, either publicly or privately operated, legally authorized to place a child in any out of home placement, including but not limited to, a residential child care facility, Resource Home, and independent living placement. |
| "Placement" | A social process carried out through the framework of law, whereby a relationship is created between the child and foster/adoptive parent(s). |
| "Recommend" | The word "recommend" when used in these standards denotes a preferred practice or exceeding minimum standards. |
| "Records involving children" | Means any of the following can be identified: * All youth court records * All social records * All law enforcement records * All agency records * All other documents maintained by any representative of the state, county, municipality or other public agency insofar as they relate to the apprehension, custody, adjudication or disposition of a child who is the subject of a youth court cause See MS Code § 43-21-105(u) |
| "Reinforcement" | Any response to a child's behavior when systematically and regularly presented following that behavior. The delivery of positive reinforcement is considered a desirable disciplinary practice. Encouragement and praise of good behavior is often more effective than punishment, and is essential in disciplining a child. The child's acceptance of discipline and his/her ability to profit by it depends largely upon his/her feeling that he/she is liked, accepted, and respected. |
| "Related" | Children, step-children, grandchildren, step-grandchildren, siblings or the whole or half-blood, step-siblings, nieces or nephews of the primary care provider. See MS Code § 43-15-103(n) |
| "Relative"(not-parent) | A specified relationship such as a maternal aunt, paternal grandparents, brothers and etc. |
| "Relief Staff" | Provide for care and supervision of children when primary child care staff is off duty. |
| "Residential child care" | The provision of supervision, and/or protection, and meeting the basic needs of a child for twenty-four (24) hours per day. See MS Code § 43-15-103(o) |
| "Residential child caring agency" | Any place or facility operated by any entity or person, public or private, providing residential child care, regardless of whether operated for profit or whether a fee is charged. Such residential child-caring agencies include, but are not limited to, maternity homes, runaway shelters, group homes that are administered by an agency, and emergency shelters that are not in a private residence. See MS Code § 43-15-103(p) |
| "Resource Home" | A home providing temporary care for a child who is in the custody of the Department and cannot return safely to his/her own home for some period of time. A Resource Home may also be a prospective adoptive home under the dual licensure policy of the Department. |
| "Resource Parent(s)" | Under dual licensing, resource parents are licensed to provide foster care and/or adopt. |
| "Sexual abuse" | Obscene or pornographic photographing, filming or depiction of children for commercial purposes, or the rape, molestation, incest, prostitution or other such forms of sexual exploitation of children under circumstances which indicate that the child's health or welfare is harmed or threatened. See MS Code § 43-21-105(n) |
| "Shall or Must" | The words "shall" or "must", when used in these standards, denote a requirement or mandatory standard. |
| "Shelter" | Care of children in physically nonrestrictive facilities. See MS Code § 43-21-105(t) |
| "Special Needs Child" | One who may have physical or emotional limitations. |
| "Termination of Parental Rights" | The court may terminate all the parental rights of the parent(s) regarding the child, and terminate the right of the child to inherit from such parent or parent(s). See MS Code § 93-15-109 and § 93-15-103 |
| "Therapeutic Resource Home" | A resource home that meets both the Department of Human Services' Child Placing Agency requirements for a Resource Home and the Department of Mental Health's certification requirements. Services are provided in homes which serve children who are in the custody of the Department and provide an array of therapeutic interventions utilizing program staff as well as other mental health professionals. The purpose of the therapeutic resource home is to provide a therapeutic environment using specially trained resource parents as caretakers. |
| "Therapeutic Group Home" | A group home that meets both the Department of Human Services' residential child caring agency requirements and the Department of Mental Health certification requirements. Services are provided in homes which typically serve children and provide an array of therapeutic interventions utilizing program staff as well as other mental health professionals. The purpose of the therapeutic group care is to provide a therapeutic environment using specially trained house parents/staff as key employees. |
| "Visiting Families" | Families who have been contracted by the Child Placing Agency for the purposes of youth visiting these families on occasional weekends, holidays and/or vacations. Visiting families must adhere to the same screening procedures as resource families. |
Miss. Code. tit. 18, pt. 7, ch. 1, DEFINITIONS