Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 3 / Section 15-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13
Status: in_force

(1) For purposes of this section, “ children ” means persons found within the state who are under the age of twenty-one (21) years, and who were placed in the custody of the Department of Child Protection Services by the youth court of the appropriate county. For purposes of this chapter, “ commercial sexual exploitation ” means any sexual act or crime of a sexual nature, which is committed against a child for financial or economic gain, to obtain a thing of value, for quid pro quo exchange of property or any other purpose.

(2) The Department of Child Protection Services shall establish a foster care placement program for children whose custody lies with the department, with the following objectives:

(a) Protecting and promoting the health, safety and welfare of children;

(b) Preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families by identifying family problems, assisting families in resolving their problems and preventing the breakup of the family where the prevention of child removal is desirable and possible when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child's health and safety;

(c) Remedying or assisting in the solution of problems that may result in the neglect, abuse, exploitation, commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking or delinquency of children;

(d) Restoring to their families children who have been removed, by the provision of services to the child and the families when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child's health and safety;

(e) Placing children in suitable adoptive homes approved by a licensed adoption agency or family protection specialist, in cases where restoration to the biological family is not safe, possible or appropriate;

(f) Assuring safe and adequate care of children away from their homes, in cases where the child cannot be returned home or cannot be placed for adoption, including temporary or emergency placement with a relative or fictive kin pending youth court action on the case. At the time of placement, the department shall implement concurrent planning, as described in subsection (8) of this section, so that permanency may occur at the earliest opportunity. Consideration of possible failure or delay of reunification should be given, to the end that the placement made is the best available placement to provide permanency for the child; and

(g) Providing a family protection specialist or worker or team of such specialists or workers for a family and child throughout the implementation of their permanent living arrangement plan. Wherever feasible, the same family protection specialist or worker or team shall remain on the case until the child is no longer under the jurisdiction of the youth court.

(3) The Department of Child Protection Services shall administer a system of individualized plans, reviews and reports once every six (6) months for each child under its custody within the State of Mississippi, which document each child who has been adjudged a neglected, abandoned or abused child, including a child alleged to have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and/or human trafficking and whose custody was changed by court order as a result of that adjudication, and each public or private facility licensed by the department. The Department of Child Protection Services' administrative review shall be completed on each child within the first three (3) months and a relative placement, fictive kin placement, or foster care review once every six (6) months after the child's initial forty-eight-hour shelter hearing. That system shall be for the purpose of enhancing potential family life for the child by the development of individual plans to return the child to the child's natural parent or parents, or to refer the child to the appropriate court for termination of parental rights and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or foster/adoptive home. The goal of the Department of Child Protection Services shall be to return the child to the child's natural parent(s) or refer the child to the appropriate court for termination of parental rights and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or foster/adoptive home within the time periods specified in this subsection or in subsection (4) of this section. In furthering this goal, the department shall establish policy and procedures designed to appropriately place children in permanent homes, and provide counseling services and other appropriate services to children who have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking. The policy shall include a system of reviews for all children in foster care, as follows: foster care counselors in the department shall make all possible contact with the child's natural parent(s), custodial parent(s) of all siblings of the child, and any interested relative for the first two (2) months following the child's entry into the foster care system, and provide care for victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking. For purposes of contacting custodial parent(s) of a sibling, siblings include those who are considered a sibling under state law, and those who would have been considered a sibling under state law, except for termination or disruption of parental rights. For any child who has been in foster care for fifteen (15) of the last twenty-two (22) months regardless of whether the foster care was continuous for all of those twenty-two (22) months, the department shall file a petition to terminate the parental rights of the child's parents. The time period starts to run from the date the court makes a finding of abuse and/or neglect, or commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking, or sixty (60) days from when the child was removed from his or her home, whichever is earlier. The department can choose not to file a termination of parental rights petition if the following apply:

(a) The child is being cared for by a relative; and/or

(b) The department has documented compelling and extraordinary reasons why termination of parental rights would not be in the best interests of the child. Before granting or denying a request by the department for an extension of time for filing a termination of parental rights action, the court shall receive a written report on the progress which a parent of the child has made in treatment, to be made to the court in writing by a mental health/substance abuse therapist or counselor.

(4) In the case of any child who is placed in foster care on or after July 1, 1998, except in cases of aggravated circumstances prescribed in Section 43-21-603(7)(c) , the child's natural parent(s) will have a reasonable time to be determined by the court, which shall not exceed a six-month period of time, in which to meet the service agreement with the department for the benefit of the child unless the department has documented extraordinary and compelling reasons for extending the time period in the best interest of the child. If this agreement has not been satisfactorily met, simultaneously the child will be referred to the appropriate court for termination of parental rights and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or a foster/adoptive home. For children under the age of three (3) years, termination of parental rights shall be initiated within six (6) months, unless the department has documented compelling and extraordinary circumstances, and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or foster/adoptive home within two (2) months. For children who have been abandoned under the provisions of Section 97-5-1 , termination of parental rights shall be initiated within thirty (30) days and placement in an adoptive home shall be initiated without necessity for placement in a foster home. The department need not initiate termination of parental rights proceedings where the child has been placed in durable legal custody, durable legal relative guardianship, or long-term or formalized foster care by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(5) The foster care review once every six (6) months shall be conducted by the youth court or its designee(s), and/or by personnel within the Department of Child Protection Services or by a designee or designees of the department and may include others appointed by the department, and the review shall include at a minimum an evaluation of the child based on the following:

(a) The extent of the care and support provided by the parents or parent while the child is in temporary custody;

(b) The extent of communication with the child by parents, parent or guardian;

(c) The degree of compliance by the agency and the parents with the social service plan established;

(d) The methods of achieving the goal and the plan establishing a permanent home for the child;

(e) Social services offered and/or utilized to facilitate plans for establishing a permanent home for the child; and

(f) Relevant testimony and recommendations from the foster parent of the child, the grandparents of the child, the guardian ad litem of the child, when appointed, the Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of the child, representatives of any private care agency that has cared for the child, the family protection worker or family protection specialist assigned to the case, and any other relevant testimony pertaining to the case.

Each child's review plan once every six (6) months shall be filed with the court which awarded custody and shall be made available to natural parents or foster parents upon approval of the court. The court shall make a finding as to the degree of compliance by the agency and the parent(s) with the child's social service plan. The court also shall find that the child's health and safety are the paramount concern. In the interest of the child, the court shall, where appropriate, initiate proceedings on its own motion. The Department of Child Protection Services shall report to the Legislature as to the number of those children, the findings of the foster care review board and relevant statistical information in foster care in a semiannual report to the Legislature to be submitted to the Joint Oversight Committee of the Department of Child Protection Services. The report shall not refer to the specific name of any child in foster care.

(6)(a) The Department of Child Protection Services, with the cooperation and assistance of the State Department of Health, shall develop and implement a training program for foster care parents to indoctrinate them as to their proper responsibilities upon a child's entry into their foster care. The program shall provide a minimum of twelve (12) clock hours of training, which shall include training foster care parents about providing mental and physical support to children who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking. The foster care training program shall be satisfactorily completed by such foster care parents before or within ninety (90) days after child placement with the parent. Record of the foster care parent's training program participation shall be filed with the court as part of a child's foster care review plan once every six (6) months.

(b)(i) The court may waive foster care training for an appropriate relative placement.

(ii) A relative exempted from foster care training is not eligible for board payments, foster care payments, kinship care payments, therapeutic care payments, or any other monthly payments from the department to assist in the care of the child.

(7) When the Department of Child Protection Services is considering placement of a child in a foster home and when the department deems it to be in the best interest of the child, the department shall give first priority to placing the child in the home of one (1) of the child's relatives within the third degree, as computed by the civil law rule.

(a) In placing the child in a relative's home, the department may waive any rule, regulation or policy applicable to placement in foster care that would otherwise require the child to have a separate bed or bedroom or have a bedroom of a certain size, if placing the child in a relative's home would be in the best interest of the child and those requirements cannot be met in the relative's home.

(b) The court may waive foster care training for a relative only when appropriate.

(8) The Legislature recognizes that the best interests of the child require that the child be placed in the most permanent living arrangement as soon as is practicably possible. To achieve this goal, the Department of Child Protection Services is directed to conduct concurrent planning so that a permanent living arrangement may occur at the earliest opportunity. Permanent living arrangements may include prevention of placement of a child outside the home of the family when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child's health or safety; reunification with the family, when safe and appropriate, if temporary placement is necessary; or movement of the child toward the most permanent living arrangement and permanent legal status. When a child is placed in foster care or relative care, the department shall first ensure and document that reasonable efforts, as defined in Section 43-21-105 , were made to prevent or eliminate the need to remove the child from the child's home. The department's first priority shall be to make reasonable efforts to reunify the family when temporary placement of the child occurs or shall request a finding from the court that reasonable efforts are not appropriate or have been unsuccessful. A decision to place a child in foster care or relative care shall be made with consideration of the child's health, safety and best interests. At the time of placement, consideration should also be given so that if reunification fails or is delayed, the placement made is the best available placement to provide a permanent living arrangement for the child. The department shall adopt rules addressing concurrent planning for reunification and a permanent living arrangement. The department shall consider the following factors when determining appropriateness of concurrent planning:

(a) The likelihood of prompt reunification;

(b) The past history of the family;

(c) The barriers to reunification being addressed by the family;

(d) The level of cooperation of the family;

(e) The foster parents' willingness to work with the family to reunite;

(f) The willingness and ability of the foster family or relative placement to provide an adoptive home or long-term placement;

(g) The age of the child; and

(h) Placement of siblings.

(9) If the department has placed a child in foster care or relative care under a court order, the department may not change the child's placement unless the department specifically documents to the court that the current placement is unsafe or unsuitable or that another placement is in the child's best interests unless the new placement is in an adoptive home or other permanent placement. Except in emergency circumstances as determined by the department or where the court orders placement of the child under Section 43-21-303 , the foster parents, grandparents or other relatives of the child shall be given an opportunity to contest the specific reasons documented by the department at least seventy-two (72) hours before any such departure, and the court may conduct a review of that placement unless the new placement is in an adoptive home or other permanent placement. When a child is returned to foster care or relative care, the former foster parents or relative placement shall be given the prior right of return placement in order to eliminate additional trauma to the child.

(10) The Department of Child Protection Services shall provide the foster parents, grandparents or other relatives with at least a seventy-two-hour notice of departure for any child placed in their foster care or relative care, except in emergency circumstances as determined by the department or where the court orders placement of the child under Section 43-21-303 . The parent/legal guardian, grandparents of the child, guardian ad litem and the court exercising jurisdiction shall be notified in writing when the child leaves foster care or relative care placement, regardless of whether the child's departure was planned or unplanned. The only exceptions to giving a written notice to the parent(s) are when a parent has voluntarily released the child for adoption or the parent's legal rights to the child have been terminated through the appropriate court with jurisdiction.

(11) There is hereby created a Foster Parents' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities which shall be provided to all foster parents at foster parent training. The Department of Child Protection Services shall extend the following rights to persons who provide foster care and relative care:

(a) A clear understanding of their role while providing care and the roles of the birth parent(s) and the placement agency in respect to the child in care;

(b) Respect, consideration, trust and value as a family who is making an important contribution to the agency's objectives;

(c) Notification of benchmarks that will be required of the foster parent such as appointments, home visits with department personnel, visitations of the child at school and meetings between department personnel and the child's family;

(d) Advance notice of information regarding scheduled meetings other than meetings where the Department of Child Protection Services personnel or social workers are going to the foster parent's home for site visits, appointments and court hearings concerning the foster child;

(e) The opportunity to communicate with professionals who work with the foster child including therapists, physicians and teachers who work directly with the child;

(f) The opportunity to communicate and collaborate, without threat of reprisal, with a department representative when further educational services are needed to ensure the child's educational needs are met, including services such as an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), tutoring, occupational therapy, speech therapy and after-school programs;

(g) The opportunity to attend all IEP meetings, along with the department worker, at the child's school as long as the child is in custody and receiving special educational services;

(h) The opportunity to communicate with the foster child's guardian ad litem;

(i) The opportunity to attend all youth court hearings involving a foster child occurring while that child is placed in their care without being a party to the youth court action, unless the youth court determines that any foster parent should not be present. Foster parents may attend all youth court hearings and have legal counsel attend and observe with them if the child's permanent plan is adoption by the foster parents, unless the youth court determines that any foster parent should not be present. Foster parents may communicate with the guardian ad litem in writing at any time. Foster parents may ask to be heard concerning the best interest of the child at any disposition or permanency hearing;

(j) When the dates of the permanency hearing and permanency review hearing have been set by the youth court, and if necessary to fulfill the notice requirements, the judge or the judge's designee shall order the clerk of the youth court to issue a summons to the foster parents to appear personally at the hearings as provided by Section 43-21-501 ;

(k) The opportunity to request from the youth court permission to communicate with the child's birth family, previous foster parents of the child, and prospective and finalized adoptive parents of the child, without the threat of reprisal. However, this right creates no obligation of the birth family, previous foster parents, or prospective and finalized adoptive parents to communicate in return;

(l) Involvement in all the agency's crucial decisions regarding the child as team members who have pertinent information based on their day-to-day knowledge of the child in care and involvement in planning, including, but not limited to, individual service planning meetings, foster care review, individual educational planning meetings, and medical appointments;

(m) The opportunity to participate in the planning of visitations between the child and the child's siblings, parents or former guardians or other biological family members which have been previously authorized by the youth court. Visitations shall be scheduled at a time and place meeting the needs of the child, the biological family, and the foster family. Recognizing that visitation with family members is an important right of children in foster care, foster parents shall be flexible and cooperative with regard to family visits but shall retain the right to reasonable advance notice of all scheduled visitations;

(n) The ability to communicate with department personnel or representatives twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, for the purpose of aiding the foster parent;

(o) A comprehensive list of all resources available to the foster parent and child, including dental providers, medical providers, respite workers in the area, day cares, and methods for submitting reimbursements;

(p) Support from the family protection worker or the family protection specialist in efforts to do a better day-to-day job in caring for the child and in working to achieve the agency's objectives for the child and the birth family through provision of:

(i) A copy of the “Foster Child Information Form” and all other pertinent information about the child and the birth family, including medical, dental, behavioral health history, psychological information, educational status, cultural and family background, and other issues relevant to the child which are known to the department at the time the child is placed in foster care prior to the child's placement with a foster parent or parents. The department shall make reasonable efforts to gather and provide all additional current medical, dental, behavioral, educational and psychological information reasonably available from the child's service providers within fifteen (15) days of placement. When the department learns of such information after fifteen (15) days of placement, the department shall communicate such information to the foster parent as soon as practicable;

(ii) An explanation of the plan for placement of the child in the foster parent's home and the ongoing and timely communication of any necessary information which is relevant to the care of the child, including any changes in the case plan;

(iii) Help in using appropriate resources to meet the child's needs, including counseling or other services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking;

(iv) Direct interviews between the family protection worker or specialist and the child, previously discussed and understood by the foster parents;

(v) Information regarding whether the child experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking;

(vi) Information related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Foster parents shall protect the confidentiality of the child by working directly with a designated school official to complete the application for free lunches.

(q) The opportunity to develop confidence in making day-to-day decisions in regard to the child;

(r) The opportunity to learn and grow in their vocation through planned education in caring for the child;

(s) The opportunity to be heard regarding agency practices that they may question;

(t) Information related to all costs eligible for reimbursement, including:

(i) Reimbursement for costs of the child's care in the form of a board payment based on the age of the child as prescribed in Section 43-15-17 unless the relative is exempt from foster care training and chooses to exercise the exemption; and

(ii) Reimbursement for property damages caused by children in the custody of the Department of Child Protection Services in an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), as evidenced by written documentation. The Department of Child Protection Services shall not incur liability for any damages as a result of providing this reimbursement.

(12) The Department of Child Protection Services shall require the following responsibilities from participating persons who provide foster care and relative care:

(a) Understanding the department's function in regard to the foster care and relative care program and related social service programs;

(b) Sharing with the department any information which may contribute to the care of children;

(c) Functioning within the established goals and objectives to improve the general welfare of the child;

(d) Recognizing the problems in home placement that will require professional advice and assistance and that such help should be utilized to its full potential;

(e) Recognizing that the family who cares for the child will be one of the primary resources for preparing a child for any future plans that are made, including return to birth parent(s), termination of parental rights or reinstitutionalization;

(f) Expressing their views of agency practices which relate to the child with the appropriate staff member;

(g) Understanding that all information shared with the persons who provide foster care or relative care about the child and his/her birth parent(s) must be held in the strictest of confidence;

(h) Cooperating with any plan to reunite the child with his birth family and work with the birth family to achieve this goal; and

(i) Attending dispositional review hearings and termination of parental rights hearings conducted by a court of competent jurisdiction, or providing their recommendations to the guardian ad litem in writing.

(13) The department shall develop a grievance procedure for foster parents to raise any complaints or concerns regarding the provisions of subsection (11) or (12) of this section.

(14) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a private right of action or claim on the part of any individual, the department, or any child-placing agency.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-107 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 14 / Section 15-107
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-107
Status: in_force

(1) Except as provided in Section 43-15-111 , no person, agency, firm, corporation, association or other entity, acting individually or jointly with any other person or entity, may establish, conduct or maintain foster homes, residential child-caring agencies and child-placing agencies or facility and/or engage in child placing in this state without a valid and current license issued by and under the authority of the department as provided by this article and the rules of the department. Any out-of-state child-placing agency that provides a full range of services, including, but not limited to, adoptions, foster family homes, adoption counseling services or financial aid, in this state must be licensed by the department under this article.

(2) No license issued under this article is assignable or transferable.

(3) A current license shall at all times be posted in each licensee's facility, in a place that is visible and readily accessible to the public.

(4)(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, each license issued under this article expires at midnight (Central Standard Time) twelve (12) months from the date of issuance unless it has been:

(i) Previously revoked by the department; or

(ii) Voluntarily returned to the department by the licensee.

(b)(i) For any child-placing agency located in Mississippi that remains in good standing, the license issued under this article expires at midnight (Central Standard Time) twenty-four (24) months from the date of issuance unless it has been:

1. Previously revoked by the department; or

2. Voluntarily returned to the department by the licensee.

(ii) Any child-placing agency whose license is governed by this paragraph (b) shall submit the following information to the department annually:

1. A copy of an audit report and IRS Form 990 for the agency;

2. The agency's fee schedule; and

3. The agency's client list.

(c) A license may be renewed upon application and payment of the applicable fee, provided that the licensee meets the license requirements established by this article and the rules and regulations of the department.

(5) Any licensee or facility which is in operation at the time rules are made in accordance with this article shall be given a reasonable time for compliance as determined by the rules of the department.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-31-9 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 11 / Section 31-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-31-9
Status: in_force

The board of supervisors may cause the superintendent of the county home to employ in labor such paupers as may be able to work, in such way as it may deem proper without endangering their health or without oppressing them; and a fair amount of the profits resulting from such labor shall be kept and returned to the board of supervisors.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-111 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 19 / Section 33-111
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-111
Status: in_force

At any time after a county or counties is excluded from the area of operation of a regional housing authority as provided in Section 43-33-109 , the board of supervisors of any such county may adopt a resolution declaring that there is a need for a housing authority in the county, if the board shall find such need according to the provisions of Section 43-33-5 of the Housing Authorities Law. Thereupon a public body corporate and politic to be known as the housing authority of the county shall exist for such county and may transact business and exercise its powers in the same manner as though created by said Section 43-33-5 . Nothing contained herein shall be construed as preventing such county from thereafter being included within the area of operation of a regional housing authority as provided in Sections 43-33-103 or 43-33-107 of this article.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-17-6 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 17 / Section 17-6
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-17-6
Status: in_force

(1) As used in this section:

(a) “ Adult ” means a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older.

(b) “ Department ” means the Department of Human Services.

(c) “ Drug ” means a controlled substance, as defined in Section 41-29-105 , for which a person does not have a valid prescription.

(d) “ Drug test ” means a chemical test administered for the purpose of determining the presence or absence of a drug or metabolites in a person's body fluids.

(2) Adult applicants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits in the assistance unit who otherwise qualify for cash assistance under the TANF program shall be required to complete a written screening questionnaire designed to determine the likelihood of the person having a substance use disorder.

(3) If the results of the written screening questionnaire indicate a reasonable likelihood that an adult recipient may have a substance use disorder involving the misuse of a drug, the department shall require the person to submit to a drug test at the department's expense in order to continue to receive cash assistance under the TANF program.

(4) If an adult recipient refuses to take the required drug test, the department shall terminate cash assistance for the person and the person may not reapply for cash assistance for:

(a) Ninety (90) days after a first refusal to take a drug test within one (1) year; or

(b) One (1) year after a second refusal to take a drug test within one (1) year.

(5) A drug test shall be administered with due regard to the privacy and dignity of the person being tested.

(6) Before taking a drug test, an adult recipient may advise the person administering the test regarding any prescription or over-the-counter medication that the person is taking.

(7) The result of a drug test is a private record and disclosure to a third party is prohibited.

(8) If an adult recipient tests negative for the unlawful use of a drug after taking a drug test, the person remains eligible for cash assistance, subject to the other TANF eligibility requirements.

(9) If an adult recipient tests positive for the unlawful use of a drug after taking a drug test, the person:

(a) Shall be given a list of approved substance use disorder treatment providers that are available in the area in which the person resides; and

(b) May continue to receive benefits if the person enters into and follows the requirements of a substance use disorder treatment plan, including:

(i) Receiving treatment from an approved substance use disorder treatment provider for at least sixty (60) days;

(ii) Testing negative for the unlawful use of a drug:

1. In each later drug test required by department rule during treatment; and

2. In an additional drug test given at the conclusion of treatment; and

(iii) Meeting the other TANF requirements for receiving cash assistance.

(10) If an adult recipient declines to enter into a substance use disorder treatment plan, or if the recipient enters into but fails to meet a requirement of a substance use disorder treatment plan, including if the person refuses to take a drug test required by a substance use disorder treatment plan or tests positive for the unlawful use of a drug in a drug test required by a substance use disorder treatment plan, the department shall terminate cash assistance for the person and the person may not reapply for cash assistance for:

(a) Ninety (90) days after the day on which the department determines that the person is no longer eligible for cash assistance; or

(b) One (1) year after the day on which the department determines that the person is no longer eligible for cash assistance, if the department has previously determined on at least one (1) other occasion in the past year that the person is no longer eligible for cash assistance.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-11-19 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 7 / Section 11-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-11-19
Status: in_force

Information received by the licensing agency through filed reports, inspection, or as otherwise authorized under this chapter, shall not be disclosed publicly in such manner as to identify individuals, except in a proceeding involving the questions of licensure; however, the licensing agency may utilize statistical data concerning types of services and the utilization of those services for institutions for the aged or infirm in performing the statutory duties imposed upon it by Section 41-7-171, et seq. and by Section 43-11-21 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-29-21 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 11 / Section 29-21
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-29-21
Status: in_force

No person shall make any charge or receive any fee for representing any applicant or recipient of assistance in any proceeding hereunder except as to criminal proceedings brought pursuant to Section 43-29-23 of this chapter; or with respect to any application whether such fee or charge be paid by the applicant or recipient or by any other person or persons. Any violation of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor and be punishable as provided in Section 43-29-23 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-8 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 1 / Section 47-8
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-8
Status: in_force

(1) Any person employed by a care facility or having a professional relationship with a care facility who receives or accepts a gift, money or thing of value in excess of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) from a patient or resident of the care facility shall make a written report of the acceptance or receipt of the gift, money or thing of value to the administrator, director or other named highest ranking management employee at the care facility. The report shall be delivered within twenty-four (24) hours of the receipt or acceptance and shall contain the following information:

(a) Name of the person receiving or accepting the money, gift or thing of value;

(b) Name of the patient or resident who gave the money, gift or thing of value;

(c) A detailed description of the gift or thing of value or the amount of money accepted or received; and

(d) Any other information required by the care facility.

(2) The written report shall be maintained by the care facility as part of the permanent record of the patient or resident, and a copy of the report shall be delivered by the administrator, director or other named highest ranking management employee to the patient's or resident's responsible party, or to the next of kin or other contact person identified in the patient's or resident's file if no responsible party has been designated.

(3) Any person who fails to make or deliver a report as required under subsection (1) of this section; or fails to retain a report as part of the patient's or resident's permanent record as required by subsection (2) of this section; or fails to deliver a copy of the report to the patient's or resident's responsible party or other person as required by subsection (2) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(4) Nothing in this section shall preclude legal proceedings against any person who steals, embezzles or misappropriates the property of a patient or resident or who otherwise exploits such patient or resident.

(5) The care facility shall not be held civilly liable for an employee's failure to make or deliver a report of an incident as required by this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-905 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 15 / Section 21-905
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-905
Status: in_force

As used in Sections 43-21-901 through 43-21-915 , the following words shall have the following meanings:

(a) “ Facility administrator ” means the principal official of the facility.

(b) “ Facility staff ” means all employees of the facility who are under the supervision of the facility administrator.

(c) “ Juvenile detention facility ” and “ facility ” are synonymous and each means a secure facility that house children who are charged with a delinquent act as defined in Section 43-21-105(j) .

(d) “ Licensing agency ” means the Juvenile Facilities Monitoring Unit of the Department of Public Safety.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-795 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 27 / Section 33-795
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-795
Status: in_force

The Mississippi Home Corporation shall file a report on July 1, 1995, with the Department of Finance and Administration that describes in detail the progress that has been made in implementing the projects authorized by the Mississippi Home Corporation Act. A report for each fiscal year shall be filed annually on July 1 until all funds required for the projects described in the Mississippi Home Corporation Act have been expended.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-37-9 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 30 / Section 37-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-37-9
Status: in_force

Where an inverse condemnation proceeding is instituted by the owner of any right, title or interest in real property because of use of his property in any program or project in which federal and/or federal-aid funds are used, the court, rendering a judgment for the plaintiff in such proceeding and awarding compensation for the taking of property, or the state's attorney effecting a settlement of any such proceeding, shall determine and award or allow to such plaintiff, as a part of such judgment or settlement, such sum as will, in the opinion of the court or the state's attorney, reimburse such plaintiff for his reasonable costs, disbursements and expenses, including reasonable attorney, appraisal and engineering fees, actually incurred because of such proceeding.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-1 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 11 / Section 33-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-1
Status: in_force

Sections 43-33-1 through 43-33-53 may be referred to as the “Housing Authorities Law,” and the following terms, whenever used or referred to in said sections, shall have the following respective meanings, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:

(a) “Authority” or “housing authority” shall mean any of the public corporations created by or pursuant to this Housing Authorities Law, or any law amendatory or supplemental thereto, with power to undertake housing projects for the persons of low income.

(b) “City” shall mean any city in this state. “County” shall mean any county in this state. “The city” shall mean the particular city for which a particular housing authority is created. “The county” shall mean the particular county for which a particular housing authority is created.

(c) “State public body” shall mean any city, town, village, county, municipal corporation, commission, district, authority, or other subdivision or other public body of this state.

(d) “Governing body” shall mean, in the case of a city, the board of aldermen, commissioners, or council; in the case of a county, the board of supervisors; and in the case of any other state public body, the board of aldermen, council, commissioners, board or other body having charge of the fiscal affairs of such state public body.

(e) “Mayor” shall mean the mayor of the city or the officer thereof charged with the duties customarily imposed on the mayor or executive head of the city.

(f) “Clerk” shall mean the clerk of the city or the clerk of the county, as the case may be, or the officer charged with the duties customarily imposed on such clerk.

(g) “Area of operation,” in the case of a housing authority of a city, shall include such city and the area within five (5) miles of the territorial boundaries thereof.

(h) “Federal government” shall include the United States of America, the United States Housing Authority, or any other agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America.

(i) “Slum” shall mean any area where dwellings predominate which, by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement, or design, lack of ventilation, light or sanitary facilities, or any combination of these factors, are detrimental to safety, health or morals.

(j) “Housing project” shall mean any work or undertaking: (1) to demolish, clear or remove buildings from any slum area; such work or undertaking may embrace the adoption of such area to public purposes, including parks or other recreational or community purposes; or (2) to provide decent, safe and sanitary urban or rural dwellings, apartments, or other living accommodations for persons of low income; such work or undertaking may include buildings, land, equipment, facilities, and other real or personal property for necessary, convenient, or desirable appurtenances, streets, sewers, water service, parks, site preparation, gardening, administrative, community, health, recreational, welfare or other purposes; or (3) to accomplish a combination of the aforegoing. The term “housing project” also may be applied to the planning of the buildings and improvements, the acquisition of property, the demolition of existing structures, the construction, reconstruction, alteration and repair of the improvements and all other work in connection therewith.

(k) “Persons of low income” shall mean persons or families who lack the amount of income which is necessary (as determined by the authority undertaking the housing project) to enable them, without financial assistance, to live in decent, safe and sanitary dwellings, without overcrowding.

(l) “Bonds” shall mean any bonds, notes, interim certificates, debentures, or other obligations issued by a housing authority.

(m) “Real property” shall include all lands, including improvements and fixtures thereon, and property of any nature appurtenant thereto, or used in connection therewith, and every estate, interest and right, legal or equitable, therein including terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage or otherwise and the indebtedness secured by such liens.

(n) “Obligee of the authority” or “obligee” shall include any bondholder, trustee or trustees for any bondholders, or lessor demising to the authority property used in connection with a housing project, or any assignee or assignees of such lessor's interest or any part thereof, and the federal government when it is a party to any contract with the authority.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-211 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 1 / Section 15-211
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-211
Status: in_force

(1) Any emergency services provider that installs a baby safety device shall post signage that is approved by the Department of Child Protection Services at the site of the device that clearly identifies the device and provides both written and pictorial instruction to the surrendering parent to open the access door, place the infant inside the device, and close the access door to engage the lock. The signage shall also clearly indicate all of the following:

(a) The maximum age of an infant who may be relinquished in accordance with this chapter.

(b) That the infant must not have been previously subjected to abuse or neglect.

(c) That by placing an infant in the newborn safety device, a parent is foregoing all parental responsibilities with respect to the infant and is giving consent for the state to take custody of the infant.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-59-11 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 47 / Section 59-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-59-11
Status: in_force

There is created in the State Treasury a fund into which any public or private funds from any source shall be deposited for the support of the activities of the Commission on the Status of Women.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-5 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 28 / Section 47-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-5
Status: in_force

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) “ Abuse ” means the commission of a willful act, or the willful omission of the performance of a duty, which act or omission contributes, tends to contribute to, or results in the infliction of physical pain, injury or mental anguish on or to a vulnerable person, the unreasonable confinement of a vulnerable person, or the willful deprivation by a caretaker of services which are necessary to maintain the mental or physical health of a vulnerable person. “ Abuse ” includes the sexual abuse delineated in Section 43-47-18 . “Abuse” does not mean conduct that is a part of the treatment and care of, and in furtherance of the health and safety of, a patient or resident of a care facility, nor shall it mean a normal caregiving action or appropriate display of affection. “ Abuse ” includes, but is not limited to, a single incident.

(b) “ Care facility ” means:

(i) Any institution or place for the aged or infirm as defined in, and required to be licensed under, the provisions of Section 43-11-1 et seq. ;

(ii) Any long-term care facility as defined in Section 43-7-55 ;

(iii) Any hospital as defined in, and required to be licensed under, the provisions of Section 41-9-1 et seq. ;

(iv) Any home health agency as defined in, and required to be licensed under, the provisions of Section 41-71-1 et seq. ;

(v) Any hospice as defined in, and required to be licensed under, the provisions of Chapter 85 of Title 41; and

(vi) Any adult day services facility, which means a community-based group program for adults designed to meet the needs of adults with impairments through individual plans of care, which are structured, comprehensive, planned, nonresidential programs providing a variety of health, social and related support services in a protective setting, enabling participants to live in the community. Exempted from this definition shall be any program licensed and certified by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health and any adult day services program provided to ten (10) or fewer individuals by a licensed institution for the aged or infirm.

(c) “ Caretaker ” means an individual, corporation, partnership or other organization which has assumed the responsibility for the care of a vulnerable person, but shall not include the Division of Medicaid, a licensed hospital, or a licensed nursing home within the state.

(d) “ Court ” means the chancery court of the county in which the vulnerable person resides or is located.

(e) “ Department ” means the Department of Human Services.

(f) “ Emergency ” means a situation in which:

(i) A vulnerable person is in substantial danger of serious harm, death or irreparable harm if protective services are not provided immediately;

(ii) The vulnerable person is unable to consent to services;

(iii) No responsible, able or willing caretaker, if any, is available to consent to emergency services; and

(iv) There is insufficient time to utilize the procedure provided in Section 43-47-13 .

(g) “ Emergency services ” means those services necessary to maintain a vulnerable person's vital functions and without which there is reasonable belief that the vulnerable person would suffer irreparable harm or death, and may include taking physical custody of the person.

(h) “ Essential services ” means those social work, medical, psychiatric or legal services necessary to safeguard a vulnerable person's rights and resources and to maintain the physical or mental well-being of the person. These services shall include, but not be limited to, the provision of medical care for physical and mental health needs, assistance in personal hygiene, food, clothing, adequately heated and ventilated shelter, protection from health and safety hazards, protection from physical mistreatment and protection from exploitation. The words “essential services” shall not include taking a vulnerable person into physical custody without his consent, except as provided for in Section 43-47-15 and as otherwise provided by the general laws of the state.

(i) “ Exploitation ” means the illegal or improper use of a vulnerable person or his resources for another's profit, advantage or unjust enrichment, with or without the consent of the vulnerable person, and may include actions taken pursuant to a power of attorney. “ Exploitation ” includes, but is not limited to, a single incident.

(j) “ Illegal use ” means any action defined under Mississippi law as a criminal act.

(k) “ Improper use ” means any use without the consent of the vulnerable person, any use with the consent of the vulnerable person if the consent is obtained by undue means, or any use that deprives the vulnerable person of his ability to obtain essential services or a lifestyle to which the vulnerable person has become accustomed and could have otherwise afforded.

(l) “ Lacks the capacity to consent ” means that a vulnerable person, because of physical or mental incapacity, lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to make or communicate responsible decisions concerning his person, including, but not limited to, provisions for health care, food, clothing or shelter. This may be reasonably determined by the department in emergency situations; in all other instances, the court shall make the determination following the procedures in Sections 43-47-13 and 43-47-15 or as otherwise provided by the general laws of the state.

(m) “ Neglect ” means either the inability of a vulnerable person who is living alone to provide for himself the food, clothing, shelter, health care or other services which are necessary to maintain his mental or physical health, or failure of a caretaker to supply the vulnerable person with the food, clothing, shelter, health care, supervision or other services which a reasonably prudent person would do to maintain the vulnerable person's mental and physical health. “ Neglect ” includes, but is not limited to, a single incident.

(n) “ Protective services ” means services provided by the state or other government or private organizations, agencies or individuals which are necessary to protect a vulnerable person from abuse, neglect or exploitation. They shall include, but not be limited to, investigation, evaluation of the need for services and provision of essential services on behalf of a vulnerable person.

(o) “ Sexual penetration ” shall have the meaning ascribed in Section 97-3-97 .

(p) “ Undue means ” means the use of deceit, power, or persuasion over a vulnerable person resulting in the vulnerable person being influenced to act otherwise than by his own free will or without adequate attention to the consequences.

(q) “ Vulnerable person ” means a person, whether a minor or adult, whose ability to perform the normal activities of daily living or to provide for his or her own care or protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation or improper sexual contact is impaired due to a mental, emotional, physical or developmental disability or dysfunction, or brain damage or the infirmities of aging. The term “ vulnerable person ” also includes all residents or patients, regardless of age, in a care facility. The department shall not be prohibited from investigating, and shall have the authority and responsibility to fully investigate, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, any allegation of abuse, neglect or exploitation regarding a patient in a care facility, if the alleged abuse, neglect or exploitation occurred at a private residence.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-35 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 28 / Section 47-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-35
Status: in_force

It is the intent of the Legislature that the department shall implement the provisions of this chapter in the event federal funding is made available therefor under a social services block grant, or in the event any other federal or state funding is made available to provide for protective services for vulnerable persons.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-6-257 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 5 / Section 6-257
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-6-257
Status: in_force

(1) The provisions of this section shall apply to all stages of the organ transplant process.

(2) A covered entity shall not, solely on the basis of an individual's disability:

(a) Consider the individual ineligible to receive an anatomical gift or organ transplant;

(b) Deny medical services or other services related to organ transplantation, including diagnostic services, evaluation, surgery, counseling, post-operative treatment and services;

(c) Refuse to refer the individual to a transplant center or other related specialist for the purpose of being evaluated for or receiving an organ transplant;

(d) Refuse to place a qualified recipient on an organ transplant waiting list;

(e) Place a qualified recipient on an organ transplant waiting list at a lower priority position than the position at which the individual would have been placed if the individual did not have a disability; or

(f) Refuse insurance coverage for any procedure associated with being evaluated for or receiving an anatomical gift or organ transplant, including post-transplantation and post-transfusion care.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, a covered entity may take an individual's disability into account when making treatment or coverage recommendations or decisions, solely to the extent that the disability has been found by a physician or surgeon, following an individualized evaluation of the individual, to be medically significant to the provision of the anatomical gift.

(4) If an individual has the necessary support system to assist the individual in complying with post-transplant medical requirements, a covered entity may not consider the individual's inability to independently comply with post-transplant medical requirements to be medically significant for the purposes of subsection (3) of this section.

(5) A covered entity must make reasonable modifications to its policies, practices, or procedures to allow individuals with disabilities access to transplantation-related services, including diagnostic services, surgery, coverage, post-operative treatment, and counseling, unless the entity can demonstrate that making such modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of such services.

(6) A covered entity must take steps necessary to ensure that an individual with a disability is not denied medical services or other services related to organ transplantation, including diagnostic services, surgery, post-operative treatment, or counseling, due to the absence of auxiliary aids or services, unless the covered entity demonstrates that taking the steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the medical services or other services related to organ transplantation or would result in an undue burden for the covered entity.

(7) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require a covered entity to make a referral or recommendation for or perform a medically inappropriate organ transplant.

(8) A covered entity shall otherwise comply with the requirements of Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-17 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 7 / Section 33-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-17
Status: in_force

Any two (2) or more authorities may join or cooperate with one another in the exercise, either jointly or otherwise, of any or all of their powers for the purpose of financing (including the issuance of bonds, notes or other obligations and giving security therefor), planning, undertaking, owning, constructing, operating or contracting with respect to a housing project or projects located within the area of operation of any one (1) or more of said authorities. For such purpose an authority may by resolution prescribe and authorize any other housing authority or authorities, so joining or cooperating with it, to act on its behalf with respect to any or all of such powers. Any authorities joining or cooperating with one another may by resolutions appoint from among the commissioners of such authorities an executive committee with full power to act on behalf of such authorities with respect to any or all of their powers, as prescribed by resolutions of such authorities.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-111 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 33 / Section 33-111
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-111
Status: in_force

At any time after a county or counties is excluded from the area of operation of a regional housing authority as provided in Section 43-33-109 , the board of supervisors of any such county may adopt a resolution declaring that there is a need for a housing authority in the county, if the board shall find such need according to the provisions of Section 43-33-5 of the Housing Authorities Law. Thereupon a public body corporate and politic to be known as the housing authority of the county shall exist for such county and may transact business and exercise its powers in the same manner as though created by said Section 43-33-5 . Nothing contained herein shall be construed as preventing such county from thereafter being included within the area of operation of a regional housing authority as provided in Sections 43-33-103 or 43-33-107 of this article.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-719 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 15 / Section 33-719
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-719
Status: in_force

(1) In connection with the making of any of the types of loans authorized by this article to any entity the corporation:

(a) May require that the borrower issue and deliver to the corporation an evidence of its indebtedness to the corporation (which evidence shall constitute a general obligation of the borrower as the corporation shall determine) which shall contain such provisions consistent with this section as the corporation shall determine, including but not limited to, date, time of maturing and prepayment clause;

(b) May require that the interest rate or rates and other terms of such loans or any collection of such loans made from the proceeds of any issue of bonds or notes of the corporation shall, together with any other monies available therefor, including reserve funds, be at least sufficient to assure the payment of such bonds or notes and the interest thereon as the same become due;

(c) May require that loans made pursuant to this section be secured as to payment of both principal and interest by a pledge of collateral security of such type and in such amounts as the corporation shall determine to be useful to assure the payment of such loans and the interest thereon as the same become due, and in the case of loans to institutional lenders, such collateral security shall consist of:

(i) Direct or guaranteed obligations of the United States of America;

(ii) Obligations of any municipality or the state or any state agency;

(iii) Mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by the Veterans Administration and such other mortgages insured or guaranteed by the federal government or by a private insurer as to payment of principal and interest as shall be approved by the corporation; or

(iv) Conventional mortgage loans approved by the corporation;

(d) May require that any collateral for loans be deposited with a bank or trust company or other financial institution acceptable to the corporation located in the state and designated by the corporation as custodian therefor. The corporation may also require the entity receiving such loan to enter into an agreement with the corporation containing such provisions as the corporation shall deem necessary to: (i) adequately identify and maintain such collateral; (ii) service such collateral, if appropriate; and (iii) require such entity to hold such collateral as an agent for the corporation and be accountable to the corporation as the trustee of an express trust for the application and disposition thereof and the income therefrom. In the case of loans to institutional lenders, the corporation shall require the lender to enter into such an agreement;

(e) May also establish such additional requirements as it shall deem necessary with respect to the pledging, assigning, setting aside or holding of such collateral and the making of substitutions therefor or additions thereto and the disposition of income and receipts therefrom;

(f) Shall require as a condition of each loan that the borrower, within a prescribed period after receipt, shall have disbursed or applied the loan proceeds for the purposes for which the loan was made in an aggregate principal amount equal to the amount of such loan;

(g) May require the submission to it by each borrower of evidence satisfactory to the corporation of compliance with the terms of such loan, and in connection therewith may, through its members, employees or agents, inspect any books and records of any such entity;

(h) May require, as a condition of any loans, representations and warranties deemed necessary to secure the loans and carry out the purpose of this section;

(i) May enforce compliance with the terms of its agreement with any entity by decree of any court of competent jurisdiction. The corporation may require, as a condition of any loan to any national banking association, the consent of such association to the jurisdiction of courts of this state over any proceeding. The corporation may also require, as a condition of any such loan, agreement by such entity to the payment of penalties to the corporation for violation of its undertakings to the corporation, and such penalties shall be recoverable at the suit of the corporation; and

(j) To the extent that any provisions of this section may be inconsistent with any provision of law of the state governing the affairs of mortgage lenders, the provisions hereof shall control.

(2) In connection with the purchase from any lender of any of the types of loans authorized by this article, or any portion thereof or any participation therein, the corporation:

(a) May require as a condition of purchase of such loans either:

(i) That such loans be mortgage loans owned by the mortgage lenders and that such mortgage lenders, within a prescribed period after receipt of the purchase price, shall enter into written commitments to loan and, within a prescribed period thereafter, may loan an amount not to exceed the entire purchase price of such purchased loans on new loans, which new loans shall have such terms and conditions as the corporation may prescribe by regulation; or

(ii) That such purchased loans qualify as new loans and were originated by the lenders for the purpose of selling them to the corporation;

(b) Shall require the submission to it, by each mortgage lender from which the corporation has purchased existing loans, evidence satisfactory to the corporation of the making of new loans as required by the corporation, and in connection therewith may, through its members, employees or agents, inspect the books and records of any such mortgage lender;

(c) May enforce compliance by any mortgage lender with the terms of its agreement with or undertaking to the corporation with respect to the making of any new loans by decree of any court of competent jurisdiction. The corporation may require as a condition of purchase of loans from any national banking association the consent of such association to the jurisdiction of courts of this state over any such proceeding. The corporation may also require, as a condition of the corporation's purchase of loans, agreement by any mortgage lender to the payment of penalties to the corporation for violation by the mortgage lender of its undertakings to the corporation, and such penalties shall be recoverable at the suit of the corporation;

(d) May require as a condition of purchase of any loan from a mortgage lender that the mortgage lender represent and warrant to the corporation that: (i) the unpaid principal balance of such loan and this interest rate thereon have been accurately stated to the corporation; (ii) the amount of the unpaid balance is justly due and owing in accordance with the terms thereof; (iii) the mortgage lender has no notice of the existence of any counterclaim, offset or defense asserted by the maker or his successor in interest; (iv) such loan is evidenced by a bond or promissory note and a mortgage which has been properly recorded with the appropriate public official; (v) the mortgage constitutes a valid lien on the real property described to the corporation subject only to such liens, reservations, exceptions or encumbrances as may be permitted by the rules or regulations of the corporation; (vi) the maker is not now in default in the payment of any installment of principal or interest, escrow funds, taxes or otherwise in the performance of his obligations under the mortgage or loan documents and has not, to the knowledge of the mortgage lender, been in default in the performance of any such obligations for a period of longer than sixty (60) days during the life thereof; (vii) the improvements to mortgaged real property are permanently affixed thereto and the real property together with improvements thereon are covered by a valid and subsisting policy of insurance issued by a company authorized to issue such policies in this state and providing fire and extended coverage in such amounts as the corporation may prescribe by regulation; and (viii), in the case of mortgage loans, the mortgage loan meets the prevailing investment quality standards for mortgage loans of that type in the state;

(e) May require that each mortgage lender be liable to the corporation for any damages suffered by the corporation by reason of any misrepresentation or the breach of any warranty, and in the event that any representation shall prove to be untrue when made or in the event of any breach of warranty, the mortgage lender shall, at the option of the corporation, repurchase the loan for the original purchase price adjusted for amounts subsequently paid thereon, as the corporation may determine;

(f) Shall not be required to inspect or take possession of the loan mortgage or documents if the mortgage lender from which the loan is purchased by the corporation shall enter into a contract to service such loan and account to the corporation therefor.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-61-1 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 39 / Section 61-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-61-1
Status: in_force

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Seniors and Indigents Rx Program.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-27 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 33 / Section 47-27
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-27
Status: in_force

The department shall adopt standards and other procedures and guidelines with forms to insure the effective implementation of the provisions of this chapter no later than October 1, 2001.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-901 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 12 / Section 21-901
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-901
Status: in_force

Sections 43-21-901 through 43-21-915 and Section 43-21-207 shall be cited as the “Mississippi Juvenile Detention Facilities Licensing Act.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-23 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 33 / Section 35-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-23
Status: in_force

All banks, trust companies, bankers, savings banks and institutions, building and loan associations, savings and loan associations, investment companies and other persons carrying on a banking or investment business; all insurance companies, insurance associations, and other persons carrying on an insurance business; and all executors, administrators, curators, trustees, and other fiduciaries, may legally invest any sinking funds, moneys, or other funds belonging to them or within their control in any bonds or other obligations issued by a municipality pursuant to this article or by any urban renewal agency or housing authority vested with urban renewal project powers under Section 43-35-31 . Such bonds and other obligations shall be secured by an agreement between the issuer and the federal government in which the issuer agrees to borrow from the federal government and the federal government agrees to lend to the issuer, prior to the maturity of such bonds or other obligations, moneys in an amount which (together with any other moneys irrevocably committed to the payment of interest on such bonds or other obligations) will suffice to pay the principal of such bonds or other obligations with interest to maturity thereon, which moneys, under the terms of said agreement, are required to be used for the purpose of paying the principal of and the interest on such bonds or other obligations at their maturity. Such bonds and other obligations shall be authorized security for all public deposits. It is the purpose of this section to authorize any persons, political subdivisions and officers, public or private, to use any funds owned or controlled by them for the purchase of any such bonds or other obligations. Nothing contained in this section with regard to legal investments shall be construed as relieving any person of any duty of exercising reasonable care in selecting securities.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-9-25 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 7 / Section 9-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-9-25
Status: in_force

No person shall make any charge or receive any fee for representing any applicant or recipient of assistance in any proceeding hereunder except as to criminal proceedings brought pursuant to Section 43-9-27 ; or with respect to any application whether such fee or charge be paid by the applicant or recipient or by any other person or persons. Any violation of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor and be punishable as provided in Section 43-9-27 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-803 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 13 / Section 21-803
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-803
Status: in_force

(1) There is established the Tony Gobar Individualized Assessment and Comprehensive Community Intervention Initiative (IACCII) Program for the purposes of:

(a)(i) Providing comprehensive strength-based needs assessments, individualized treatment plans and community-based services for certain youth who would otherwise be committed to the training schools. The IACCII ensures that youth and their families can access necessary services available in their home communities; and

(ii) Providing grants to faith-based organizations and nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations that develop and operate community-based alternatives to the training schools and detention centers. In order to be eligible for a grant under this paragraph, a faith-based or nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in cooperation with a youth court must develop and operate a juvenile justice alternative sanction designed for delinquent youths. The program must be designed to decrease reliance on commitment in juvenile detention facilities and training schools.

(b) Programs established pursuant to this subsection must not duplicate existing programs or services and must incorporate best practices principles and positive behavioral interventions. The Department of Human Services shall have sole authority and power to determine the programs to be funded pursuant to this section.

(2) A faith-based or nonprofit 501(c)(3) must submit an application to the Department of Human Services. The application must include a description of the purpose for which assistance is requested, the amount of assistance requested and any other information required by the Department of Human Services.

(3) The Department of Human Services shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the program established under this section, and the department shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this section.

(4)(a) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated as the “Tony Gobar IACCII Fund,” which shall consist of funds appropriated or otherwise made available by the Legislature in any manner and funds from any other source designated for deposit into such fund. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any investment earnings or interest earned on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. Monies in the fund shall be used by the Division of Youth Services for the purposes described in this section.

(b)(i) During the regular legislative session held in calendar year 2007, the Legislature may appropriate an amount not to exceed Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,500,000.00) to the Tony Gobar IACCII Fund.

(ii) During each regular legislative session subsequent to the 2007 Regular Session, the Legislature shall appropriate Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,500,000.00) to the Tony Gobar IACCII Fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-723 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 27 / Section 33-723
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-723
Status: in_force

No person shall be discriminated against because of race, religious principles, color, sex, national origin, ancestry or handicap by the corporation, any qualified sponsor, any lender, or any agent or employee thereof in connection with any housing development or eligible loan. No person shall be discriminated against because of age, nor shall any family be discriminated against because of children, in admission to, or continuance of occupancy in, any housing project receiving assistance under this article except for any housing project constructed under a program restricting occupancy to persons sixty-two (62) years of age or older and any directors of their immediate households or their occupant surviving spouses.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-39-13 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 31 / Section 39-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-39-13
Status: in_force

(1) Programs or projects undertaken by a displacing agency with public financial assistance shall be planned in a manner that recognizes, at an early stage in the planning of such programs or projects and before the commencement of any actions which will cause displacements, the problems associated with the displacement of individuals, families, businesses and farm operations, and which provides for the resolution of such problems in order to minimize adverse impacts on displaced persons and to expedite program or project advancement and completion.

(2) The head of any displacing agency shall ensure that the relocation assistance advisory services described in subsection (3) of this section are made available to all persons displaced by such agency. If such agency head determines that any person occupying property immediately adjacent to the property where the displacing activity occurs is caused substantial economic injury as a result thereof, the agency head may make advisory services available to such person.

(3) Each relocation assistance advisory program required by subsection (2) of this section shall include such measures, facilities or services as may be necessary or appropriate in order to determine and make timely recommendations on the needs and preferences, if any, of displaced persons for relocation assistance; provide current and continuing information on the availability, sales prices and rental charges of comparable replacement dwellings for displaced homeowners and tenants and suitable locations for businesses and farm operations; assure that a person shall not be required to move from a dwelling unless the person has had a reasonable opportunity to relocate to a comparable replacement dwelling, except in the case of a major disaster as defined in Section 102(2) of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, a national emergency declared by the President or any other emergency which requires the person to move immediately from the dwelling because continued occupancy of such dwelling by the person constitutes a substantial danger to the health or safety of the person; assist a person displaced from a business or farm operation in obtaining and becoming established in a suitable replacement location; supply information concerning other federal and state programs which may be of assistance to displaced persons; supply technical assistance to such persons in applying for assistance under such programs; and provide other advisory services to displaced persons in order to minimize hardships to such persons in adjusting to relocation.

(4) The head of a displacing agency shall coordinate the relocation activities performed by such agency with other federal, state or local governmental actions in the community which could affect the efficient and effective delivery of relocation assistance and related services.

(5) In any case in which a displacing agency acquires property for a program or project, any person who occupies such property on a rental basis for a short term or a period subject to termination when the property is needed for the program or project shall be eligible for advisory services to the extent determined by the displacing agency.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-559 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 6 / Section 21-559
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-559
Status: in_force

(1) In arriving at its adjudicatory decision, the youth court shall consider only evidence which has been formally admitted at the adjudicatory hearing. All testimony shall be under oath and may be in narrative form. In proceedings to determine whether a child is a delinquent child or a child in need of supervision, the youth court shall admit any evidence that would be admissible in a criminal proceeding. In proceedings to determine whether a child is a neglected child or an abused child, the youth court shall admit any evidence that would be admissible in a civil proceeding.

(2) An out-of-court admission by the child, even if otherwise admissible, shall be insufficient to support an adjudication that the child is a delinquent child unless the admission is corroborated, in whole or in part, by other competent evidence.

(3) Members of the youth court staff may appear as witnesses except that no member of the youth court staff may testify as to an admission or confession made to him.

(4)(a) No statements, admissions or confessions made by or incriminatory information obtained from a child in the course of a screening or assessment that is undertaken in conjunction with any proceedings under this chapter, including, but not limited to, that which is court-ordered, shall be admitted into evidence against the child on the issue of whether the child committed a delinquent act under this chapter or on the issue of guilt in any criminal proceedings.

(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection are in addition to and do not override any existing statutory and constitutional prohibition on the admission into evidence in delinquency and criminal proceedings of information obtained during screening, assessment or treatment.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-31-25 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 5 / Section 31-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-31-25
Status: in_force

The father and grandfather, the mother and grandmother, and brothers and sisters, and the descendants of any pauper not able to work, as the board of supervisors shall direct, shall, at their own charge, relieve and maintain such pauper; and, in case of refusal, shall forfeit and pay the county the sum of One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) per month, for each month they may so refuse, to be recovered in the name of the county; and shall be liable to any governmental entity who supplies such poor relative, if abandoned, with necessaries, not exceeding said sum per month; and if any such relative be a nonresident he may be proceeded against by attachment, as in cases of attachment against debtors.

The estate of any pauper, who before his death was being maintained by the county at a county home for paupers, shall be liable to the county in a sum equal to not more than One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) for each month or any part of a month for which the county maintained the pauper in a county home for paupers, such sum to be recovered in the name of the county in the same manner as provided by law for the recovery of claims of general creditors against the estate of a decedent.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-13-505 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 3 / Section 13-505
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-13-505
Status: in_force

(1) Any person, including a drug manufacturer, health care facility or government entity may donate prescription drugs to the drug repository program. The drugs must be donated at a pharmacy, hospital, or nonprofit clinic that participates in the drug repository program under the criteria for participation established in the rules adopted by the board under Section 43-13-509 .

(2) A pharmacy, hospital, or nonprofit clinic that participates in the drug repository program shall dispense drugs donated under this section to individuals who meet the eligibility standards established in the rules adopted by the board under Section 43-13-509 , or to other government entities and nonprofit private entities to be dispensed to individuals who meet the eligibility standards. A drug may be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription issued by a licensed practitioner as defined in Section 73-21-73 . A pharmacy, hospital, or nonprofit clinic that accepts donated drugs shall comply with all applicable federal laws and laws of this state dealing with storage and distribution of dangerous drugs, and shall inspect all drugs before dispensing them to determine that they are not adulterated. The pharmacy, hospital, or nonprofit clinic may charge individuals receiving donated drugs a handling fee established in accordance with the rules adopted by the board under Sections 43-13-501 through 43-13-509 . Drugs donated to the repository may not be resold.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-28-3 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 26 / Section 28-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-28-3
Status: in_force

It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a qualified Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Program in this state which will encourage and assist the saving of private funds in tax-exempt accounts in order to pay for the qualified disability expenses of eligible individuals with disabilities. The Legislature intends that the qualified ABLE Program be implemented in a manner that is consistent with federal law authorizing the program and that maximizes program efficiency and effectiveness.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-20-9 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 15 / Section 20-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-20-9
Status: in_force

From and after August 1, 1972, no person acting individually or jointly with another person or persons shall establish, own, operate, conduct or maintain a child care facility in this state without a license issued under this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-29-33 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 13 / Section 29-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-29-33
Status: in_force

No suit shall be maintained in any court for the purpose of compelling an award of assistance or to enforce payment of any award of assistance made under the provisions of this chapter. Awards made hereunder shall in no case create any vested or other rights for assistance in the recipients.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-9-17 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 5 / Section 9-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-9-17
Status: in_force

If the recipient or applicant is found incapable of taking care of himself or his money, payments may be paid to any person, firm, corporation, association, institution or agency designated to receive it by order of the county department of his county.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-46 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 7 / Section 19-46
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-46
Status: in_force

(1) Each employer paying wages, salary or commission and doing business in Mississippi shall report to the Directory of New Hires within the Mississippi Department of Human Services:

(a) The hiring of any person who resides or works in this state to whom the employer anticipates paying wages, salary or commission; and

(b) The hiring or return to work of any employee who was laid off, furloughed, separated, granted leave without pay or was terminated from employment.

(2) Employers shall report, by mailing or by other means authorized by the Department of Human Services, a copy of the employee's W-4 form or its equivalent that will result in timely reporting. Each employer shall submit reports within fifteen (15) days of the hiring, rehiring or return to work of the employee. The report shall contain:

(a) The employee's name, address, social security number and the date of birth;

(b) The employer's name, address, and federal and state withholding tax identification numbers; and

(c) The date upon which the employee began or resumed employment, or is scheduled to begin or otherwise resume employment.

(3) The department shall retain the information, which shall be forwarded to the federal registry of new hires.

(4) The Department of Human Services may operate the program, may enter into a mutual agreement with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security or the Department of Revenue, or both, for the operation of the Directory of New Hires Program, or the Department of Human Services may contract for that service, in which case the department shall maintain administrative control of the program.

(5) In cases in which an employer fails to report information, as required by this section, an administratively levied civil penalty in an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) shall apply if the failure is the result of a conspiracy between the employer and employee to not supply the required report or to supply a false or incomplete report. The penalty shall otherwise not exceed Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00). Appeal shall be as provided in Section 43-19-58 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-27 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 1 / Section 35-27
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-27
Status: in_force

(a) For the purpose of aiding in the planning, undertaking or carrying out of an urban renewal project located within the area in which it is authorized to act, any public body may, upon such terms, with or without consideration, as it may determine: (1) dedicate, sell, convey or lease any of its interest in any property or grant easements, licenses or other rights or privileges therein to a municipality; (2) incur the entire expense of any public improvements made by such public body in exercising the powers granted in this section; (3) do any and all things necessary to aid or cooperate in the planning or carrying out of an urban renewal plan; (4) lend, grant or contribute funds to a municipality; (5) enter into agreements (which may extend over any period, notwithstanding any provision or rule of law to the contrary) with a municipality or other public body respecting action to be taken pursuant to any of the powers granted by this article, including the furnishing of funds or other assistance in connection with an urban renewal project; and (6) cause public buildings and public facilities, including parks, playgrounds, recreational, community, educational, water, sewer or drainage facilities, or any other works which it is otherwise empowered to undertake to be furnished; furnish, dedicate, close, vacate, pave, install, grade, regrade, plan or replan streets, roads, sidewalks, ways or other places; plan or replan, zone or rezone any part of the public body or make exceptions from building regulations; and cause administrative and other services to be furnished to the municipality. If at any time title to or possession of any urban renewal project is held by any public body or governmental agency, other than the municipality, which is authorized by law to engage in the undertaking, carrying out, or administration of urban renewal projects (including any agency or instrumentality of the United States of America), the provisions of the agreements referred to in this section shall inure to the benefit of and may be enforced by such public body or governmental agency. As used in this subsection, the term “municipality” shall also include an urban renewal agency or a housing authority vested with all of the urban renewal project powers pursuant to the provisions of Section 43-35-31 .

(b) Any sale, conveyance, lease or agreement provided for in this section may be made by a public body without appraisal, public notice, advertisement or public bidding.

(c) For the purpose of aiding in the planning, undertaking or carrying out of an urban renewal project of an urban renewal agency or a housing authority hereunder, a municipality may (in addition to its other powers and upon such terms, with or without consideration, as it may determine) do and perform any or all of the actions or things which, by the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a public body is authorized to do or perform, including the furnishing of financial and other assistance.

(d) For the purposes of this section, or for the purpose of aiding in the planning, undertaking or carrying out of an urban renewal project of a municipality, such municipality may (in addition to any authority to issue bonds pursuant to Section 43-35-21 ) issue and sell its general obligation bonds. Any bonds issued by a municipality pursuant to this section shall be issued in the manner and within the limitations prescribed by the laws of this state for the issuance and authorization of bonds by such municipality for public purposes generally.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-6-259 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 3 / Section 6-259
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-6-259
Status: in_force

(1) Whenever it appears that a covered entity has violated or is violating any of the provisions of this article, the affected individual may commence a civil action for injunctive and other equitable relief against the covered entity for purposes of enforcing compliance with this article. The action may be brought in the circuit or county court for the county where the affected individual resides or resided or was denied the organ transplant or referral.

(2) In an action brought under this article, the court must give priority on its docket and expedited review, and may grant injunctive or other equitable relief, including:

(a) Requiring auxiliary aids or services to be made available for a qualified recipient;

(b) Requiring the modification of a policy, practice or procedure of a covered entity; or

(c) Requiring facilities be made readily accessible to and usable by a qualified recipient.

(3) Nothing in this article is intended to limit or replace available remedies under the ADA or any other applicable law.

(4) This article does not create a right to compensatory or punitive damages against a covered entity.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-201 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 18 / Section 35-201
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-201
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of any municipality of one hundred thousand (100,000) population or more, and the governing authorities of any municipality of twenty-five thousand (25,000) population or more located in any county adjacent to a county in which a municipality of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more is located, and the governing authorities of any municipality having a population of more than eleven thousand (11,000) but less than eleven thousand two hundred (11,200) according to the 1980 decennial census located in any county adjacent to a county having a municipality of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more, and the governing authorities of any municipality in any county having a population in excess of one hundred thirty thousand (130,000) according to the 1970 decennial census, and the governing authorities of any municipality in any county having a population in excess of twenty-seven thousand (27,000) according to the 1970 decennial census and bordering on the State of Tennessee wherein United States Highways 45 and 72 intersect, and the governing authorities of any municipality in any county having a population in excess of thirty-eight thousand (38,000) according to the 1980 decennial census and bordering on the Mississippi River wherein United States Highways 61 and 84 intersect shall have, and may, within their discretion, by resolution duly adopted, delegate to its urban renewal agency or redevelopment authority created pursuant to Section 43-35-33 , any or all of the following additional powers, duties and responsibilities, as specified in the resolution of the governing authorities of the municipality.

(a) The power and authority to establish and construct municipal parking facilities for motor vehicles belonging to members of the general public, and to rent, lease, purchase or acquire by the power of eminent domain, in any manner now authorized by law for the acquisition of land and property for public purposes, the necessary lands and property for the establishment and construction of such parking facilities and related structures; the power and authority to prescribe rules, regulations and rates for the use and operation of such parking facility; to employ, fix and pay the compensation of necessary operating personnel; to rent, sell, convey, transfer, let or lease said facility and related structures or any portion thereof, or any space therein, on such terms and conditions as shall be reasonable; to lease or sell air rights over and adjacent to such facilities. Commercial enterprise activities other than parking of motor vehicles may be authorized on leased property comprising any part of such parking facilities and related structures, but only upon an express finding, by resolution of the governing authorities of the municipality as hereinafter provided, that such commercial enterprise activities are essential to the economic feasibility of the proposed parking facilities. Before proceeding to exercise or delegate the powers and authority provided in this paragraph (a), the governing authorities of such municipality shall adopt and publish an ordinance and conduct the hearing as provided in Section 21-37-25 and any citizens may appeal as therein provided.

(b) To plan, establish, construct, build, maintain and operate inland ports, and to this end to negotiate, receive, contract for and expend funds from any source, including but not limited to, city, county, state and federal funds and private donations.

(c) To cooperate with and act jointly with other political subdivisions and agencies of the State of Mississippi and other commissions, departments and instrumentalities of the municipality, and with the federal government and agencies thereof.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-233 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 16 / Section 27-233
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-233
Status: in_force

Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers granted, but Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 shall not be deemed to repeal or to be in derogation of any existing law of this state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-20 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 26 / Section 27-20
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-20
Status: repealed

(a) Within the Division of Youth Services there shall be an Office of Community Services, which shall be headed by a director appointed by and responsible to the Director of the Division of Youth Services. Each director shall hold a master's degree in social work or a related field and shall have no less than three (3) years' experience in social services, or in lieu of such degree and experience, the director shall have a minimum of eight (8) years' experience in social work or a related field. Each director shall employ and assign the community workers to serve in the various areas in the state and any other supporting personnel necessary to carry out the duties of the Office of Community Services.

(b) The Director of the Office of Community Services shall assign probation and aftercare workers to the youth court or family court judges of the various court districts upon the request of the individual judge on the basis of caseload and need, when funds are available. The Director of the Office of Community Services is authorized to assign a youth services counselor to various court districts upon the approval of the appropriate judge and the Director of the Division of Youth Services.

(c) Any counties or cities which, on July 1, 1973, have court counselors or similar personnel may continue using this personnel or may choose to come within the statewide framework.

(d) A probation and aftercare worker may be transferred by the division from one (1) court to another after consultation with the judge or judges in the court to which the employee is currently assigned.

(e) The Office of Community Services shall have such duties as the Division of Youth Services shall assign to it which shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(i) Preparing the social, educational and home-life history and other diagnostic reports on the child for the benefit of the court or the training school; however, this provision shall not abridge the power of the court to require similar services from other agencies, according to law.

(ii) Serving in counseling capacities with the youth or family courts.

(iii) Serving as probation agents for the youth or family courts.

(iv) Serving, advising and counseling of children under the control of the Division of Youth Services as may be necessary to the placement of the children in their proper environment upon release and the placement of children in suitable jobs where necessary and proper.

(v) Supervising and guiding of children released or conditionally released from institutions under the control of the Division of Youth Services.

(vi) Coordinating the activities of supporting community agencies which aid in the social adjustment of children released from the institution and in an aftercare program.

(vii) Providing linkage and/or referral for services leading to the rehabilitation of delinquents, either within the division or through cooperative arrangements with other appropriate agencies.

(viii) Providing counseling and supervision for any child under ten (10) years of age who has been brought to the attention of the court when other suitable personnel is not available and upon request of the court concerned.

(ix) Supervising the completion of aftercare programs and/or making revocation investigations at the request of the court.

(x) Implementing a Standardized Risk Assessment Tool for use in the community.

(xi) Developing and implementing a graduated sanctions policy for use within the community.

(e) 1 This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2026.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 13 / Section 15-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13
Status: in_force

(1) For purposes of this section, “ children ” means persons found within the state who are under the age of twenty-one (21) years, and who were placed in the custody of the Department of Child Protection Services by the youth court of the appropriate county. For purposes of this chapter, “ commercial sexual exploitation ” means any sexual act or crime of a sexual nature, which is committed against a child for financial or economic gain, to obtain a thing of value, for quid pro quo exchange of property or any other purpose.

(2) The Department of Child Protection Services shall establish a foster care placement program for children whose custody lies with the department, with the following objectives:

(a) Protecting and promoting the health, safety and welfare of children;

(b) Preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families by identifying family problems, assisting families in resolving their problems and preventing the breakup of the family where the prevention of child removal is desirable and possible when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child's health and safety;

(c) Remedying or assisting in the solution of problems that may result in the neglect, abuse, exploitation, commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking or delinquency of children;

(d) Restoring to their families children who have been removed, by the provision of services to the child and the families when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child's health and safety;

(e) Placing children in suitable adoptive homes approved by a licensed adoption agency or family protection specialist, in cases where restoration to the biological family is not safe, possible or appropriate;

(f) Assuring safe and adequate care of children away from their homes, in cases where the child cannot be returned home or cannot be placed for adoption, including temporary or emergency placement with a relative or fictive kin pending youth court action on the case. At the time of placement, the department shall implement concurrent planning, as described in subsection (8) of this section, so that permanency may occur at the earliest opportunity. Consideration of possible failure or delay of reunification should be given, to the end that the placement made is the best available placement to provide permanency for the child; and

(g) Providing a family protection specialist or worker or team of such specialists or workers for a family and child throughout the implementation of their permanent living arrangement plan. Wherever feasible, the same family protection specialist or worker or team shall remain on the case until the child is no longer under the jurisdiction of the youth court.

(3) The Department of Child Protection Services shall administer a system of individualized plans, reviews and reports once every six (6) months for each child under its custody within the State of Mississippi, which document each child who has been adjudged a neglected, abandoned or abused child, including a child alleged to have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and/or human trafficking and whose custody was changed by court order as a result of that adjudication, and each public or private facility licensed by the department. The Department of Child Protection Services' administrative review shall be completed on each child within the first three (3) months and a relative placement, fictive kin placement, or foster care review once every six (6) months after the child's initial forty-eight-hour shelter hearing. That system shall be for the purpose of enhancing potential family life for the child by the development of individual plans to return the child to the child's natural parent or parents, or to refer the child to the appropriate court for termination of parental rights and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or foster/adoptive home. The goal of the Department of Child Protection Services shall be to return the child to the child's natural parent(s) or refer the child to the appropriate court for termination of parental rights and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or foster/adoptive home within the time periods specified in this subsection or in subsection (4) of this section. In furthering this goal, the department shall establish policy and procedures designed to appropriately place children in permanent homes, and provide counseling services and other appropriate services to children who have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking. The policy shall include a system of reviews for all children in foster care, as follows: foster care counselors in the department shall make all possible contact with the child's natural parent(s), custodial parent(s) of all siblings of the child, and any interested relative for the first two (2) months following the child's entry into the foster care system, and provide care for victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking. For purposes of contacting custodial parent(s) of a sibling, siblings include those who are considered a sibling under state law, and those who would have been considered a sibling under state law, except for termination or disruption of parental rights. For any child who has been in foster care for fifteen (15) of the last twenty-two (22) months regardless of whether the foster care was continuous for all of those twenty-two (22) months, the department shall file a petition to terminate the parental rights of the child's parents. The time period starts to run from the date the court makes a finding of abuse and/or neglect, or commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking, or sixty (60) days from when the child was removed from his or her home, whichever is earlier. The department can choose not to file a termination of parental rights petition if the following apply:

(a) The child is being cared for by a relative; and/or

(b) The department has documented compelling and extraordinary reasons why termination of parental rights would not be in the best interests of the child. Before granting or denying a request by the department for an extension of time for filing a termination of parental rights action, the court shall receive a written report on the progress which a parent of the child has made in treatment, to be made to the court in writing by a mental health/substance abuse therapist or counselor.

(4) In the case of any child who is placed in foster care on or after July 1, 1998, except in cases of aggravated circumstances prescribed in Section 43-21-603(7)(c) , the child's natural parent(s) will have a reasonable time to be determined by the court, which shall not exceed a six-month period of time, in which to meet the service agreement with the department for the benefit of the child unless the department has documented extraordinary and compelling reasons for extending the time period in the best interest of the child. If this agreement has not been satisfactorily met, simultaneously the child will be referred to the appropriate court for termination of parental rights and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or a foster/adoptive home. For children under the age of three (3) years, termination of parental rights shall be initiated within six (6) months, unless the department has documented compelling and extraordinary circumstances, and placement in a permanent relative's home, adoptive home or foster/adoptive home within two (2) months. For children who have been abandoned under the provisions of Section 97-5-1 , termination of parental rights shall be initiated within thirty (30) days and placement in an adoptive home shall be initiated without necessity for placement in a foster home. The department need not initiate termination of parental rights proceedings where the child has been placed in durable legal custody, durable legal relative guardianship, or long-term or formalized foster care by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(5) The foster care review once every six (6) months shall be conducted by the youth court or its designee(s), and/or by personnel within the Department of Child Protection Services or by a designee or designees of the department and may include others appointed by the department, and the review shall include at a minimum an evaluation of the child based on the following:

(a) The extent of the care and support provided by the parents or parent while the child is in temporary custody;

(b) The extent of communication with the child by parents, parent or guardian;

(c) The degree of compliance by the agency and the parents with the social service plan established;

(d) The methods of achieving the goal and the plan establishing a permanent home for the child;

(e) Social services offered and/or utilized to facilitate plans for establishing a permanent home for the child; and

(f) Relevant testimony and recommendations from the foster parent of the child, the grandparents of the child, the guardian ad litem of the child, when appointed, the Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of the child, representatives of any private care agency that has cared for the child, the family protection worker or family protection specialist assigned to the case, and any other relevant testimony pertaining to the case.

Each child's review plan once every six (6) months shall be filed with the court which awarded custody and shall be made available to natural parents or foster parents upon approval of the court. The court shall make a finding as to the degree of compliance by the agency and the parent(s) with the child's social service plan. The court also shall find that the child's health and safety are the paramount concern. In the interest of the child, the court shall, where appropriate, initiate proceedings on its own motion. The Department of Child Protection Services shall report to the Legislature as to the number of those children, the findings of the foster care review board and relevant statistical information in foster care in a semiannual report to the Legislature to be submitted to the Joint Oversight Committee of the Department of Child Protection Services. The report shall not refer to the specific name of any child in foster care.

(6)(a) The Department of Child Protection Services, with the cooperation and assistance of the State Department of Health, shall develop and implement a training program for foster care parents to indoctrinate them as to their proper responsibilities upon a child's entry into their foster care. The program shall provide a minimum of twelve (12) clock hours of training, which shall include training foster care parents about providing mental and physical support to children who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking. The foster care training program shall be satisfactorily completed by such foster care parents before or within ninety (90) days after child placement with the parent. Record of the foster care parent's training program participation shall be filed with the court as part of a child's foster care review plan once every six (6) months.

(b)(i) The court may waive foster care training for an appropriate relative placement.

(ii) A relative exempted from foster care training is not eligible for board payments, foster care payments, kinship care payments, therapeutic care payments, or any other monthly payments from the department to assist in the care of the child.

(7) When the Department of Child Protection Services is considering placement of a child in a foster home and when the department deems it to be in the best interest of the child, the department shall give first priority to placing the child in the home of one (1) of the child's relatives within the third degree, as computed by the civil law rule.

(a) In placing the child in a relative's home, the department may waive any rule, regulation or policy applicable to placement in foster care that would otherwise require the child to have a separate bed or bedroom or have a bedroom of a certain size, if placing the child in a relative's home would be in the best interest of the child and those requirements cannot be met in the relative's home.

(b) The court may waive foster care training for a relative only when appropriate.

(8) The Legislature recognizes that the best interests of the child require that the child be placed in the most permanent living arrangement as soon as is practicably possible. To achieve this goal, the Department of Child Protection Services is directed to conduct concurrent planning so that a permanent living arrangement may occur at the earliest opportunity. Permanent living arrangements may include prevention of placement of a child outside the home of the family when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child's health or safety; reunification with the family, when safe and appropriate, if temporary placement is necessary; or movement of the child toward the most permanent living arrangement and permanent legal status. When a child is placed in foster care or relative care, the department shall first ensure and document that reasonable efforts, as defined in Section 43-21-105 , were made to prevent or eliminate the need to remove the child from the child's home. The department's first priority shall be to make reasonable efforts to reunify the family when temporary placement of the child occurs or shall request a finding from the court that reasonable efforts are not appropriate or have been unsuccessful. A decision to place a child in foster care or relative care shall be made with consideration of the child's health, safety and best interests. At the time of placement, consideration should also be given so that if reunification fails or is delayed, the placement made is the best available placement to provide a permanent living arrangement for the child. The department shall adopt rules addressing concurrent planning for reunification and a permanent living arrangement. The department shall consider the following factors when determining appropriateness of concurrent planning:

(a) The likelihood of prompt reunification;

(b) The past history of the family;

(c) The barriers to reunification being addressed by the family;

(d) The level of cooperation of the family;

(e) The foster parents' willingness to work with the family to reunite;

(f) The willingness and ability of the foster family or relative placement to provide an adoptive home or long-term placement;

(g) The age of the child; and

(h) Placement of siblings.

(9) If the department has placed a child in foster care or relative care under a court order, the department may not change the child's placement unless the department specifically documents to the court that the current placement is unsafe or unsuitable or that another placement is in the child's best interests unless the new placement is in an adoptive home or other permanent placement. Except in emergency circumstances as determined by the department or where the court orders placement of the child under Section 43-21-303 , the foster parents, grandparents or other relatives of the child shall be given an opportunity to contest the specific reasons documented by the department at least seventy-two (72) hours before any such departure, and the court may conduct a review of that placement unless the new placement is in an adoptive home or other permanent placement. When a child is returned to foster care or relative care, the former foster parents or relative placement shall be given the prior right of return placement in order to eliminate additional trauma to the child.

(10) The Department of Child Protection Services shall provide the foster parents, grandparents or other relatives with at least a seventy-two-hour notice of departure for any child placed in their foster care or relative care, except in emergency circumstances as determined by the department or where the court orders placement of the child under Section 43-21-303 . The parent/legal guardian, grandparents of the child, guardian ad litem and the court exercising jurisdiction shall be notified in writing when the child leaves foster care or relative care placement, regardless of whether the child's departure was planned or unplanned. The only exceptions to giving a written notice to the parent(s) are when a parent has voluntarily released the child for adoption or the parent's legal rights to the child have been terminated through the appropriate court with jurisdiction.

(11) There is hereby created a Foster Parents' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities which shall be provided to all foster parents at foster parent training. The Department of Child Protection Services shall extend the following rights to persons who provide foster care and relative care:

(a) A clear understanding of their role while providing care and the roles of the birth parent(s) and the placement agency in respect to the child in care;

(b) Respect, consideration, trust and value as a family who is making an important contribution to the agency's objectives;

(c) Notification of benchmarks that will be required of the foster parent such as appointments, home visits with department personnel, visitations of the child at school and meetings between department personnel and the child's family;

(d) Advance notice of information regarding scheduled meetings other than meetings where the Department of Child Protection Services personnel or social workers are going to the foster parent's home for site visits, appointments and court hearings concerning the foster child;

(e) The opportunity to communicate with professionals who work with the foster child including therapists, physicians and teachers who work directly with the child;

(f) The opportunity to communicate and collaborate, without threat of reprisal, with a department representative when further educational services are needed to ensure the child's educational needs are met, including services such as an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), tutoring, occupational therapy, speech therapy and after-school programs;

(g) The opportunity to attend all IEP meetings, along with the department worker, at the child's school as long as the child is in custody and receiving special educational services;

(h) The opportunity to communicate with the foster child's guardian ad litem;

(i) The opportunity to attend all youth court hearings involving a foster child occurring while that child is placed in their care without being a party to the youth court action, unless the youth court determines that any foster parent should not be present. Foster parents may attend all youth court hearings and have legal counsel attend and observe with them if the child's permanent plan is adoption by the foster parents, unless the youth court determines that any foster parent should not be present. Foster parents may communicate with the guardian ad litem in writing at any time. Foster parents may ask to be heard concerning the best interest of the child at any disposition or permanency hearing;

(j) When the dates of the permanency hearing and permanency review hearing have been set by the youth court, and if necessary to fulfill the notice requirements, the judge or the judge's designee shall order the clerk of the youth court to issue a summons to the foster parents to appear personally at the hearings as provided by Section 43-21-501 ;

(k) The opportunity to request from the youth court permission to communicate with the child's birth family, previous foster parents of the child, and prospective and finalized adoptive parents of the child, without the threat of reprisal. However, this right creates no obligation of the birth family, previous foster parents, or prospective and finalized adoptive parents to communicate in return;

(l) Involvement in all the agency's crucial decisions regarding the child as team members who have pertinent information based on their day-to-day knowledge of the child in care and involvement in planning, including, but not limited to, individual service planning meetings, foster care review, individual educational planning meetings, and medical appointments;

(m) The opportunity to participate in the planning of visitations between the child and the child's siblings, parents or former guardians or other biological family members which have been previously authorized by the youth court. Visitations shall be scheduled at a time and place meeting the needs of the child, the biological family, and the foster family. Recognizing that visitation with family members is an important right of children in foster care, foster parents shall be flexible and cooperative with regard to family visits but shall retain the right to reasonable advance notice of all scheduled visitations;

(n) The ability to communicate with department personnel or representatives twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, for the purpose of aiding the foster parent;

(o) A comprehensive list of all resources available to the foster parent and child, including dental providers, medical providers, respite workers in the area, day cares, and methods for submitting reimbursements;

(p) Support from the family protection worker or the family protection specialist in efforts to do a better day-to-day job in caring for the child and in working to achieve the agency's objectives for the child and the birth family through provision of:

(i) A copy of the “Foster Child Information Form” and all other pertinent information about the child and the birth family, including medical, dental, behavioral health history, psychological information, educational status, cultural and family background, and other issues relevant to the child which are known to the department at the time the child is placed in foster care prior to the child's placement with a foster parent or parents. The department shall make reasonable efforts to gather and provide all additional current medical, dental, behavioral, educational and psychological information reasonably available from the child's service providers within fifteen (15) days of placement. When the department learns of such information after fifteen (15) days of placement, the department shall communicate such information to the foster parent as soon as practicable;

(ii) An explanation of the plan for placement of the child in the foster parent's home and the ongoing and timely communication of any necessary information which is relevant to the care of the child, including any changes in the case plan;

(iii) Help in using appropriate resources to meet the child's needs, including counseling or other services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking;

(iv) Direct interviews between the family protection worker or specialist and the child, previously discussed and understood by the foster parents;

(v) Information regarding whether the child experienced commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking;

(vi) Information related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Foster parents shall protect the confidentiality of the child by working directly with a designated school official to complete the application for free lunches.

(q) The opportunity to develop confidence in making day-to-day decisions in regard to the child;

(r) The opportunity to learn and grow in their vocation through planned education in caring for the child;

(s) The opportunity to be heard regarding agency practices that they may question;

(t) Information related to all costs eligible for reimbursement, including:

(i) Reimbursement for costs of the child's care in the form of a board payment based on the age of the child as prescribed in Section 43-15-17 unless the relative is exempt from foster care training and chooses to exercise the exemption; and

(ii) Reimbursement for property damages caused by children in the custody of the Department of Child Protection Services in an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), as evidenced by written documentation. The Department of Child Protection Services shall not incur liability for any damages as a result of providing this reimbursement.

(12) The Department of Child Protection Services shall require the following responsibilities from participating persons who provide foster care and relative care:

(a) Understanding the department's function in regard to the foster care and relative care program and related social service programs;

(b) Sharing with the department any information which may contribute to the care of children;

(c) Functioning within the established goals and objectives to improve the general welfare of the child;

(d) Recognizing the problems in home placement that will require professional advice and assistance and that such help should be utilized to its full potential;

(e) Recognizing that the family who cares for the child will be one of the primary resources for preparing a child for any future plans that are made, including return to birth parent(s), termination of parental rights or reinstitutionalization;

(f) Expressing their views of agency practices which relate to the child with the appropriate staff member;

(g) Understanding that all information shared with the persons who provide foster care or relative care about the child and his/her birth parent(s) must be held in the strictest of confidence;

(h) Cooperating with any plan to reunite the child with his birth family and work with the birth family to achieve this goal; and

(i) Attending dispositional review hearings and termination of parental rights hearings conducted by a court of competent jurisdiction, or providing their recommendations to the guardian ad litem in writing.

(13) The department shall develop a grievance procedure for foster parents to raise any complaints or concerns regarding the provisions of subsection (11) or (12) of this section.

(14) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a private right of action or claim on the part of any individual, the department, or any child-placing agency.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-13-223 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 1 / Section 13-223
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-13-223
Status: in_force

(1) An action brought in connection with any matter under this article may be filed in the circuit court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County or in the circuit court of the county in which the defendant resides, and may be prosecuted to final judgment in satisfaction there.

(2) Process issued by a court in which an action is filed may be served anywhere in the state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-35 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 15 / Section 47-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-35
Status: in_force

It is the intent of the Legislature that the department shall implement the provisions of this chapter in the event federal funding is made available therefor under a social services block grant, or in the event any other federal or state funding is made available to provide for protective services for vulnerable persons.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-3 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 17 / Section 35-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-3
Status: in_force

The following terms, wherever used or referred to in this article, shall have the following meanings, unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context:

(a) “Agency” or “urban renewal agency” shall mean a public agency created by Section 43-35-33 .

(b) “Municipality” shall mean any incorporated city or town or county in the state.

(c) “Public body” shall mean the state or any municipality, township, village, board, commission, authority, district, or any other subdivision or public body of the state.

(d) “Local governing body” shall mean the council or other legislative body charged with governing the municipality.

(e) “Mayor” shall mean the mayor of a municipality or other officer or body having the duties customarily imposed upon the executive head of a municipality.

(f) “Clerk” shall mean the clerk or other official of the municipality who is the custodian of the official records of such municipality.

(g) “Federal government” shall include the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America.

(h) “Slum area” shall mean an area in which there is a predominance of buildings or improvements, whether residential or nonresidential, which by reason of dilapidation, deterioration, age or obsolescence, inadequate provision for ventilation, light, air, sanitation, or open spaces, high density of population and overcrowding, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, or any combination of such factors is conducive to ill health, transmission of disease, infant mortality, juvenile delinquency, or crime, and is detrimental to the public health, safety, morals or welfare.

(i) “Blighted area” shall mean an area which by reason of the presence of a substantial number of slum, deteriorated or deteriorating structures, predominance of defective or inadequate street layout, faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility or usefulness, unsanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site or other improvements, diversity of ownership, tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land, defective or unusual conditions of title, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, or any combination of such factors, substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of a municipality, retards the provision of housing accommodations or constitutes an economic or social liability and is a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use. If such blighted area consists of open land the conditions contained in the proviso in subsection (d) of Section 43-35-13 shall apply. Any disaster area referred to in subsection (g) of Section 43-35-13 shall constitute a “blighted area.”

(j) “Urban renewal project” may include undertakings and activities of a municipality in an urban renewal area for the elimination and for the prevention of the development or spread of slums and blight, and may involve slum clearance and redevelopment in an urban renewal area, or rehabilitation or conservation in an urban renewal area, or any combination or part thereof in accordance with an urban renewal plan.

Such undertakings and activities may include:

(1) acquisition of a slum area or a blighted area or portion thereof;

(2) demolition and removal of buildings and improvements;

(3) installation, construction, or reconstruction of streets, utilities, parks, playgrounds, and other improvements necessary for carrying out in the urban renewal area the urban renewal objectives of this article in accordance with the urban renewal plan;

(4) disposition of any property acquired in the urban renewal area (including sale, initial leasing or retention by the municipality itself) at its fair value for uses in accordance with the urban renewal plan;

(5) carrying out plans for a program of voluntary or compulsory repair and rehabilitation of buildings or other improvements in accordance with the urban renewal plan; and

(6) acquisition of any other real property in the urban renewal area where necessary to eliminate unhealthful, unsanitary or unsafe conditions, lessen density, eliminate obsolete or other uses detrimental to the public welfare, or otherwise to remove or prevent the spread of blight or deterioration, or to provide land for needed public facilities.

(k) “Urban renewal area” means a slum area or a blighted area or a combination thereof which the local governing body designates as appropriate for an urban renewal project.

(l) “Urban renewal plan” means a plan, as it exists from time to time, for an urban renewal project, which plan (1) shall conform to the general plan for the municipality as a whole except as provided in subsection (g) of Section 43-35-13 ; and (2) shall be sufficiently complete to indicate such land acquisition, demolition and removal of structures, redevelopment, improvements, and rehabilitation as may be proposed to be carried out in the urban renewal area, zoning and planning changes, if any, land uses, maximum densities, building requirements, and the plan's relationship to definite local objectives respecting appropriate land uses, improved traffic, public transportation, public utilities, recreational and community facilities, and other public improvements.

(m) “Real property” shall include all lands, including improvements and fixtures thereon, and property of any nature appurtenant thereto, or used in connection therewith, and every estate, interest, right and use, legal or equitable, therein, including terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage or otherwise.

(n) “Bonds” shall mean any bonds (including refunding bonds), notes, interim certificates, certificates of indebtedness, debentures or other obligations.

(o) “Obligee” shall include any bondholder, agents or trustees for any bondholders, or lessor demising to the municipality property used in connection with an urban renewal project, or any assignee or assignees of such lessor's interest or any part thereof, and the federal government when it is a party to any contract with the municipality.

(p) “Person” shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint stock association, or body politic; and shall include any trustee, receiver, assignee, or other person acting in a similar representative capacity.

(q) “Area of operation” shall mean the area within the corporate limits of the municipality and the area within five (5) miles of such limits, except that it shall not include any area which lies within the territorial boundaries of another incorporated city or town unless a resolution shall have been adopted by the governing body of such other city or town declaring a need therefor.

(r) “Housing authority” shall mean a housing authority created by and established pursuant to Sections 43-33-1 through 43-33-53, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(s) “Board” or “commission” shall mean a board, commission, department, division, office, body or other unit of the municipality.

(t) “Public officer” shall mean any officer who is in charge of any department or branch of the government of the municipality relating to health, fire, building regulations, or to other activities concerning dwellings in the municipality.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-719 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 28 / Section 33-719
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-719
Status: in_force

(1) In connection with the making of any of the types of loans authorized by this article to any entity the corporation:

(a) May require that the borrower issue and deliver to the corporation an evidence of its indebtedness to the corporation (which evidence shall constitute a general obligation of the borrower as the corporation shall determine) which shall contain such provisions consistent with this section as the corporation shall determine, including but not limited to, date, time of maturing and prepayment clause;

(b) May require that the interest rate or rates and other terms of such loans or any collection of such loans made from the proceeds of any issue of bonds or notes of the corporation shall, together with any other monies available therefor, including reserve funds, be at least sufficient to assure the payment of such bonds or notes and the interest thereon as the same become due;

(c) May require that loans made pursuant to this section be secured as to payment of both principal and interest by a pledge of collateral security of such type and in such amounts as the corporation shall determine to be useful to assure the payment of such loans and the interest thereon as the same become due, and in the case of loans to institutional lenders, such collateral security shall consist of:

(i) Direct or guaranteed obligations of the United States of America;

(ii) Obligations of any municipality or the state or any state agency;

(iii) Mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by the Veterans Administration and such other mortgages insured or guaranteed by the federal government or by a private insurer as to payment of principal and interest as shall be approved by the corporation; or

(iv) Conventional mortgage loans approved by the corporation;

(d) May require that any collateral for loans be deposited with a bank or trust company or other financial institution acceptable to the corporation located in the state and designated by the corporation as custodian therefor. The corporation may also require the entity receiving such loan to enter into an agreement with the corporation containing such provisions as the corporation shall deem necessary to: (i) adequately identify and maintain such collateral; (ii) service such collateral, if appropriate; and (iii) require such entity to hold such collateral as an agent for the corporation and be accountable to the corporation as the trustee of an express trust for the application and disposition thereof and the income therefrom. In the case of loans to institutional lenders, the corporation shall require the lender to enter into such an agreement;

(e) May also establish such additional requirements as it shall deem necessary with respect to the pledging, assigning, setting aside or holding of such collateral and the making of substitutions therefor or additions thereto and the disposition of income and receipts therefrom;

(f) Shall require as a condition of each loan that the borrower, within a prescribed period after receipt, shall have disbursed or applied the loan proceeds for the purposes for which the loan was made in an aggregate principal amount equal to the amount of such loan;

(g) May require the submission to it by each borrower of evidence satisfactory to the corporation of compliance with the terms of such loan, and in connection therewith may, through its members, employees or agents, inspect any books and records of any such entity;

(h) May require, as a condition of any loans, representations and warranties deemed necessary to secure the loans and carry out the purpose of this section;

(i) May enforce compliance with the terms of its agreement with any entity by decree of any court of competent jurisdiction. The corporation may require, as a condition of any loan to any national banking association, the consent of such association to the jurisdiction of courts of this state over any proceeding. The corporation may also require, as a condition of any such loan, agreement by such entity to the payment of penalties to the corporation for violation of its undertakings to the corporation, and such penalties shall be recoverable at the suit of the corporation; and

(j) To the extent that any provisions of this section may be inconsistent with any provision of law of the state governing the affairs of mortgage lenders, the provisions hereof shall control.

(2) In connection with the purchase from any lender of any of the types of loans authorized by this article, or any portion thereof or any participation therein, the corporation:

(a) May require as a condition of purchase of such loans either:

(i) That such loans be mortgage loans owned by the mortgage lenders and that such mortgage lenders, within a prescribed period after receipt of the purchase price, shall enter into written commitments to loan and, within a prescribed period thereafter, may loan an amount not to exceed the entire purchase price of such purchased loans on new loans, which new loans shall have such terms and conditions as the corporation may prescribe by regulation; or

(ii) That such purchased loans qualify as new loans and were originated by the lenders for the purpose of selling them to the corporation;

(b) Shall require the submission to it, by each mortgage lender from which the corporation has purchased existing loans, evidence satisfactory to the corporation of the making of new loans as required by the corporation, and in connection therewith may, through its members, employees or agents, inspect the books and records of any such mortgage lender;

(c) May enforce compliance by any mortgage lender with the terms of its agreement with or undertaking to the corporation with respect to the making of any new loans by decree of any court of competent jurisdiction. The corporation may require as a condition of purchase of loans from any national banking association the consent of such association to the jurisdiction of courts of this state over any such proceeding. The corporation may also require, as a condition of the corporation's purchase of loans, agreement by any mortgage lender to the payment of penalties to the corporation for violation by the mortgage lender of its undertakings to the corporation, and such penalties shall be recoverable at the suit of the corporation;

(d) May require as a condition of purchase of any loan from a mortgage lender that the mortgage lender represent and warrant to the corporation that: (i) the unpaid principal balance of such loan and this interest rate thereon have been accurately stated to the corporation; (ii) the amount of the unpaid balance is justly due and owing in accordance with the terms thereof; (iii) the mortgage lender has no notice of the existence of any counterclaim, offset or defense asserted by the maker or his successor in interest; (iv) such loan is evidenced by a bond or promissory note and a mortgage which has been properly recorded with the appropriate public official; (v) the mortgage constitutes a valid lien on the real property described to the corporation subject only to such liens, reservations, exceptions or encumbrances as may be permitted by the rules or regulations of the corporation; (vi) the maker is not now in default in the payment of any installment of principal or interest, escrow funds, taxes or otherwise in the performance of his obligations under the mortgage or loan documents and has not, to the knowledge of the mortgage lender, been in default in the performance of any such obligations for a period of longer than sixty (60) days during the life thereof; (vii) the improvements to mortgaged real property are permanently affixed thereto and the real property together with improvements thereon are covered by a valid and subsisting policy of insurance issued by a company authorized to issue such policies in this state and providing fire and extended coverage in such amounts as the corporation may prescribe by regulation; and (viii), in the case of mortgage loans, the mortgage loan meets the prevailing investment quality standards for mortgage loans of that type in the state;

(e) May require that each mortgage lender be liable to the corporation for any damages suffered by the corporation by reason of any misrepresentation or the breach of any warranty, and in the event that any representation shall prove to be untrue when made or in the event of any breach of warranty, the mortgage lender shall, at the option of the corporation, repurchase the loan for the original purchase price adjusted for amounts subsequently paid thereon, as the corporation may determine;

(f) Shall not be required to inspect or take possession of the loan mortgage or documents if the mortgage lender from which the loan is purchased by the corporation shall enter into a contract to service such loan and account to the corporation therefor.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-59-9 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 53 / Section 59-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-59-9
Status: in_force

There is established an interagency council comprised of representatives of state agencies, including, but not limited to, the State Department of Health, State Department of Mental Health, Department of Human Services, State Department of Education, Department of Public Safety, Mississippi Development Authority, Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, Mississippi Community College Board, Attorney General's Office, Secretary of State's Office and Mississippi Department of Corrections. Each of these agencies shall report to the commission annually through its representative, addressing the current health, employment, educational and overall status of women and the agency's actions to improve women's status. The commission, in its discretion, may call a meeting of the full council; however, full council meetings may not be called more frequently than once during a fiscal year.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-12-39 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 1 / Section 12-39
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-12-39
Status: in_force

(1) The Department of Human Services shall post on its website and make available on an annual basis to the chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, the House Public Health and Human Services Committee and the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee a report of SNAP and TANF benefit spending. The report also shall be provided to the other members of the Legislature upon request.

(2) The report required under subsection (1) of this section shall include:

(a) The dollar amount and number of transactions of SNAP benefits that are accessed or spent out-of-state, disaggregated by state;

(b) The dollar amount and number of transactions of TANF benefits that are accessed or spent out-of-state, disaggregated by state;

(c) The dollar amount, number of transactions, and times of transactions of SNAP benefits that are accessed or spent in-state, disaggregated by retailer, institution, or location, unless expressly prohibited by federal law; and

(d) The dollar amount, number of transactions, and time of transactions of TANF benefits that are accessed or spent in-state, disaggregated by retailer, institution, or location.

(3) The report required under subsection (1) of this section shall be de-identified to prevent identification of individual recipients.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-28-17 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 14 / Section 28-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-28-17
Status: in_force

(1) On or before July 1, 2018, the Mississippi ABLE Board shall establish and administer the Mississippi ABLE Program or shall enter into a contractual relationship or into a consortium with another state or states to provide qualifying Mississippi residents access to enrollment in an operating ABLE Program. Before implementing the program, the board shall obtain a written opinion from counsel specializing in:

(a) Federal tax matters which indicate that the Mississippi ABLE Program is designed to comply with Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code ; and

(b) Federal securities law which indicate that the Mississippi ABLE Program and the offering of participation in the program are designed to comply with applicable federal securities law and qualify for the available tax exemptions under such law.

(2) The Mississippi ABLE account participation agreement must include provisions specifying that:

(a) The participation agreement is only an obligation of the Mississippi ABLE Program and the ABLE Trust Fund and is not an obligation of the state;

(b) Participation in the Mississippi ABLE Program does not guarantee that sufficient funds will be available to cover all qualified disability expenses for any designated beneficiary and does not guarantee the receipt or continuation of any product or service for the designated beneficiary;

(c) The designated beneficiary must be a resident of this state or a resident of a contracting or consortium state at the time the ABLE account is established;

(d) The establishment of an ABLE account in violation of federal law is prohibited;

(e) Contributions in excess of the limitations set forth in Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code are prohibited;

(f) The state is a creditor of ABLE accounts as, and to the extent, set forth in Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code ; and

(g) Material misrepresentations by a party to the participation agreement, other than the board in the application for the participation agreement or in any communication with the board regarding the Mississippi ABLE Program may result in the involuntary liquidation of the ABLE account. If an account is involuntarily liquidated, the designated beneficiary is entitled to a refund, subject to any fees or penalties provided by the participation agreement and the Internal Revenue Code.

(3) The participation agreement may include provisions specifying:

(a) The requirements and applicable restrictions for opening an ABLE account;

(b) The eligibility requirements for a party to a participation agreement and the rights of the party;

(c) The requirements and applicable restrictions for making contributions to an ABLE account;

(d) The requirements and applicable restrictions for directing the investment of the contributions or balance of the ABLE account;

(e) The administrative fee and other fees and penalties applicable to an ABLE account;

(f) The terms and conditions under which an ABLE account or participation agreement may be modified, transferred or terminated;

(g) The disposition of abandoned ABLE accounts; and

(h) Any other terms and conditions determined to be necessary or proper to conform the participation agreement with the requirements of Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code .

(4) The participation agreement may be amended throughout its term for purposes that include, but are not limited to, allowing a participant to increase or decrease the level of participation and to change designated beneficiaries and other matters authorized by this section and Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code .

(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Mississippi ABLE Board, acting through the ABLE Coordinator, may enter into an agreement with contracting states which either allow Mississippi residents to participate under the design, operation, and rules of a contracting state's qualified ABLE Program or which allows residents of a participating contracting state to participate under the Mississippi ABLE Program.

(6) The Mississippi ABLE Program shall continue in existence until terminated by law. If the Mississippi ABLE Board determines that the program is financially infeasible, the board shall submit its recommendation, in the form of a feasibility report, to the Legislature to terminate the program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-117 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 11 / Section 27-117
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-117
Status: in_force

The Department of Child Protection Services is authorized to establish an online automated child welfare information system, if funds are appropriated to the department for that purpose, to give the department the capability to supply foster care, adoption and child abuse and neglect data to the federal Department of Health and Human Services in a specified format as required, and to help the department in tracking child abuse and neglect referrals and the number of children affected in those referrals.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-19 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 5 / Section 35-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-19
Status: in_force

(a) A municipality may sell, lease or otherwise transfer real property or any interest therein acquired by it, and may enter into contracts with respect thereto, in an urban renewal area for residential, recreational, commercial, industrial or other uses or for public use, or may retain such property or interest for public use, in accordance with the urban renewal plan, subject to such covenants, conditions and restrictions, including covenants running with the land, as it may deem to be necessary or desirable to assist in preventing the development or spread of future slums or blighted areas or to otherwise carry out the purposes of this article. Such sale, lease, other transfer, or retention, and any agreement relating thereto, may be made only after the approval of the urban renewal plan by the local governing body. The purchasers or lessees and their successors and assigns shall be obligated to devote such real property only to the uses specified in the urban renewal plan, and may be obligated to comply with such other requirements as the municipality may determine to be in the public interest, including the obligation to begin within a reasonable time any improvements on such real property required by the urban renewal plan. Such real property or interest shall be sold, leased, otherwise transferred, or retained at not less than its fair value for uses in accordance with the urban renewal plan. In determining the fair value of real property for uses in accordance with the urban renewal plan, a municipality shall take into account and give consideration to the uses provided in such plan; the restrictions upon, and the covenants, conditions and obligations assumed by the purchaser or lessee or by the municipality retaining the property; and the objectives of such plan for the prevention of the recurrence of slum or blighted areas. The municipality in any instrument of conveyance to a private purchaser or lessee may provide that such purchaser or lessee shall be without power to sell, lease, or otherwise transfer the real property without the prior written consent of the municipality until he has completed the construction of any or all improvements which he has obligated himself to construct thereon. Real property acquired by a municipality which, in accordance with the provisions of the urban renewal plan, is to be transferred, shall be transferred as rapidly as feasible in the public interest consistent with the carrying out of the provisions of the urban renewal plan. Each contract for such transfer and the urban renewal plan shall be recorded in the land records of the county in such manner as to afford actual or constructive notice thereof.

(b) A municipality may dispose of real property in an urban renewal area to private persons only under such reasonable competitive bidding procedures as it shall prescribe or as hereinafter provided in this subsection. A municipality may, by public notice by publication in a newspaper having a general circulation in the community (thirty (30) days prior to the execution of any contract to sell, lease or otherwise transfer real property and prior to the delivery of any instrument of conveyance with respect thereto under the provisions of this section), invite proposals from and make available all pertinent information to private redevelopers or any persons interested in undertaking to redevelop or rehabilitate an urban renewal area, or any part thereof. Such notice shall identify the area, or portion thereof, and shall state that proposals shall be made by those interested within thirty (30) days after the date of publication of said notice, and that such further information as is available may be obtained at such office as shall be designated in said notice. The municipality shall consider all such redevelopment or rehabilitation proposals and the financial and legal ability of the persons making such proposals to carry them out, and may negotiate with any persons for proposals for the purchase, lease or other transfer of any real property acquired by the municipality in the urban renewal area. The municipality may accept such proposal as it deems to be in the public interest and in furtherance of the purposes of this article. A notification of intention to accept such proposal shall be filed with the governing body not less than thirty (30) days prior to any such acceptance. Thereafter, the municipality may execute such contract in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) and deliver deeds, leases and other instruments and take all steps necessary to effectuate such contract.

(c) A municipality may temporarily operate and maintain real property acquired in an urban renewal area pending the disposition of the property as authorized in this article, without regard to the provisions of subsection (a) above, for such uses and purposes as may be deemed desirable even though not in conformity with the urban renewal plan.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-507 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 12 / Section 21-507
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-507
Status: in_force

(1) Summons shall be served not less than three (3) days before the date set for the adjudicatory hearing of proceedings concerning the child.

(2) A party other than the child may waive service of summons on himself by written stipulation or by voluntary appearance at the hearing and in the case of written stipulation or voluntary appearance, the youth court may, in its discretion, proceed to a hearing regardless of the date set for the hearing if all other parties are properly before the youth court. At the time of the waiver, a copy of the petition shall be given to the party.

(3) If a child is served with process, the child may waive the three (3) days' time before the hearing, and the youth court may, in its discretion, proceed to a hearing regardless of the date set for the hearing if all other parties are properly before the youth court and the youth court finds all of the following:

(a) the child fully understands his rights and fully understands the potential consequences of the hearing;

(b) the child voluntarily, intelligently, and knowingly waives his rights to three (3) days' time before the hearing;

(c) the child is effectively represented by counsel; and

(d) the child has had in fact sufficient time to prepare.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-31-27 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 15 / Section 31-27
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-31-27
Status: in_force

The members of the board of supervisors shall prevent the poor from strolling from one district to another; and in case any pauper shall leave the county in which he may have a settlement, and remove to another county, any member of the board of supervisors may make an order to remove the pauper back to the county from which he came, directed to any constable to execute. But if the pauper be sick or disabled so that he cannot be removed, he shall be provided for in the county in which he may be found until he can be removed; and the county in which he had a legal settlement shall pay all charges occasioned by the support of the pauper and for removal, or burial in case of death, which shall constitute a charge against the county, and may be recoverable by action before the proper court. And it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of the county to which any pauper belongs, to receive him, on his removal, and provide for him as in other cases.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-553 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 16 / Section 21-553
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-553
Status: in_force

At any time after the petition has been filed, all parties to the cause may appear before the judge and admit the allegations of the petition. The judge may accept this admission as proof of the allegations if the judge finds that:

(a) the parties making the admission fully understand their rights and fully understand the potential consequences of their admission to the allegations;

(b) the parties making the admission voluntarily, intelligently and knowingly admit to all facts necessary to constitute a basis for court action under this chapter;

(c) the parties making the admission have not in the reported admission to the allegation set forth facts that, if found to be true, constitute a defense to the allegation; and

(d) the child making the admission is effectively represented by counsel.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-23 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 29 / Section 47-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-23
Status: in_force

The department and the court are authorized to seek the cooperation of all public agencies, departments, societies, organizations or agencies having for their object the protection or aid of vulnerable persons. These agencies, departments, societies and organizations shall provide any such assistance as is necessary.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-55-13 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 11 / Section 55-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-55-13
Status: in_force

The commission shall do all of the following:

(a) Promote increased coordination, visibility, and support for volunteers of all ages, especially youth and senior citizens, and community service in meeting the unmet needs of communities.

(b) Ensure that its funding decisions meet all federal and state requirements.

(c) Recommend innovative, creative, statewide service programs to increase volunteer participation in all age groups and community-based problem solving among diverse participants.

(d) Develop and implement a centralized system for obtaining information and technical support concerning volunteerism and community service recruitment, projects, training methods, materials, and activities throughout this state. The commission shall provide the information and support upon request.

(e) Promote interagency collaboration to maximize resources and develop a model of such collaboration on the state level.

(f) Provide public recognition and support of volunteer efforts that address community needs by individuals, by private sector organizations and businesses, and partnerships between the public and private sectors.

(g) Stimulate increased community awareness of the effects of volunteer services in this state.

(h) Utilize local, state and federal resources to initiate, strengthen, and expand quality service programs.

(i) Serve as this state's representative to national and state organizations that support the commission's mission.

(j) Prepare for this state a national three-year service plan that is developed through an open and public process that provides maximum participation and input from national service programs in this state and other interested members of the public. The plan shall be updated annually and contain information that the commission considers appropriate or the corporation requires. The plan shall ensure outreach to diverse community-based agencies that serve under-represented populations, by either using established state networks and registries or establishing these networks and registries.

(k) Prepare this state's financial assistance applications under Section 117B of Title I, 42 USCS 12543 , and Section 130 of Title I, 42 USCS 12582 .

(l) Assist in the preparation of the Department of Education's application for assistance under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Public Law 93-113, 87 Stat. 394.

(m) Prepare this state's application under Section 130 of Title I, 42 USCS 12582 , for the approval of service positions that include the national service educational award described in Division D of Title I, 42 USCS 12601 to 12604 .

(n) Make recommendations to the corporation with respect to priorities for programs receiving assistance under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Public Law 93-113, 87 Stat. 394.

(o) Make technical assistance available to enable applicants for assistance under Section 121 of Title I, 42 USCS 12571 , to plan and implement service programs and to apply for assistance under the national service laws, using information and materials available through a clearing house established under Section 198A of Title I, 42 USCS 12653a , if appropriate.

(p) Assist participants in national service programs that receive assistance under Section 121 of Title I, 42 USCS 12571 , in attaining health care and child care under Section 140 of Title I, 42 USCS 12594 .

(q) Develop a state system for the recruitment and placement of participants in programs that receive assistance under the national service laws.

(r) Disseminate information about national service programs that receive assistance under the national service positions.

(s) Use assistance provided under Section 121 of Title I, 42 USCS 12571 , to administer this state's grant program in support of national service programs including the selection, oversight, and evaluation of grant recipients.

(t) Develop projects, training methods, curriculum materials, and other materials and activities related to national service programs that receive assistance directly from the corporation or from the state using assistance provided under Section 121 of Title I, for use by such programs upon request.

(u) Establish policies and procedures for the use of federal funds received under Title I of the national service laws.

(v) Coordinate its functions, including recruitment, public awareness, and training activities, with any division of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-453 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 9 / Section 21-453
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-453
Status: in_force

The petition shall be entitled “IN THE INTEREST OF __________.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-55-21 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 13 / Section 55-21
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-55-21
Status: in_force

State departments and agencies shall cooperate with the commission in the performance of its functions.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-1 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 35 / Section 47-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-1
Status: in_force

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Vulnerable Persons Act of 1986.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-43-1 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 6 / Section 43-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-43-1
Status: in_force

It is the intent of the Mississippi Legislature to strengthen legislative oversight over the administration of federal funds provided under Title XX of the Social Security Act of 1935, as amended, originally enacted as Public Law 93-647.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-31 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 18 / Section 35-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-31
Status: in_force

(a) A municipality may itself exercise its urban renewal project powers (as herein defined) or may, if the local governing body by resolution determines such action to be in the public interest, elect to have such powers exercised by the urban renewal agency (created by Section 43-35-33 ) or by the housing authority, if one exists or is subsequently established in the community. In the event the local governing body makes such determination, the urban renewal agency or the housing authority, as the case may be, shall be vested with all of the urban renewal project powers in the same manner as though all such powers were conferred on such agency or authority instead of the municipality. If the local governing body does not elect to make such determination, the municipality, in its discretion, may exercise its urban renewal project powers through a board or commissioner or through such officers of the municipality as the local governing body may by resolution determine.

(b) As used in this section, the term “urban renewal project powers” shall include the rights, powers, functions and duties of a municipality under this article, except the following: the power to determine an area to be a slum or blighted area or combination thereof and to designate such area as appropriate for an urban renewal project and to hold any public hearings required with respect thereto; the power to approve urban renewal plans and modifications thereof; the power to establish a general plan for the locality as a whole; the power to formulate a workable program under Section 43-35-9 ; the power to make the determinations and findings provided for in Section 43-35-7 , Section 43-35-11, and subsection (d) of Section 43-35-13 ; the power to issue general obligation bonds; and the power to appropriate funds, to levy taxes and assessments, and to exercise other powers provided for in subsection (h) of Section 43-35-15 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-117 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 27 / Section 33-117
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-117
Status: in_force

Except as otherwise provided herein, a regional housing authority and the commissioners thereof shall, within the area of operation of such regional housing authority, have the same functions, rights, powers, duties, privileges, immunities and limitations provided for housing authorities created for cities or counties and the commissioners of such housing authorities, and all the provisions of law applicable to housing authorities created for cities or counties and the commissioners of such authorities shall be applicable to regional housing authorities and the commissioners thereof. For such purposes, the term “mayor” or “governing body” as used in the Housing Authorities Law shall be construed as meaning “board of supervisors,” unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context. A regional housing authority shall have power to select any appropriate corporate name.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-103 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 12 / Section 21-103
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-103
Status: in_force

This chapter shall be liberally construed to the end that each child coming within the jurisdiction of the youth court shall become a responsible, accountable and productive citizen, and that each such child shall receive such care, guidance and control, preferably in such child's own home as is conducive toward that end and is in the state's and the child's best interest. It is the public policy of this state that the parents of each child shall be primarily responsible for the care, support, education and welfare of such children; however, when it is necessary that a child be removed from the control of such child's parents, the youth court shall secure proper care for such child.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-303 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 16 / Section 35-303
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-303
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of any municipality are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to construct, repair, improve, renovate or otherwise recondition physical facilities owned or leased by the municipality within the municipalities subject to the provisions hereinafter set out.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-12-25 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 3 / Section 12-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-12-25
Status: in_force

(1) The Division of Medicaid and the Department of Human Services shall share eligibility information with each other within thirty (30) business days when an enrollee has been disenrolled for any financial or nonfinancial reason that may result in the enrollee's disqualification for benefits with the other department, and shall include the rationale for the action.

(2) Any department, agency or division receiving information under subsection (1) of this section shall establish procedures to redetermine eligibility for any enrollee whose eligibility or benefit levels could change as a result of new information provided under subsection (1) of this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-781 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 26 / Section 33-781
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-781
Status: in_force

The bonds authorized under Sections 43-33-767 through 43-33-797 may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions and things which are specified or required by Sections 43-33-767 through 43-33-797 . Any resolution providing for the issuance of bonds under the provisions of Sections 43-33-767 through 43-33-797 shall become effective immediately upon its adoption by the State Bond Commission, and any such resolution may be adopted at any regular or special meeting of the commission by a majority of its members.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-209 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 17 / Section 27-209
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-209
Status: in_force

The principal of and interest on the bonds authorized under Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 shall be payable in the manner provided in this section. Such bonds shall bear such date or dates, be in such denomination or denominations, bear interest at such rate or rates not exceeding the limits set forth in Section 75-17-101 , be payable at such place or places within or without the State of Mississippi, shall mature absolutely at such time or times not to exceed twenty (20) years from date of issue, be redeemable before maturity at such time or times and upon such terms, with or without premium, shall bear such registration privileges, and shall be substantially in such form, all as determined by resolution of the State Bond Commission.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-12 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 14 / Section 15-12
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-12
Status: in_force

(1) The following words and phrases, for purposes of this section, shall have the meanings ascribed below:

(a) “ Qualified Residential Treatment Program ” (“QRTP”) means a program that:

(i) Has a trauma-informed treatment model that is designed to address the needs, including clinical needs as appropriate, of children with serious emotional or behavioral disorders or disturbances and, with respect to a child, is able to implement the treatment identified for the child by the assessment of the child;

(ii) Has registered or licensed nursing staff and other licensed clinical staff who:

1. Provide care within the scope of their practice as defined by State law;

2. Are on-site according to the trauma informed treatment model implemented; and

3. Are available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week.

(iii) To the extent appropriate, and in accordance with the child's best interests, facilitates participation of family members in the child's treatment program;

(iv) Facilitates outreach to the family members of the child, including siblings, documents how the outreach is made, including contact information, and maintains contact information for any known biological family and fictive kin of the child;

(v) Documents how family members are integrated into the treatment process for the child, including post-discharge, and how sibling connections are maintained;

(vi) Provides discharge planning and family-based aftercare support for at least six (6) months post-discharge; and

(vii) Is licensed and is accredited by Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), Council on Accreditation (COA), or any other independent, not-for-profit accrediting organization approved by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

(b) “ Qualified assessor ” means a trained professional or licensed clinician who is not an employee of the Department of Child Protection Services and who is not connected to, or affiliated with, any placement setting in which children are placed by the department.

(2) Within thirty (30) days of the start of a QRTP placement, a qualified assessor must:

(a) Assess the strengths and needs of the child using an age-appropriate, evidence-based, validated, functional assessment tool to determine whether the needs of the child can be met with family members or through placement in a foster family home or, if not, which setting would provide the most effective and appropriate level of care for the child in the least restrictive environment;

(b) Specify in writing if it is determined the child should not be placed in a foster family home:

(i) The reasons why the needs of the child cannot be met by the family of the child or in a foster family home; and

(ii) Why the recommended placement in a QRTP is the setting that will provide the child with the most effective and appropriate level of care in the least restrictive environment and how that placement is consistent with the short- and long-term goals of the child, as specified in the child's permanency plan.

(3)(a) If the child is placed in a qualified residential treatment program as defined in this section, the court shall, within sixty (60) days of placement, establish in writing the following:

(i) Consideration of the assessment required under this section and any related documentation;

(ii) Determination of whether placement in foster care can meet the child's needs or, if not, whether placement in the QRTP provides the most effective and appropriate level of care in the least restrictive environment and whether that placement meets the goals of the permanency plan; and

(iii) Approval or disapproval of the child's placement in the qualified residential treatment program.

(b) If the child remains in a qualified residential treatment program, the court shall establish the following in writing at each review hearing after the initial hearing in (3)(a):

(i) Whether ongoing assessment of the child's strengths and needs continues to support the determination that the child's needs cannot be met through placement in a foster family home;

(ii) Whether the child's placement provides the most effective and appropriate level of care in the least restrictive environment;

(iii) Whether the placement is consistent with the child's permanency plan;

(iv) What specific treatment or service needs will be met in the placement and how long the child is expected to need the treatment or services; and

(v) What efforts the Department of Child Protection Services has made to prepare the child to return home or be placed with a relative, a legal guardian, an adoptive parent, or in a foster family home.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-15 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 26 / Section 35-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-15
Status: in_force

Every municipality shall have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this article, including the following powers in addition to others herein granted:

(a) To undertake and carry out urban renewal projects within its area of operation; and to make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of its powers under this article, and to disseminate slum clearance and urban renewal information;

(b) To provide or to arrange or contract for the furnishing or repair by any person or agency, public or private, or services, privileges, works, streets, roads, public utilities or other facilities for or in connection with an urban renewal project; to install, construct, and reconstruct streets, utilities, parks, playgrounds, and other public improvements; and to agree to any conditions that it may deem reasonable and appropriate attached to federal financial assistance and imposed pursuant to federal law relating to the determination of prevailing salaries or wages or compliance with labor standards, in the undertaking or carrying out of an urban renewal project, and to include in any contract let in connection with such a project, provisions to fulfill such of said conditions as it may deem reasonable and appropriate;

(c) Within its area of operation, to enter into any building or property in any urban renewal area in order to make inspections, surveys, appraisals, soundings or test borings, and to obtain an order for this purpose from a court of competent jurisdiction in the event entry is denied or resisted; to acquire by purchase, lease, option, gift, grant, bequest, devise, eminent domain or otherwise, any real property (or personal property for its administrative purposes), together with any improvements thereon. However, before condemning property of a corporation itself possessing the power of eminent domain, the condemnor must have obtained from the Mississippi Public Service Commission findings of fact as follows: (i) that there was no other property reasonably available for the contemplated public use, and (ii) that the property sought to be taken was not reasonably necessary to the performance of the function of the public service corporation owning, or holding such property. Moreover, such municipality shall have the power to hold, improve, clear or prepare for redevelopment any such property; to mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise encumber or dispose of any real property; to insure or provide for the insurance of any real or personal property or operations of the municipality against any risks or hazards, including the power to pay premiums on any such insurance; and to enter into any contracts necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article. However, no statutory provision with respect to the acquisition, clearance or disposition of property by public bodies shall restrict a municipality or other public body exercising the powers hereunder, in the exercise of such functions with respect to an urban renewal project, unless the legislature shall specifically so state;

(d) To invest any urban renewal project funds held in reserves or sinking funds or any such funds not required for immediate disbursement, in property or securities in which savings banks may legally invest funds subject to their control; to redeem such bonds as have been issued pursuant to Section 43-35-21 at the redemption price established therein or to purchase such bonds at less than redemption price, all such bonds so redeemed or purchased to be cancelled;

(e) To borrow money and to apply for and accept advances, loans, grants, contributions and any other form of financial assistance from the federal government, the state, county, or other public body, or from any sources, public or private, for the purposes of this article, and to give such security as may be required and to enter into and carry out contracts in connection therewith. A municipality may include in any contract for financial assistance with the federal government for an urban renewal project such conditions imposed pursuant to federal laws as the municipality may deem reasonable and appropriate and which are not inconsistent with the purposes of this article.

(f) To accept funds under the provisions of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, P. L. 93-383 , or amendments thereto, and to make grants or loans to individuals who own property in the designated area and who qualify according to the provisions of the act, such grants or loans to be made from funds accepted under the provisions of said P. L. 93-383 , as amended, or from the grants and contributions derived under the provisions of subsection (e) of this section; and to make loans from funds derived from subsection (e) of this section or from the proceeds of revenue bonds issued pursuant to the authority of Section 43-35-21, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(g) Within its area of operation, to make or have made all surveys and plans necessary to the carrying out of the purposes of this article and to contract with any person, public or private, in making and carrying out such plans and to adopt or approve, modify and amend such plans. Such plans may include, without limitation: (i) a general plan for the locality as a whole, (ii) urban renewal plans, (iii) preliminary plans outlining urban renewal activities for neighborhoods to embrace two (2) or more urban renewal areas, (iv) plans for carrying out a program of voluntary or compulsory repair and rehabilitation of buildings and improvements, (v) plans for the enforcement of state and local laws, codes and regulations relating to the use of land and the use and occupancy of buildings and improvements and to the compulsory repair, rehabilitation, demolition, or removal of buildings and improvements, and (vi) appraisals, title searches, surveys, studies, and other plans and work necessary to prepare for the undertaking of urban renewal projects. The municipality is authorized to develop, test, and report methods and techniques, and carry out demonstrations and other activities, for the prevention and the elimination of slums and urban blight and to apply for, accept and utilize grants of funds from the federal government for such purposes;

(h) To prepare plans for the relocation of persons (including families, business concerns and others) displaced by an urban renewal project, and to make relocation payments to or with respect to such persons for moving expenses and losses of property for which reimbursement or compensation is not otherwise made, including the making of payments financed by the federal government;

(i) To appropriate such funds and make such expenditures as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this article and to levy taxes and assessments for such purposes; to zone or rezone any part of the municipality or make exceptions from building regulations; and to enter into agreements with a housing authority or an urban renewal agency vested with urban renewal project powers under Section 43-35-31 (which agreements may extend over any period, notwithstanding any provision or rule of law to the contrary), respecting action to be taken by such municipality pursuant to any of the powers granted by this article;

(j) To close, vacate, plan or replan streets, roads, sidewalks, ways or other places; and to plan or replan any part of the municipality;

(k) Within its area of operation, to organize, coordinate and direct the administration of the provisions of this article as they apply to such municipality in order that the objective of remedying slum and blighted areas and preventing the causes thereof within such municipality may be most effectively promoted and achieved, and to establish such new office or offices of the municipality or to reorganize existing offices in order to carry out such purpose most effectively; and

(l) To exercise all or any part or combination of powers herein granted.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-7 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 18 / Section 35-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-7
Status: in_force

A municipality, to the greatest extent it determines to be feasible in carrying out the provisions of this article, shall afford maximum opportunity, consistent with the sound needs of the municipality as a whole, to the rehabilitation or redevelopment of the urban renewal area by private enterprise. A municipality shall give consideration to this objective in exercising its powers under this article, including the formulation of a workable program, the approval of urban renewal plans (consistent with the general plan of the municipality), the exercise of its zoning powers, the enforcement of other laws, codes and regulations relating to the use of land and the use and occupancy of buildings and improvements, the disposition of any property acquired, and the provision of necessary public improvements.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-3-93 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 3 / Section 3-93
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-3-93
Status: in_force

(1) For the purpose of providing legally blind persons with remunerative employment, enlarging the economic opportunities of the blind, and stimulating the blind to greater efforts in striving to make themselves self-supporting, blind persons licensed under the provisions of this section, may operate vending facilities, snack bars or similar facilities in cooperation with the federal government in the furtherance of the provisions of the Vending Stand Act, of Congress known as the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Stand Act, dated June 20, 1936, as amended.

(2) Definitions as used in this section:

(a) “Blind person” shall mean any individual with insufficient vision to perform tasks for which sight is essential.

(b) “State agency” shall mean any department, commission, agency or instrumentality of the state.

(c) “State property or state building” means building and land controlled, leased or owned by the state, exclusive of a building and land controlled, leased or owned in whole or in part by schools, the Mississippi State Fair, or any of the colleges or universities.

(d) “Vending facility” includes a snack bar, concession stand, cafeteria, vending stand, vending machines or other facility at which food, drinks, novelties, newspapers, periodicals, confections, souvenirs, tobacco products, or other related items are regularly sold.

(e) “Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind” shall mean the rehabilitation agency for the blind created and empowered under Sections 37-33-53 et seq.

(3) The Director of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind shall, with the approval of the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi School for the Blind and the Mississippi School for the Deaf, make regulations in conformity with the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Stand Act, as amended, and do all things necessary and proper to carry out the provisions of this section, including surveying opportunities for the operation of vending facilities by blind persons and collection of such set-aside funds, with such collections being placed in a special deposit fund to be used only for the following purposes authorized under the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Stand Act, as amended: (a) the maintenance and replacement of equipment; (b) management services; and (c) the purchase of new equipment.

(4) The person, board or legislative body having the care, custody and control of any state, county or municipal building are hereby authorized and empowered to permit the establishment and operation of vending facilities by blind persons duly licensed by Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind in any state, county or municipal building under their respective jurisdictions.

(5) In order to promote the employment and the self-sufficiency of blind persons in Mississippi, state agencies shall, upon the request of the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind, give preference to blind persons in the operation of vending facilities on state property.

(6) On state property, where Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind determines that a vending facility should not be established or should not continue to operate due to insufficient revenues, Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind shall have the first opportunity to secure, by negotiation of a contract with one or more licensed commercial vendors, coin or currency operated vending machines for such state property location. Profits secured by Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind from such machines shall be used only for the support of vending facilities operated by Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind.

(7) If Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind determines that a location is suitable for the operation of a vending facility by a blind person, the state agency with authority over the location may provide proper space, plumbing, lighting and electrical outlets for the vending facility in the original planning and construction or in alteration or renovation of the present location. The state agency shall provide necessary utilities, janitorial services and garbage disposal for the operation of the vending facility. Space for the vending facility shall be provided without charge. It shall also be the duty of the state agencies to inform Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind in writing of existing or prospective vending facilities and coin or currency operated vending machines located on property under the control of the state agency.

(8) Where, on July 1, 1985, vending facilities are operated on state property by those other than blind persons, the contract or agreement for the provision of such vending facilities shall not be renewed or extended unless the Director of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind is notified thereof, and he determines within thirty (30) days of the date of such notification that the vending facilities are not, or cannot become, suitable for operation by the blind. However, if the Director of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind fails to provide for the operation of the vending facilities by the blind within thirty (30) days of such notification, the existing contract may be renewed or extended.

(9)(a) This section is not intended to apply to food services provided by hospitals or residential institutions as a direct service to patients, inmates, trainees or institutionalized persons.

(b) This section shall not prohibit the continued use of coin-operated vending machines currently the property of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind.

(10) Any blind vendor operating such vending facility is subject to the provisions of any ordinance of the county or city in which the vending facility is located requiring a license or permit for the conduct of each business, but such license or permit may be issued free of charge to a blind vendor licensed by Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind pursuant to federal and state laws.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-135 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 12 / Section 33-135
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-135
Status: in_force

The powers conferred by this article shall be in addition and supplemental to the powers conferred by any other law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-18-5 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 15 / Section 18-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-18-5
Status: in_force

As used in paragraph (a) of Article V of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, the phrase “ appropriate authority in the receiving state ” with reference to this state shall mean the Department of Child Protection Services, or with the approval of the Commissioner of Child Protection Services, any regional or local office of the department.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-10 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 7 / Section 27-10
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-10
Status: in_force

(1) The Mississippi Department of Human Services shall exercise executive and administrative supervision over all state-owned facilities used for the detention, training, care, treatment and aftercare supervision of delinquent children properly committed to or confined in said facilities by a court on account of such delinquency; provided, however, such executive and administrative supervision under state-owned facilities shall not extend to any institutions and facilities for which executive and administrative supervision has been provided otherwise by law through other agencies.

(2) Such facilities shall include, but not be limited to, the Oakley Training School, which is now the Oakley Youth Development Center, created by Chapter 205, Laws of 1942, and those facilities authorized by Chapter 652, Laws of 1994.

(3) The department shall have the power as a corporate body to receive, hold and use personal, real and mixed property donated to them or property acquired under Section 43-27-35 , and shall have such other corporate authority as shall now or hereafter be necessary for the operation of any such facility. The department shall be responsible for the planning, development and coordination of a statewide, comprehensive youth services program designed to train and rehabilitate children in order to prevent, control and retard juvenile delinquency.

(4) The department is authorized to develop and implement diversified public, private, or contractual programs and facilities to promote, enhance, provide and assure the opportunities for the successful care, training and treatment of delinquent children properly committed to or confined in any facility under its control. Such programs and facilities may include, but not be limited to, training schools, foster homes, halfway houses, forestry camps, regional assessment, classification and diagnostic centers, detention centers, group homes, regional and community-based juvenile intensive residential treatment facilities, specialized and therapeutic programs and facilities, and other state and local community-based programs and facilities.

(5) The department is authorized to acquire whatever hazard, casualty or workers' compensation insurance is necessary for any property, real or personal, owned, leased or rented by the department or for any employees or personnel hired by the department and may acquire professional liability insurance on all employees as deemed necessary and proper by the department. All premiums due and payable on account thereof shall be paid out of the funds of the department.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-53-11 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 6 / Section 53-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-53-11
Status: in_force

Assessments collected under Section 99-19-73(1) for the Mississippi Leadership Council on Aging Fund, and any contributions, grants or donations from any other source, shall be deposited in a special fund created in the State Treasury and so designated. Monies deposited in this fund shall be expended by the Mississippi Leadership Council on Aging as authorized and appropriated by the Legislature to defray the cost of coordinating crime prevention for the elderly and carrying out such other duties and responsibilities as provided in this chapter. The fund shall be a non-lapsing, revolving special trust fund, and interest earned on the principal shall be credited to the fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be made upon requisition by the Mississippi Leadership Council on Aging.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-259 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 15 / Section 21-259
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-259
Status: in_force

All other records involving children and the contents thereof shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed except as provided in section 43-21-261 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-53-1 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 43 / Section 53-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-53-1
Status: in_force

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that there are many efforts currently under way that seek to forge partnerships to coordinate criminal justice and social services approaches to victimization of senior citizens. The TRIAD program, sponsored by the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), is one such effort. This effort recognizes that senior citizens have the same fundamental desire as other members of our society to live freely, without fear or restriction due to the criminal element, and that the state should seek to expand efforts to reduce crime against this growing and uniquely vulnerable segment of our population.

It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, to promote a coordinated effort among law enforcement and social services agencies to stem the tide of violence against senior citizens and to support media and non-media strategies aimed at increasing both public understanding of the problem and the senior citizens' skills in preventing crime against themselves and their property, and to address the problem of crime against senior citizens in a systematic and effective manner by promoting and expanding collaborative crime prevention programs, such as the TRIAD model, that assist law enforcement agencies and senior citizens in implementing specific strategies for crime prevention, victim assistance, citizen involvement and public education.