Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 14 / 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. § 43-35-309 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 14 / Section 35-309
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-309
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of such municipality are hereby authorized, in their discretion, to make such charges as would be deemed proper for the use of such facilities. Any revenue received from any of such charges may be pledged for the payment of bonds issued hereunder or otherwise credited against the cost and expense to be charged against the property benefitted thereby.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-31 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 14 / Section 19-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-31
Status: in_force

The Department of Human Services is hereby authorized and empowered to establish a single and separate Child Support Unit for the following purposes:

(a) To develop and implement a nonsupport and paternity program and institute proceedings in the name of the Department of Human Services or in the name of the recipient in any court of competent jurisdiction in any county where the mother of the child resides or is found, in the county where the father resides or is found, or in the county where the child resides or is found;

(b) To secure and collect support by any method authorized under state law and establish paternity for any child or children receiving aid from the department any form of public assistance, including, but not limited to, medical assistance, foster care, food stamps, TANF, or any other program under the federal Social Security Act, from a parent or any other person legally liable for such support who has either failed or refused to provide support, deserted, neglected or abandoned the child or children, including cooperating with other states in establishing paternity, locating absent parents and securing compliance with court orders for support of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) children; the department may petition the court for the inclusion of health insurance as part of any child support order on behalf of any child receiving aid from the department unless good cause for noncooperation, as defined by the Social Security Act or the Mississippi Department of Human Services, is established. Unless notified to the contrary, whenever a child or children for whom child support services have been provided ceases to receive public assistance, the department will continue to provide services and establish paternity, secure and collect such support payments from a parent or any other person legally liable for such support in accordance with the standards prescribed pursuant to the federal Social Security Act;

(c) To accept applications for child support enforcement services to establish paternity, secure and collect support from any proper party or person as defined by Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act notwithstanding the fact that the child or children do not currently receive or have never received public assistance. The department shall have the authority to secure and collect support by any method authorized under state law and establish paternity for any child or children on behalf of a recipient of child support services, including individuals who do not currently receive or have never received public assistance from a parent or any other person legally liable for such support who has either failed or refused to provide support, deserted, neglected or abandoned the child or children, including cooperating with other states in establishing paternity, locating absent parents and securing compliance with court orders for support; the department may petition the court for the inclusion of health insurance as part of any child support order on behalf of such recipients of child support services. The proceeds of any collections resulting from such application shall be distributed in accordance with the standards prescribed in the federal Social Security Act;

(d) The department shall seek to recover from the individual who owes a support obligation to any individual who is a recipient of Title IV-D services as set forth in paragraph (b) or (c) on whose behalf the department is providing services, upon judicial proceedings conducted thereon after advance notice to such obligor, reasonable attorney's fees and court costs, in excess of any administrative fees collected and in excess of amounts of current support owed by the obligor, which the department incurs in recovering and collecting the support obligation, such costs and fees as the department recovers to be deposited in the Special Fund of the Mississippi Department of Human Services which is hereby established for the pursuit and collection of child support;

(e) To initiate contempt of court proceedings or any other remedial proceedings necessary to enforce (i) any order or decree of court relating to child support, and (ii) any order or decree of court relating to the maintenance and/or alimony of a parent where support collection services on his or her child's behalf are being provided by the department;

(f) To secure and collect by any method authorized under state law any maintenance and/or alimony on behalf of a parent whose child or children's support is being collected by the department. The department shall collect only such maintenance and/or alimony as is ordered or decreed by the court, and only in the event that the minor child and parent to whom such maintenance and/or alimony has been ordered are living in the same household;

(g) To obtain restitution of monies expended for public assistance from a parent or any other person legally liable for the support of any child or children receiving aid from the department; said action for restitution shall arise from the payment of public assistance for the dependent child or children and shall be for the amount of the public assistance paid. Said action for restitution shall not arise against the parent or other person legally responsible who receives public assistance for the benefit of any dependent child or children. When a court order of support has been issued, the amount recoverable shall be limited to the amount of the court order;

(h) Setting off against a debtor's income tax refund or rebate any debt which is in the form of a liquidated sum due and owing for the care, support or maintenance of a child;

(i) To have full responsibility in the aforementioned cases for initiating actions under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act and for responding to the actions of other jurisdictions under said law when Mississippi is the responding state; however, this shall not impair private litigants' rights to proceed under any applicable interstate enforcement mechanisms;

(j) To enter into contracts for the purpose of performing any test which the department may, from time to time, require;

(k) To maintain a Central Receipting and Disbursement Unit to which all payments required by withholding orders and orders for support in all actions to which the Department of Human Services is a party shall be forwarded, and from which child support payments ordered by the court in actions to which the Department of Human Services is a party shall be disbursed to the custodial parent or other such party as may be designated by the court order. The Central Receipting and Disbursement Unit shall be operated by the Department of Human Services or any financial institution having operations and qualified to do business in Mississippi, whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The department shall conduct cost-benefit analyses to determine and utilize the more cost efficient manner of operating the unit;

(l) To maintain a Mississippi Department of Human Services Case Registry containing records with respect to:

(i) Each case in which services are being provided by the department under this section;

(ii) Each support order established or modified in Mississippi on or after October 1, 1998; and

(iii) The Administrative Office of Courts, as established by Section 9-21-1, Mississippi Code of 1972 , in consultation with the Mississippi Department of Human Services, shall devise, promulgate and require the use of a Uniform Child Support Order Tracking System.

1. Information collected from case filing forms shall be furnished to the Mississippi Department of Human Services, Division of Child Support Enforcement, in order that compliance with court-ordered obligations of support may be tracked with specificity throughout the duration of said obligations and any subsequent proceedings.

2. Such tracking system shall include: a. the names, residential and mailing addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers and dates of birth of each child and parent named in or subject to the court order; b. the court cause number of the action; c. name, address and telephone number of employer; d. any restraining or protective order indicating domestic violence; and e. any other information which may be used for the purpose of identifying any person named in or subject to the order or for the purposes of establishing, enforcing or modifying a child support order;

(m) To take administrative actions relating to genetic testing, determine paternity, establish child support orders, modification of child support orders, income withholding, liens and subpoenas without the necessity of obtaining an order from any judicial or other administrative tribunal with respect to cases initiated or enforced by the department pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act;

(n) To have the authority to use high-volume automated administrative enforcement in interstate cases to the same extent as used for intrastate cases, in response to a request made by another state to enforce support orders;

(o) To provide any child support enforcement or other service as may be required by the United States of America, Department of Health and Human Services, Family Support Administration, Office of Child Support Enforcement or their successor pursuant to federal law or regulation; and

(p) To collaborate with the Office of the State Treasurer in order to identify persons presumed to have unclaimed property and intercept eligible unclaimed property to satisfy, fully or partially, the person's child support arrearage.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-14-1 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 11 / Section 14-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-14-1
Status: in_force

(1) The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the development, implementation and oversight of a coordinated interagency system of necessary services and care for children and youth, called the Mississippi Statewide System of Care, up to age twenty-one (21) with serious emotional/behavioral disorders including, but not limited to, conduct disorders, or mental illness who require services from a multiple services and multiple programs system, and who can be successfully diverted from inappropriate institutional placement. The Mississippi Statewide System of Care is to be conducted in the most fiscally responsible (cost-efficient) manner possible, based on an individualized plan of care which takes into account other available interagency programs, including, but not limited to, Early Intervention Act of Infants and Toddlers, Section 41-87-1 et seq. , Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment, Section 43-13-117(A)(5) , waivered program for home- and community-based services for developmentally disabled people, Section 43-13-117(A)(29) , and waivered program for targeted case management services for children with special needs, Section 43-13-117(A)(31) , those children identified through the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 as having a serious emotional disorder (EMD), the Mississippi Children's Health Insurance Program and waivered programs for children with serious emotional disturbances, Section 43-13-117(A)(46) , and is tied to clinically and functionally appropriate outcomes. Some of the outcomes are to reduce the number of inappropriate out-of-home placements inclusive of those out-of-state and to reduce the number of inappropriate school suspensions and expulsions for this population of children. This coordinated interagency system of necessary services and care shall be named the Mississippi Statewide System of Care. Children to be served by this chapter who are eligible for Medicaid shall be screened through the Medicaid Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) and their needs for medically necessary services shall be certified through the EPSDT process. For purposes of this chapter, the Mississippi Statewide System of Care is defined as a coordinated network of agencies and providers working as a team to make a full range of mental health and other necessary services available as needed by children with mental health problems and their families. The Mississippi Statewide System of Care shall be:

(a) Child centered, family focused, family driven and youth guided;

(b) Community based;

(c) Culturally competent and responsive; and shall provide for:

(i) Service coordination or case management;

(ii) Prevention and early identification and intervention;

(iii) Smooth transitions among agencies and providers, and to the transition-age and adult service systems;

(iv) Human rights protection and advocacy;

(v) Nondiscrimination in access to services;

(vi) A comprehensive array of services composed of treatment and informal supports that are identified as best practices and/or evidence-based practices;

(vii) Individualized service planning that uses a strengths-based, wraparound process;

(viii) Services in the least restrictive environment;

(ix) Family participation in all aspects of planning, service delivery and evaluation; and

(x) Integrated services with coordinated planning across child-serving agencies.

Mississippi Statewide System of Care services shall be timely, intensive, coordinated and delivered in the community. Mississippi Statewide System of Care services shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) Comprehensive crisis and emergency response services;

(b) Intensive case management;

(c) Day treatment;

(d) Alcohol and drug abuse group services for youth;

(e) Individual, group and family therapy;

(f) Respite services;

(g) Supported employment services for youth;

(h) Family education and support and family partners;

(i) Youth development and support and youth partners;

(j) Positive behavioral supports (PBIS) in schools;

(k) Transition-age supported and independent living services; and

(l) Vocational/technical education services for youth.

(2) There is established the Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth (hereinafter referred to as the “ICCCY”). The ICCCY shall consist of the following membership:

(a) The State Superintendent of Public Education;

(b) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health;

(c) The Executive Director of the State Department of Health;

(d) The Executive Director of the Department of Human Services;

(e) The Executive Director of the Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor;

(f) The Executive Director of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;

(g) The Executive Director of Mississippi Families as Allies for Children's Mental Health, Inc.;

(h) The Commissioner of Child Protection Services;

(i) The Attorney General;

(j) A family member of a child or youth in the population named in this chapter designated by Mississippi Families as Allies;

(k) A youth or young adult in the population named in this chapter designated by Mississippi Families as Allies;

(l) A local MAP team coordinator designated by the Department of Mental Health;

(m) A child psychiatrist experienced in the public mental health system designated by the Mississippi Psychiatric Association;

(n) An individual with expertise and experience in early childhood education designated jointly by the Department of Mental Health and Mississippi Families as Allies;

(o) A representative of an organization that advocates on behalf of disabled citizens in Mississippi designated by the Department of Mental Health; and

(p) A faculty member or dean from a Mississippi university specializing in training professionals who work in the Mississippi Statewide System of Care designated by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.

If a member of the council designates a representative to attend council meetings, the designee shall bring full decision-making authority of the member to the meeting. The council shall select a chairman, who shall serve for a one-year term and may not serve consecutive terms. The council shall adopt internal organizational procedures necessary for efficient operation of the council. Each member of the council shall designate necessary staff of their departments to assist the ICCCY in performing its duties and responsibilities. The ICCCY shall meet and conduct business at least twice annually. The chairman of the ICCCY shall notify all ICCCY members and all other persons who request such notice as to the date, time, place and draft agenda items for each meeting.

(3) The Interagency System of Care Council (ISCC) is created to serve as the state management team for the ICCCY, with the responsibility of collecting and analyzing data and funding strategies necessary to improve the operation of the Mississippi Statewide System of Care, and to make recommendations to the ICCCY and to the Legislature concerning such strategies on, at a minimum, an annual basis. The System of Care Council also has the responsibility of coordinating the local Multidisciplinary Assessment and Planning (MAP) teams and “A” teams and may apply for grants from public and private sources necessary to carry out its responsibilities. The Interagency System of Care Council shall be comprised of one (1) member from each of the appropriate child-serving divisions or sections of the State Department of Health, the Department of Human Services (Division of Youth Services), the Department of Child Protection Services, the State Department of Mental Health (Division of Children and Youth, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities), the State Department of Education (Office of Special Education and Office of Healthy Schools), the Division of Medicaid of the Governor's Office, the Department of Rehabilitation Services, and the Attorney General's office. Additional members shall include a family member of a child, youth or transition-age youth representing a family education and support 501(c)(3) organization, working with the population named in this chapter designated by Mississippi Families as Allies, an individual with expertise and experience in early childhood education designated jointly by the Department of Mental Health and Mississippi Families as Allies, a local MAP team representative and a local “A” team representative designated by the Department of Mental Health, a probation officer designated by the Department of Corrections, a family member and youth or young adult designated by Mississippi Families as Allies for Children's Mental Health, Inc., (MSFAA), and a family member other than a MSFAA representative to be designated by the Department of Mental Health and the Director of the Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement of the State Department of Education. Appointments to the Interagency System of Care Council shall be made within sixty (60) days after June 30, 2010. The council shall organize by selecting a chairman from its membership to serve on an annual basis, and the chairman may not serve consecutive terms.

(4)(a) As part of the Mississippi Statewide System of Care, there is established a statewide system of local Multidisciplinary Assessment, Planning and Resource (MAP) teams. The MAP teams shall be comprised of one (1) representative each at the county level from the major child-serving public agencies for education, human services, health, mental health and rehabilitative services approved by respective state agencies of the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Child Protection Services, the Department of Health, the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Rehabilitation Services. These agencies shall, by policy, contract or regulation require participation on MAP teams and “A” teams at the county level by the appropriate staff. Three (3) additional members may be added to each team, one (1) of which may be a representative of a family education/support 501(c)(3) organization with statewide recognition and specifically established for the population of children defined in Section 43-14-1 . The remaining members will be representatives of significant community-level stakeholders with resources that can benefit the population of children defined in Section 43-14-1 . The Department of Education shall assist in recruiting and identifying parents to participate on MAP teams and “A” teams.

(b) For each local existing MAP team that is established pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection, there shall also be established an “A” (Adolescent) team which shall work with a MAP team. The “A” teams shall provide System of Care services for youthful offenders who have serious behavioral or emotional disorders. Each “A” team shall be comprised of, at a minimum, the following five (5) members:

(i) A school counselor, mental health therapist or social worker;

(ii) A community mental health professional;

(iii) A social services/child welfare professional;

(iv) A youth court counselor; and

(v) A parent who had a child in the juvenile justice system.

(c) The Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth and the Interagency System of Care Council shall work to develop MAP teams statewide that will serve to become the single point of entry for children and youth about to be placed in out-of-home care for reasons other than parental abuse/neglect.

(5) The Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth may provide input to one another and to the ISCC relative to how each agency utilizes its federal and state statutes, policy requirements and funding streams to identify and/or serve children and youth in the population defined in this section. The ICCCY shall support the implementation of the plans of the respective state agencies for comprehensive, community-based, multidisciplinary care, treatment and placement of these children.

(6) The ICCCY shall oversee a pool of state funds that may be contributed by each participating state agency and additional funds from the Mississippi Tobacco Health Care Expenditure Fund, subject to specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature. Part of this pool of funds shall be available for increasing the present funding levels by matching Medicaid funds in order to increase the existing resources available for necessary community-based services for Medicaid beneficiaries.

(7) The local interagency coordinating care MAP team or “A” team will facilitate the development of the individualized System of Care programs for the population targeted in this section.

(8) Each local MAP team and “A” team shall serve as the single point of entry and re-entry to ensure that comprehensive diagnosis and assessment occur and shall coordinate needed services through the local MAP team and “A” team members and local service providers for the children named in subsection (1). Local children in crisis shall have first priority for access to the MAP team and “A” team processes and local System of Care services.

(9) The Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth shall facilitate monitoring of the performance of local MAP teams.

(10) Each ICCCY member named in subsection (2) of this section shall enter into a binding memorandum of understanding to participate in the further development and oversight of the Mississippi Statewide System of Care for the children and youth described in this section. The agreement shall outline the system responsibilities in all operational areas, including ensuring representation on MAP teams, funding, data collection, referral of children to MAP teams and “A” teams, and training. The agreement shall be signed and in effect by July 1 of each year.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-555 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 7 / Section 21-555
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-555
Status: in_force

Under no circumstances shall the party or the prosecutor engage in discussion for the purpose of agreeing to exchange concessions by the prosecutor for the party's admission to the petition.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-15 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 20 / 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. § 43-35-5 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 26 / Section 35-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-5
Status: in_force

It is hereby found and declared that there exist in municipalities of the state slum and blighted areas which constitute a serious and growing menace, injurious to the public health, safety, morals and welfare of the residents of the state; that the existence of such areas contributes substantially and increasingly to the spread of disease and crime, constitutes an economic and social liability imposing onerous municipal burdens which decrease the tax base and reduce tax revenues, substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of municipalities, retards the provision of housing accommodations, aggravates traffic problems and substantially impairs or arrests the elimination of traffic hazards and the improvement of traffic facilities; and that the prevention and elimination of slums and blight is a matter of state policy and state concern in order that the state and its municipalities shall not continue to be endangered by areas which are focal centers of disease, promote juvenile delinquency, and consume an excessive proportion of its revenues because of the extra services required for police, fire, accident, hospitalization and other forms of public protection, services and facilities.

It is further found and declared that certain slum or blighted areas, or portions thereof, may require acquisition, clearance, and disposition subject to use restrictions, as provided in this article, since the prevailing condition of decay may make impracticable the reclamation of the area by conservation or rehabilitation; that other areas or portions thereof may, through the means provided in this article, be susceptible of conservation or rehabilitation in such a manner that the conditions and evils hereinbefore enumerated may be eliminated, remedied or prevented; and that salvable slum and blighted areas can be conserved and rehabilitated through appropriate public action as authorized in this article, and the cooperation and voluntary action of the owners and tenants of property in such areas.

It is further found and declared that the powers conferred by this article are for public uses and purposes for which public money may be expended and the power of eminent domain and police power exercised. The necessity in the public interest for the provisions enacted as this article is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-39-25 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 7 / Section 39-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-39-25
Status: in_force

Any person or business concern aggrieved by the determination of a displacing agency concerning eligibility for relocation payments authorized by this chapter shall have the right of appeal to the court that would have had jurisdiction if the cause were in eminent domain from such decision at any time within twenty (20) days after actual notice to the aggrieved party. The appeal shall be heard the same as provided by law in eminent domain causes. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any aggrieved party from exercising any right or remedy available to him under state law with respect to any action of a state agency in carrying out this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-31-13 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 14 / Section 31-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-31-13
Status: in_force

The board of supervisors may allow, as far as be deemed right, the claims of persons, who, by authority of one of the supervisors, have temporarily taken care of, fed, clothed, administered to, or buried such paupers as were at the time proper subjects for relief, but could not at once be removed to the county home.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-55-23 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 33 / Section 55-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-55-23
Status: in_force

(1) The institutions of higher learning and the Office of the Governor shall provide necessary administrative and staff support services to the State Commission for Volunteer Service. Additional support services may be provided, including, but not limited to, the use of office space, furniture and equipment, motor vehicles, travel and other related services. The commission shall employ an executive director, who shall be initially designated by the Governor. The executive director shall employ such staff as is necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. Future executive directors shall be selected by the commission.

(2) The commission may procure information and assistance from the state or any subdivision, municipal corporation, public officer, or governmental department or agency thereof. All agencies, officers, and political subdivisions of the state or municipal corporations shall provide the office with all relevant information and reasonable assistance on any matters of research within their knowledge or control.

(3) The commission may apply for, receive, and expend funds, grants, and services from local, state, or federal government, or any of their agencies, or any other public or private sources and is authorized to use funds derived from these sources for purposes reasonable and necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The commission also may expend moneys, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service Fund created in Section 43-55-29 .

(4) The commission shall submit its budget request through the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. Such request shall be submitted by the board of trustees as a separate and distinct request made on behalf of the commission.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-13 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 17 / Section 35-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-13
Status: in_force

(a) A municipality shall not approve an urban renewal project for an urban renewal area unless the governing body has, by resolution, determined such area to be a slum area or a blighted area or a combination thereof and designated such area as appropriate for an urban renewal project. The local governing body shall not approve an urban renewal plan until a general plan for the municipality has been prepared. For this purpose and other municipal purposes, authority is hereby vested in every municipality to prepare, to adopt and to revise from time to time, a general plan for the physical development of the municipality as a whole (giving due regard to the environs and metropolitan surroundings), to establish and maintain a planning commission for such purpose and related municipal planning activities, and to make available and to appropriate necessary funds therefor. A municipality shall not acquire real property for an urban renewal project unless the local governing body has approved the urban renewal project in accordance with subsection (d) hereof.

(b) The municipality may itself prepare or cause to be prepared an urban renewal plan, or any person or agency, public or private, may submit such a plan to a municipality. Prior to its approval of an urban renewal project, the local governing body shall submit such plan to the planning commission of the municipality, if any, for review and recommendations as to its conformity with the general plan for the development of the municipality as a whole. The planning commission shall submit its written recommendations with respect to the proposed urban renewal plan to the local governing body within thirty (30) days after receipt of the plan for review. Upon receipt of the recommendations of the planning commission, or if no recommendations are received within said thirty (30) days, then without such recommendations, the local governing body may proceed with the hearing on the proposed urban renewal project prescribed by subsection (c) hereof.

(c) The local governing body shall hold a public hearing on an urban renewal project, after public notice thereof by publication in a newspaper having a general circulation in the area of operation of the municipality. The notice shall describe the time, date, place and purpose of the hearing, shall generally identify the urban renewal area covered by the plan, and shall outline the general scope of the urban renewal project under consideration.

(d) Following such hearing, the local governing body may approve an urban renewal project if it finds that (1) a feasible method exists for the location of families who will be displaced from the urban renewal area in decent, safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations within their means and without undue hardship to such families; (2) the urban renewal plan conforms to the general plan of the municipality as a whole; and (3) the urban renewal plan will afford maximum opportunity, consistent with the sound needs of the municipality as a whole, for the rehabilitation or redevelopment of the urban renewal area by private enterprise. If the urban renewal area consists of an area of open land to be acquired by the municipality, such area shall not be so acquired unless (1) if it is to be developed for residential uses, the local governing body shall determine that a shortage of housing of sound standards and design which is decent, safe and sanitary exists in the municipality; that the need for housing accommodations has been or will be increased as a result of the clearance of slums in other areas (including other portions of the urban renewal area); that the conditions of blight in the area and the shortage of decent, safe and sanitary housing cause or contribute to an increase in and spread of disease and crime and constitute a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare; and that the acquisition of the area for residential uses is an integral part of and essential to the program of the municipality, or (2) if it is to be developed for nonresidential uses, the local governing body shall determine that such nonresidential uses are necessary and appropriate to facilitate the proper growth and development of the community in accordance with sound planning standards and local community objectives, which acquisition may require the exercise of governmental action, as provided in this article, because of defective or unusual conditions of title, diversity of ownership, tax delinquency, improper subdivisions, outmoded street patterns, deterioration of site, economic disuse, unsuitable topography or faulty lot layouts, the need for the correlation of the area with other areas of a municipality by streets and modern traffic requirements, or any combination of such factors or other conditions which retard development of the area.

(e) An urban renewal plan may be modified at any time, provided that if modified after the lease or sale by the municipality of real property in the urban renewal project area, such modification may be conditioned upon such approval of the owner, lessee or successor in interest as the municipality may deem advisable and in any event shall be subject to such rights at law or in equity as a lessee or purchaser, or his successor or successors in interest, may be entitled to assert.

(f) Upon the approval by a municipality of an urban renewal plan or of any modification thereof, such plan or modification shall be deemed to be in full force and effect for the respective urban renewal area and the municipality may then cause such plan or modification to be carried out in accordance with its terms.

(g) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, where the local governing body certifies that an area is in need of redevelopment or rehabilitation as a result of a flood, fire, hurricane, earthquake, storm, or other catastrophe respecting which the governor of the state has certified the need for disaster assistance under Public Law 875, Eighty-first Congress, or other federal law, the local governing body may approve an urban renewal plan and an urban renewal project with respect to such area without regard to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section and the provisions of this section requiring a general plan for the municipality and a public hearing on the urban renewal project.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-235 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 28 / Section 35-235
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-235
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of any municipality which has delegated to its urban renewal agency or redevelopment authority the powers, duties and responsibilities relating to parking facilities as provided for in Section 43-35-201 , may, within their discretion, appoint two (2) additional members to the board of commissioners of such urban renewal agency, in addition to the five (5) members provided for in Section 43-35-33 . Such additional commissioners shall be appointed in the same manner and for the same term, and shall have the same qualifications and shall otherwise be subject to the provisions of Section 43-35-33 and Section 43-35-35 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-717 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 31 / Section 33-717
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-717
Status: in_force

(1) The corporation shall have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this article, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the power:

(a) To make and alter bylaws for its organization and internal management;

(b) To sue and be sued, have a seal and alter the same at pleasure, and maintain an office at such place or places in the state as it may determine;

(c) To appoint officers, agents and employees, prescribe their duties and qualifications, and fix their compensation;

(d) To acquire real or personal property, or any interest therein, by purchase, exchange, gift, assignment, transfer, foreclosure, lease, condemnation or otherwise, including rights or easements; to hold, manage, operate or improve real or personal property; to sell, assign, exchange, lease, encumber, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property, or any interest therein, or deed of trust or mortgage lien interest owned by it or under its control, custody or in its possession and release or relinquish any right, title, claim, lien, interest, easement or demand however acquired, including any equity or right of redemption in property foreclosed by it and to do any of the foregoing by public sale;

(e) To make and execute agreements, contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers and functions of the corporation under this article;

(f) To employ or contract with architects, engineers, attorneys, accountants, financial experts and other advisors as may be necessary in its judgment and to fix and pay their compensation;

(g) To make and execute contracts for the administration, servicing or collection of any mortgage loan and pay the reasonable value of services rendered to the corporation pursuant to such contracts;

(h) To contract for the employment of a financial advisor, underwriting attorneys, trustees, paying agents, depositories or any consultants retained in connection with the issuance of any bonds or notes including refunding bonds or notes or dealing with the disposition of any proceeds thereof;

(i) To issue negotiable bonds and notes and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof;

(j) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or noteholders, to sell any mortgage loans at public or private sale at the fair market value for such a mortgage; and

(k) Subject to any agreement with bondholders and noteholders, to make, alter or repeal such rules and regulations with respect to the operations, properties and facilities of the corporation as are necessary to carry out its functions and duties in the administration of this article.

(2) The corporation shall also have the power:

(a) To make loans to mortgage lenders for the purpose of:

(i) Making housing development mortgage loans to qualified sponsors for low and moderate income rental or residential housing;

(ii) Making loans to low and moderate income purchasers of residential housing with preference to those who are displaced from adequate housing as a result of a major disaster, whether it be a man-made, technological or natural disaster, upon a declaration by the Governor that a major disaster exists in the state;

(b) To purchase from mortgage lenders any of the loans enumerated in subparagraphs (i) and (ii);

(c) To insure, reinsure or guarantee any of the types of loans enumerated in subparagraphs (i) and (ii);

(d) To make, in such amounts and upon such terms and conditions as the corporation shall approve, temporary loans, preconstruction loans, interim financing loans to any qualified sponsor and permanent financing to any qualified sponsor of multifamily housing.

(3) The corporation shall also have the power to make loans from funds not otherwise encumbered by pledge or indenture to low and moderate income persons for the following purposes:

(a) Purchasing, improving or rehabilitating existing residential housing and occupied by the owners;

(b) Making loans to qualified nonprofit sponsors, to local housing authorities and to owners of residential housing for the development, construction, purchase, rehabilitation, weatherization or maintenance of residential housing.

(4) Using funds not otherwise encumbered by pledge or indenture, the corporation may:

(a) Establish a rental assistance program;

(b) Provide such advisory consultation, training and educational services as will assist in the planning, construction, rehabilitation and operation of housing, including but not limited to, assistance in community development and organization, home management and advisory services for residents, and in promotion of community organizations and local governments to assist in developing housing;

(c) Encourage research and demonstration projects to develop new and better methods for increasing the supply, types and financing of housing and to receive and accept contributions, grants or aid from any source, public or private, including but not limited to the United States and this state, for carrying out this purpose;

(d) Encourage and stimulate cooperatives and other forms of housing with tenant participation;

(e) Promote innovative programs for home ownership, including but not limited to lease-purchase programs, employer-sponsored housing programs, tenant cooperatives and nonprofit associations;

(f) Design and support programs to address special needs groups including, but not limited to, handicapped, disabled, elderly, homeless, HIV/AIDS carriers and families with children;

(g) Develop a comprehensive plan for, and engage in a yearly planning process for, addressing the housing needs of low and moderate income persons in Mississippi.

(5) The corporation also has the power:

(a) To procure, or require the procurement of, insurance against any loss in connection with its operations, including without limitation the repayment of any mortgage loan or loans, in such amounts and from such insurers, including the federal government, as it may deem necessary or desirable, and to pay any premiums therefor;

(b) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or noteholders: (i) to renegotiate any loan in default; (ii) to waive any default or consent to the modification of the terms of any loan or agreement; (iii) to commence, prosecute and enforce a judgment in any action or proceeding, including without limitation a foreclosure proceeding, to protect or enforce any right conferred upon it by law, mortgage loan agreement, contract or other agreement; (iv) and in connection with any such proceeding, to bid for and purchase the property or acquire or take possession thereof and, in such event, complete, administer and pay the principal of and interest on any obligations incurred in connection with such property and dispose of and otherwise deal with such property in such manner as the corporation may deem advisable to protect its interest therein;

(c) To fix, revise, charge and collect fees and other charges in connection with the making of loans, the purchasing of mortgage loans, and any other services rendered by the corporation;

(d) To arrange for guarantees of its bonds, notes or other obligations by the federal government or by any private insurer and to pay any premiums therefor;

(e) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, but subject to any agreement with bondholders or noteholders, to invest money of the corporation not required for immediate use, including proceeds from the sale of any bonds or notes;

(i) In obligations of any municipality or the state or the United States of America;

(ii) In obligations the principal and interest of which are guaranteed by the state or the United States of America;

(iii) In obligations of any corporation wholly owned by the United States of America;

(iv) In obligations of any corporation sponsored by the United States of America which are, or may become, eligible as collateral for advances to member banks as determined by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;

(v) In obligations of insurance firms or other corporations whose investments are rated “A” or better by recognized rating companies;

(vi) In certificates of deposit or time deposits of qualified depositories of the state as approved by the State Depository Commission, secured in such manner, if any, as the corporation shall determine;

(vii) In contracts for the purchase and sale of obligations of the type specified in items (i) through (v) above;

(viii) In repurchase agreements secured by obligations specified in items (i) through (v) above;

(ix) In money market funds, the assets of which are required to be invested in obligations specified in items (i) through (vi) above;

(f) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or noteholders, to purchase, and to agree to purchase, bonds or notes of the corporation at a price not exceeding: (i) if the bonds or notes are then redeemable, the redemption price then applicable plus accrued interest to the date of purchase; or (ii) if the bonds or notes are not then redeemable, the redemption price applicable on the first date after such purchase upon which the notes or bonds become subject to redemption at the option of the corporation plus accrued interest to the date of purchase;

(g) Subject to the provisions of this article, to contract for and to accept any gifts, grants or loans of funds or property or financial or other aid in any form from federal, state or local governments, private or public entities, or individuals;

(h) To enter into agreements or other transactions with the federal or state government, any agency thereof or any municipality in furtherance of the purposes of this article; to operate and administer loan programs of the federal government, the State of Mississippi, or any governmental agency thereof; and to operate and administer any program of housing assistance for persons and families of low or moderate income, however funded;

(i) To establish a benevolent loan fund, housing development fund, or such additional and further funds as may be necessary and desirable to accomplish any corporate purpose or to comply with the provisions of any agreement made by the corporation or any resolution approved by the corporation. The resolution establishing such a fund shall specify the source of monies from which it shall be funded and the purposes for which monies held in the fund shall be disbursed;

(j) In carrying out the provisions of this article, the corporation shall cooperate with the housing authorities created under Sections 43-33-1 through 43-33-69 and Sections 43-33-101 through 43-33-137, Mississippi Code of 1972;

(k) To accept letters of credit and other credit facilities necessary to make loans authorized herein to repay bonds or notes issued by the corporation;

(l) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given and granted in this article.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-7-1 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 5 / Section 7-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-7-1
Status: in_force

The Department of Human Services shall be the Council on Aging and shall retain all powers and duties granted by law to the Council on Aging, and wherever the term “Council on Aging” appears in any law the same shall mean the Department of Human Services.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-119 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 5 / Section 15-119
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-119
Status: in_force

(1) If the department finds that a violation has occurred under this article or the rules and regulations of the department, it may:

(a) Deny, suspend or revoke a license or place the licensee on probation, if the department discovers that a licensee is not in compliance with the laws, standards or regulations governing its operation, and/or it finds evidence of aiding, abetting or permitting the commission of any illegal act; or

(b) Restrict or prohibit new admissions to the licensee's program or facility, if the department discovers that a licensee is not in compliance with the laws, standards or regulations governing its operation, and/or it finds evidence of aiding, abetting or permitting the commission of any illegal act.

(2) If placed on probation, the agency or licensee shall post a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place as directed by the department and with the agency's or individual's license, and the agency shall notify the custodians of each of the children in its care in writing of the agency's status and the basis for the probation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-61-9 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 39 / Section 61-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-61-9
Status: in_force

The department may seek and receive voluntary monies from any sources, including federal funds and gifts, which shall be expended for the purposes specified in this chapter. The department also may accept voluntary funding in the form of grants available to build community, public sector and private sector partnerships. The department shall include within the development of the program the assistance of foundations, independent and chain community pharmacists, volunteers, state agencies, community groups, religious groups, area agencies on aging, corporations, hospitals, physicians, and any other entity that can further the intent of the program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-37-11 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 6 / Section 37-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-37-11
Status: in_force

(1) Where any interest in real property is acquired, an equal interest in all buildings, structures, or other improvements located upon the real property so acquired and which are required to be removed from such real property or which are determined to be adversely affected by the use to which such real property will be put shall be acquired.

(2) For the purpose of determining the just compensation to be paid for any building, structure or other improvement required to be acquired as above set forth, such building, structure or other improvement shall be deemed to be a part of the real property to be acquired notwithstanding the right or obligation of a tenant, as against the owner of any other interest in the real property, to remove such building or improvement at the expiration of his term. The fair market value which such building, structure or improvement contributes to the fair market value of the real property to be acquired, or the fair market value of such building, structure or improvement for removal from the real property, whichever is the greater, shall be paid to the tenant therefor.

(3) Payment for such buildings, structures or improvements as set forth above shall not result in duplication of any payments otherwise authorized by state law. No such payment shall be made unless the owner of the land involved disclaims all interest in the improvements of the tenant. In consideration for any such payment, the tenant shall assign, transfer and release all his right, title and interest in and to such improvements. Nothing with regard to the above-mentioned acquisition of buildings, structures or other improvements shall be construed to deprive the tenant of any rights to reject payment and to obtain payment for such property interests in accordance with the laws of the state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-865 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 15 / Section 21-865
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-865
Status: in_force

The association shall:

(a) Adopt and approve state standards for all CASA volunteers, program directors and other staff, including, but not limited to, guidelines for training;

(b) Adopt and approve the uniform annual data reporting procedures for local programs pursuant to subsection (2)(h) of Section 2; and

(c) Evaluate and make recommendations before January 1 of each year to the Supreme Court, Governor, Judiciary Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate, and the Administrative Offices of Courts addressing:

(i) Laws of the state affecting the welfare of children and families; and

(ii) The effectiveness or ineffectiveness, including reasons, of local CASA volunteers advocating for permanent placement for the children in the state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-61-1 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 17 / 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. § 43-28-23 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 16 / Section 28-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-28-23
Status: in_force

(1) Upon the death of the designated beneficiary, the appropriate health care administration agency and the Division of Medicaid of another state in which the beneficiary received services may file a claim with the Mississippi ABLE Program for the total amount of medical assistance provided for the designated beneficiary under the Medicaid program since the inception of the Mississippi ABLE account, less any premiums paid by or on behalf of the designated beneficiary to a Medicaid buy-in program. Funds in the ABLE account of the deceased designated beneficiary must first be distributed for qualified disability expenses followed by distributions for the Medicaid claim authorized under this paragraph. Any remaining amount shall be distributed as provided in the participation agreement required under Section 43-28-19 .

(2) The Mississippi ABLE Coordinator shall assist and cooperate with the appropriate health care administration agency and the Division of Medicaid in other states which have provided services to a Mississippi ABLE account beneficiary, by providing the agency and divisions with the information needed to accomplish the purpose and objective of this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-31-5 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 9 / Section 31-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-31-5
Status: in_force

The board of supervisors may, when deemed proper, sell or exchange and convey the county home property, and purchase other property for such use.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-711 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 13 / Section 33-711
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-711
Status: in_force

(1) The board of directors may create one or more committees of the board and appoint members of the board to serve on them. Each committee shall have two (2) or more directors who serve at the pleasure of the board.

(2) The creation of a committee and appointment of directors to it must be approved by a majority of all directors in office when the action is taken.

(3) Sections of this article which govern meetings, action without meetings, notice and waiver of notice, and quorum and voting requirements of the board, apply to committees of the board and their members as well.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-47 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 3 / Section 19-47
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-47
Status: in_force

(1) The Child Support Unit of the State Department of Human Services, in cooperation with the Attorney General, may appoint at least one (1) full-time staff attorney in or for each chancery court district for the purpose of initiating proceedings under the provisions of Sections 43-19-31 through 43-19-53 in securing child support and establishing paternity. The annual salary of each of the attorneys appointed by the Child Support Unit, in cooperation with the Attorney General's office under the provisions of Sections 43-19-31 through 43-19-53 , shall be fixed at such sums as may be deemed proper in accordance with the salaries of other full-time employed state attorneys with the Attorney General's Office. Such salaries, inclusive of all reimbursable travel and other expenses, inclusive of financial arrangements perfected with the appropriate courts, the law enforcement officials and the district attorneys, shall be paid monthly from the funds appropriated to the Child Support Unit of the State Department of Human Services and from the special fund for the Division of Child Support in which the interest from its accounts and all attorney's fees and other fees is placed. The Mississippi Personnel Board shall survey the salaries of other Mississippi attorneys with the Attorney General's Office each year and shall raise the start step of the staff and senior attorneys accordingly and the minimum shall never go below Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000.00) for staff attorneys or Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) for senior attorneys.

(2) To assist in the implementation of the provisions of Sections 43-19-31 through 43-19-53 , the Executive Director of the Department of Human Services is empowered to enter into cooperative agreements with district attorneys, county attorneys and attorneys employed by the county boards of supervisors, in conjunction with the Office of Attorney General. Said cooperative agreements shall be made in compliance with the regulations established by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and may be funded either by funds appropriated to the Child Support Unit of the State Department of Human Services or funds appropriated by any county board of supervisors in this state for their respective county. Attorneys may be hired contractually to be paid in amounts commensurate with the department's staff attorneys.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 1 / 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. § 43-20-5 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 9 / Section 20-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-20-5
Status: in_force

When used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings:

(a) “ Child care facility ” means a place that provides shelter and personal care for six (6) or more children who are not related within the third degree computed according to the civil law to the operator and who are under thirteen (13) years of age, for any part of the twenty-four-hour day, whether that place is organized or operated for profit or not. The term “ child care facility ” includes day nurseries, day care centers and any other facility that falls within the scope of the definitions set forth in this paragraph, regardless of auspices. Exemptions from the provisions of this chapter include:

(i) Child care facilities that operate for no more than two (2) days a week, whose primary purpose is to provide respite for the caregiver or temporary care during other scheduled or related activities and organized programs that operate for three (3) or fewer weeks per year such as, but not limited to, Vacation Bible Schools and scout day camps.

(ii) Any child residential home as defined in, and in compliance with the provisions of, Section 43-16-3(b) et seq.

(iii) 1. Any elementary, including kindergarten, and/or secondary school system, accredited by the Mississippi State Department of Education, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Mississippi Private School Education Association, the American Association of Christian Schools, the Association of Christian Schools International, a school affiliated with Accelerated Christian Education, Inc., and any Head Start program operating in conjunction with an elementary school system, whether it is public, private or parochial, whose primary purpose is a structured school or school readiness program.

2. Accreditation, for the purpose of exemption from the provisions of this chapter, means: a. receipt by any school or school system of full accreditation from an accrediting entity listed in item 1 of this subparagraph (iii), or b. proof of application by the school or school system for accreditation status from the accrediting entity. Proof of application for accreditation status shall include, but not be limited to, a copy of the applicant's completed application for accreditation filed with the licensing agency and a letter or other authenticating documentation from a signatory authority with the accrediting entity that the application for accreditation has been received and that the applicant is currently under consideration or review for full accreditation status by the accrediting entity. An exemption for a nonaccredited applicant under this item 2 shall be for a maximum of one (1) year from the receipt date by the licensing agency of the completed documentation for proof of application for accreditation status. Failure to receive full accreditation by the end of the one-year exemption period for a nonaccredited applicant shall result in the nonaccredited applicant no longer remaining exempt from the provisions of this chapter at the end of the one-year period. However, if full accreditation is not received by the end of the one-year exemption period, the State Board of Health, in its discretion, may extend the exemption period for any nonaccredited applicant for periods of six (6) months, with the total extension not to exceed one (1) year. During any such extension periods, the board shall have the authority to enforce child care facility licensure provisions relating to the health and safety of the children in the school or school system. If a nonaccredited applicant fails to receive full accreditation by the end of all extended exemption periods, the applicant shall no longer remain exempt from the provisions of this chapter at the end of the extended exemption periods.

(iv) Any membership organization affiliated with a national organization that charges only a nominal annual membership fee, does not receive monthly, weekly or daily payments for services, and is certified by its national association as being in compliance with the association's minimum standards and procedures including, but not limited to, the Boys and Girls Club of America, and the YMCA.

(v) Any family child care home as defined in Section 43-20-53(a) et seq.

All other preschool child care programs and/or extended day school programs must meet requirements set forth in this chapter. Any entity exempt from the requirements to be licensed but voluntarily chooses to obtain a license is subject to all provisions of this chapter.

(b) “ Health ” means that condition of being sound in mind and body and encompasses an individual's physical, mental and emotional welfare.

(c) “ Safety ” means that condition of being protected from hurt, injury or loss.

(d) “ Person ” means any person, firm, partnership, corporation or association.

(e) “ Operator ” means any person, acting individually or jointly with another person or persons, who establishes, owns, operates, conducts or maintains a child care facility. The child care facility license shall be issued in the name of the operator, or, if there is more than one (1) operator, in the name of one (1) of the operators. If there is more than one (1) operator, all statutory and regulatory provisions concerning the background checks of operators shall be equally applied to all operators of a facility including, but not limited to, a spouse who jointly owns, operates or maintains the child care facility regardless of which particular person is named on the license.

(f) “ Personal care ” means assistance rendered by personnel of the child care facility in performing one or more of the activities of daily living which includes, but is not limited to, the feeding, personal grooming, supervising and dressing of children placed in the child care facility.

(g) “ Licensing agency ” means the Mississippi State Department of Health.

(h) “ Caregiver ” means any person who provides direct care, supervision or guidance to children in a child care facility, regardless of title or occupation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-11 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 1 / Section 33-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-11
Status: in_force

An authority shall constitute a public body corporate and politic, exercising public and essential governmental functions, and having 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 sue and to be sued; to have a seal and to alter the same at pleasure; to have perpetual succession; to make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers of the authority; and to make and from time to time amend and repeal bylaws, rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this article, to carry into effect the powers and purposes of the authority.

(b) Within its area of operation: to prepare, carry out, acquire, lease and operate housing projects; to provide for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, alteration or repair of any housing project or any part thereof.

(c) To arrange or contract for the furnishing by any person or agency, public or private, of services, privileges, works or facilities for, or in connection with, a housing project or the occupants thereof; and (notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this article or in any other provision of law) to include in any contract let in connection with a project, stipulations requiring that the contractor and any subcontractors comply with requirements as to minimum wages and maximum hours of labor, and comply with any conditions which the federal government may have attached to its financial aid of the project.

(d) To lease or rent any dwellings, houses, accommodations, lands, buildings, structures or facilities embraced in any housing project and (subject to the limitations contained in this article) to establish and revise the rents or charges therefor; to own, hold and improve real or personal property; to purchase, lease, obtain options upon, acquire by gift, grant, bequest, devise or otherwise any real or personal property or any interest therein; to acquire by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any real property; to sell, lease, exchange, transfer, assign, pledge or dispose of any real or personal property or any interest therein; to insure or provide for the insurance of any real or personal property or operations of the authority against any risks or hazards; to procure or agree to the procurement of insurance or guarantees from the federal government of the payment of any bonds or parts thereof issued by an authority, including the power to pay premiums on any such insurance.

(e) To invest any funds held in reserves or sinking funds, or any funds not required for immediate disbursement, in property or securities in which savings banks may legally invest funds subject to their control; to purchase its bonds at a price not more than the principal amount thereof and accrued interest, all bonds so purchased to be canceled.

(f) Within its area of operation: to investigate into living, dwelling and housing conditions and into the means and methods of improving such conditions; to determine where slum areas exist or where there is a shortage of decent, safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons of low income; to make studies and recommendations relating to the problem of clearing, replanning and reconstructing of slum areas, and the problem of providing dwelling accommodations for persons of low income, and to cooperate with the city, the county, the state or any political subdivision thereof in action taken in connection with such problems; and to engage in research, studies and experimentation on the subject of housing.

(g) Acting through one or more commissioners or other person or persons designated by the authority: to conduct examinations and investigations and to hear testimony and take proof under oath at public or private hearings on any matter material to its information; to administer oaths, issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses or the production of books and papers and to issue commissions for the examination of witnesses who are outside of the state or unable to attend before the authority, or excused from attendance; to make available to appropriate agencies (including those charged with the duty of abating or requiring the correction of nuisances or like conditions, or of demolishing unsafe or unsanitary structures within its area of operation) its findings and recommendations with regard to any building or property where conditions exist which are dangerous to the public health, morals, safety or welfare.

(h) To make payments to public bodies in the state in such amounts as it finds desirable, notwithstanding any statutory limitation on the amount of such payments.

(i) To establish and operate a nonprofit corporation for housing and community development purposes.

(j) To exercise all or any part or combination of powers herein granted.

No provisions of law with respect to the acquisition, operation or disposition of property by other public bodies shall be applicable to an authority unless the Legislature shall specifically so state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-5 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 35 / 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. § 43-19-34 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 9 / Section 19-34
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-19-34
Status: in_force

(1) In lieu of legal proceedings instituted to obtain a modification for an order for support, a written stipulated agreement for modification executed by the responsible parent when acknowledged before a clerk of the court having jurisdiction over those matters or a notary public and filed with and approved by the judge of that court shall have the same force and effect, retroactively and prospectively, in accordance with the terms of the agreement as an order for modification of support entered by the court, and shall be enforceable and subject to later modification in the same manner as is provided by law for orders of the court in those cases.

(2) With respect to a child support order in cases initiated or enforced by the Department of Human Services under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, in which the department has determined that a modification is appropriate, the department shall send a motion and notice of intent to modify the order, together with the proposed modification of the order under this section to the last known mailing address of the defendant. The notice shall specify the date and time certain of the hearing and shall be sent by certified mail, restricted delivery, return receipt requested; notice shall be deemed complete as of the date of delivery as evidenced by the return receipt. The required notice may also be delivered by personal service in accordance with Rule 4 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure insofar as it may be applied to service of an administrative order or notice. The defendant may accept the proposed modification by signing and returning it to the department before the date of hearing for presentation to the court for approval. If the defendant does not sign and return the proposed modification, the court shall on the date and time previously set for hearing review the proposal and make a determination as to whether it should be approved, in whole or in part.

(3) Every three (3) years, the Department of Human Services shall notify both parents of their right to request a review, and upon the request of either parent, or if there is an assignment under Section 43-19-35 , the department, after a review and determination of appropriateness, or either parent may seek an adjustment to a support order being enforced under Section 43-19-31 in accordance with the guidelines established under Section 43-19-101 , if the amount of the child support award under the order differs from the amount that would be awarded in accordance with the guidelines, taking into account the best interests of the child involved. If a recipient of Title IV-D services receives TANF, the Department of Human Services shall conduct a review every three (3) years and, after a determination of appropriateness, shall seek an adjustment to a support order according to the guidelines under Section 43-19-101 . No proof of a material change in circumstances is necessary in the three-year review for adjustment under this subsection (3). A preexisting arrearage in support payments shall not serve as a bar to the department's review and adjustment procedure. Proof of a material change in circumstances is necessary for modification outside the three-year cycle.

(4) Any order for the support of minor children, whether entered through the judicial system or through an expedited process, shall not be subject to a retroactive modification except from the date that notice of such petition to modify has been given, either directly or through the appropriate agent, to the obligee or to the obligor where the obligee is the petitioner.

(5) If a downward modification is determined to be warranted under the guidelines contained in subsection (3), the noncustodial parent's arrearage, if any, shall not be a basis for contesting the downward modification in any later legal proceedings.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-16 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 13 / Section 33-16
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-16
Status: in_force

(1) Any person who obtains or attempts to obtain, or who establishes or attempts to establish, eligibility for, and any person who knowingly or intentionally aids or abets such person in obtaining or attempting to obtain, or in establishing or attempting to establish eligibility for, any public housing, or a reduction in public housing rental charges, or any rent subsidy, to which such person would not otherwise be entitled, by means of a false statement, failure to disclose information, impersonation, or other fraudulent scheme or device shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished as for a misdemeanor. As used in this section “public housing” shall mean housing which is constructed, operated or maintained by the state, a county, a municipal corporation, a housing authority, or by any other political subdivision or public corporation of the state or its subdivisions.

(2) Notice of this section shall be printed on the application forms for public housing in the state, and it shall be displayed in the office where such application is made.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-6-151 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 5 / Section 6-151
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-6-151
Status: in_force

Sections 43-6-151 through 43-6-155 shall be known as and may be cited as the “Mississippi Support Animal Act.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-13-303 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 11 / Section 13-303
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-13-303
Status: in_force

(1) The Department of Human Services, in administering its child support enforcement program on behalf of Medicaid and non-Medicaid recipients, or any other attorney representing a Medicaid recipient, shall include a prayer for medical support in complaints and other pleadings in obtaining a child support order whenever health-care coverage is available to the absent parent at a reasonable cost. Nothing in this section shall be construed to contradict the provisions of Section 43-19-101(6) .

(2) Health insurance enrollment shall be on the form prescribed by the Department of Human Services unless a court or administrative order stipulates an alternative form of health-care coverage other than employer-based coverage. Employers must complete the employer response and return to the Department of Human Services within twenty (20) days. Employers must transfer the Medical Support Notice to Plan Administrator Part B to the appropriate group health plan providing any such health-care coverage for which the child(ren) is eligible within twenty (20) business days after the date of the notice. Employers must withhold any obligation of the employee for employee contributions necessary for coverage of the child(ren) and send any amount withheld directly to the plan. Employees may contest the withholding based on a mistake of fact. If the employee contests such withholding, the employer must initiate withholding until such time as the employer receives notice that the contest is resolved. Employers must notify the Department of Human Services promptly whenever the noncustodial parent's employment is terminated in the same manner as required for income withholding cases.

(3) Health insurers, including, but not limited to, ERISA plans, preferred provider organizations, and HMOs, shall not have contracts that limit or exclude payments if the individual is eligible for Medicaid, is not claimed as a dependent on the federal income tax return, or does not reside with the parent or in the insurer's service area.

Health insurers and employers shall honor court or administrative orders by permitting enrollment of a child or children at any time and by allowing enrollment by the custodial parent, the Division of Medicaid, or the Child Support Enforcement Agency if the absent parent fails to enroll the child(ren).

The health insurer and the employer shall not disenroll a child unless written documentation substantiates that the court order is no longer in effect, the child will be enrolled through another insurer, or the employer has eliminated family health coverage for all of its employees.

The employer shall allow payroll deduction for the insurance premium from the absent parent's wages and pay the insurer. The health insurer and the employer shall not impose requirements on the Medicaid recipient that are different from those applicable to any other individual. The health insurer shall provide pertinent information to the custodial parent to allow the child to obtain benefits and shall permit custodial parents to submit claims to the insurer.

The health insurer and employer shall notify the Division of Medicaid and the Department of Human Services when lapses in coverage occur in court-ordered insurance. If the noncustodial parent has provided such coverage and has changed employment, and the new employer provides health-care coverage, the Department of Human Services shall transfer notice of the provision to the employer, which notice shall operate to enroll the child in the noncustodial parent's health plan, unless the noncustodial parent contests the notice. The health insurer and employer shall allow payments to the provider of medical services, shall honor the assignment of rights to third-party sources by the Medicaid recipient and the subrogation rights of the Division of Medicaid as set forth in Section 43-13-305, Mississippi Code of 1972 , and shall permit payment to the custodial parent.

The employer shall allow the Division of Medicaid to garnish wages of the absent parent when such parent has received payment from the third party for medical services rendered to the insured child and such parent has failed to reimburse the Division of Medicaid to the extent of the medical service payment.

Any insurer or the employer who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be liable to the Division of Medicaid to the extent of payments made to the provider of medical services rendered to a recipient to which the third party or parties, is, are, or may be liable.

(4) The Division of Medicaid shall report to the Mississippi State Tax Commission an absent parent who has received third-party payment(s) for medical services rendered to the insured child and who has not reimbursed the Division of Medicaid for the related medical service payment(s). The Mississippi State Tax Commission shall withhold from the absent parent's state tax refund, and pay to the Division of Medicaid, the amount of the third-party payment(s) for medical services rendered to the insured child and not reimbursed to the Division of Medicaid for the related medical service payment(s).
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-103 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 5 / Section 33-103
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-103
Status: in_force

If the board of supervisors of each of two (2) or more contiguous counties by resolution declares that there is a need for one (1) housing authority to be created for all of such counties to exercise in such counties powers and other functions prescribed for a regional housing authority, a public body corporate and politic to be known as a regional housing authority shall thereupon exist for all of such counties and exercise its powers and other functions in such counties; and thereupon each county housing authority created for each of such counties shall cease to exist except for the purpose of winding up its affairs and executing a deed to the regional housing authority as hereinafter provided. The board of supervisors of a county shall not adopt a resolution as aforesaid if there is a county housing authority created for such county which has any bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness outstanding unless, first, all holders of such evidences of indebtedness consent in writing to the substitution of such regional housing authority in lieu of such county housing authority on all such evidences of indebtedness, and second, the commissioners of such county housing authority adopt a resolution consenting to the transfer of all the rights, contracts, obligations, and property, real and personal, of such county housing authority to such regional housing authority as hereinafter provided. When the above two (2) conditions are complied with and such regional housing authority is created and authorized to exercise its powers and other functions, all rights, contracts, agreements, obligations, and property of such county housing authority shall be in the name of and vest in such regional housing authority, and all obligations of such county housing authority shall be the obligations of such regional housing authority and all rights and remedies of any person against such county housing authority may be asserted, enforced, and prosecuted against such regional housing authority to the same extent as they might have asserted, enforced, and prosecuted against such county housing authority.

When any real property of a county housing authority vests in a regional housing authority as provided above, the county housing authority shall execute a deed of such property to the regional housing authority which thereupon shall file such deed in the office provided for the filing of deeds; nothing contained in this sentence shall affect the vesting of property in the regional housing authority as provided above.

The board of supervisors of each of two (2) or more contiguous counties shall by resolution declare that there is a need for one (1) regional housing authority to be created for all of such counties to exercise in such counties powers and other functions prescribed for a regional housing authority, if such board of supervisors finds (and only if it finds) (a) that unsanitary or unsafe inhabited dwelling accommodations exist in such county or there is a shortage of safe or sanitary dwelling accommodations in such county available to persons of low income at rentals they can afford and (b) that a regional housing authority would be a more efficient or economical administrative unit than the housing authority of such county to carry out the purposes of this article and the Housing Authorities Law in such county.

In any suit, action, or proceeding involving the validity or enforcement of or relating to any contract of the regional housing authority, the regional housing authority shall be conclusively deemed to have become created as a public body corporate and politic and to have become established and authorized to transact business and exercise its powers hereunder upon proof of the adoption of a resolution by the board of supervisors of each of the counties creating the regional housing authority declaring the need for the regional housing authority. Each such resolution shall be deemed sufficient if it declares that there is need for the regional housing authority and finds in substantially the foregoing terms (no further detail being necessary) that the conditions enumerated above in (a) and (b) exist. A copy of such resolution of the board of supervisors of a county, duly certified by the county clerk of such county, shall be admissible in evidence in any suit, action, or proceeding.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-17-17 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 16 / Section 17-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-17-17
Status: in_force

If an application is not acted upon by the county department within a reasonable time, not to exceed thirty (30) days, after the filing of the application, or is denied in whole or in part, or if any award of TANF assistance is modified or cancelled under any provision of this chapter, the applicant or recipient may appeal to the state department in the manner and form prescribed by the state department. The state department shall, upon receipt of such an appeal, give the applicant or recipient reasonable notice and opportunity for a fair hearing. The state department may also, upon its own motion, review any decision of a county department, and may consider any application upon which a decision has not been made by the county department within a reasonable time. The state department may make such additional investigation as it may deem necessary, and shall make such decision as to the granting of TANF assistance and the amount of assistance to be granted as in its opinion is justified and in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. Applicants or recipients affected by such decisions of the state department shall, upon request, be given reasonable notice and opportunity for a fair hearing by the state department.

All decisions of the state department shall be final and shall be binding upon the county involved and shall be complied with by the county department.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-43-1 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 16 / 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. § 43-13-129 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 13 / Section 13-129
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-13-129
Status: in_force

Any person making application for benefits under this article for himself or for another person, and any provider of services, who knowingly makes a false statement or false representation or fails to disclose a material fact to obtain or increase any benefit or payment under this article 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 imprisoned not to exceed one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each false statement or false representation or failure to disclose a material fact shall constitute a separate offense. This section shall not prohibit prosecution under any other criminal statutes of this state or the United States.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-20-57 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 15 / Section 20-57
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-20-57
Status: in_force

(1) No person shall knowingly maintain a family child care home if, in such family child care home, there resides, works or regularly volunteers any person who:

(a)(i) Has a felony conviction for a crime against persons;

(ii) Has a felony conviction under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act;

(iii) Has a conviction for a crime of child abuse or neglect;

(iv) Has a conviction for any sex offense as defined in Section 45-33-23, Mississippi Code of 1972; or

(v) Any other offense committed in another jurisdiction or any federal offense which, if committed in this state, would be deemed to be such a crime without regard to its designation elsewhere;

(b) Has been adjudicated a juvenile offender because of having committed an act which if done by an adult would constitute the commission of a felony and which is a crime against persons;

(c) Has had a child declared in a court order in this or any other state to be deprived or a child in need of care based on an allegation of physical, mental or emotional abuse or neglect or sexual abuse;

(d) Has had parental rights terminated pursuant to Section 93-15-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972; or

(e) Has an infectious or contagious disease, as defined by the State Department of Health pursuant to Section 41-23-1, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(2) No person shall maintain a family child care home if such person has been found to be a disabled person in need of a guardian or conservator, or both.

(3) Any person who resides in the home and who has been found to be a disabled person in need of a guardian or conservator, or both, shall be included in the total number of children allowed in care.

(4) In accordance with the provision of this subsection (4), the State Department of Health shall have access to any court orders or adjudications of any court of record, any records of such orders or adjudications, criminal history record information in the possession of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol or court of this state concerning persons working, regularly volunteering or residing in a family child care home. The department shall have access to these records for the purpose of determining whether or not the home meets the requirements of Sections 43-20-51 through 43-20-65 .

(5) No family child care home or its employees shall be liable for civil damages to any person refused employment or discharged from employment by reason of such home's compliance with the provisions of this section if such home acts in good faith to comply with this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-105 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 1 / Section 33-105
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-105
Status: in_force

The area of operation of a housing authority created for a county shall include all of the county for which it is created and the area of operation of a regional housing authority shall include (except as otherwise provided elsewhere in this article) all of the counties for which such regional housing authority is created and established. A county or regional housing authority shall not undertake any housing project or projects within the boundaries of any city unless a resolution shall have been adopted by the governing body of such city (and also by any housing authority which shall have been theretofore established and authorized to exercise its powers in such city) declaring that there is a need for the county or regional housing authority to exercise its powers within such city.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-13-127 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 7 / Section 13-127
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-13-127
Status: in_force

(1) Within sixty (60) days after the end of each fiscal year and at each regular session of the Legislature, the division shall make and publish a report to the Governor and to the Legislature, showing for the period of time covered the following:

(a) The total number of recipients;

(b) The total amount paid for medical assistance and care under this article;

(c) The total number of applications;

(d) The number of applications approved;

(e) The number of applications denied;

(f) The amount expended for administration of the provisions of this article;

(g) The amount of money received from the federal government, if any;

(h) The amount of money recovered by reason of collections from third persons by reason of assignment or subrogation, and the disposition of the same;

(i) The actions and activities of the division in detecting and investigating suspected or alleged fraudulent practices, violations and abuses of the program; and

(j) Any recommendations it may have as to expanding, enlarging, limiting or restricting the eligibility of persons covered by this article or services provided by this article, to make more effective the basic purposes of this article; to eliminate or curtail fraudulent practices and inequities in the plan or administration thereof; and to continue to participate in receiving federal funds for the furnishing of medical assistance under Title XIX of the Social Security Act or other federal law.

(2) In addition to the reports required by subsection (1) of this section, the division shall submit a report each month to the Chairmen of the Public Health and Welfare Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives and to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee that contains the information specified in each paragraph of subsection (1) for the preceding month.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-103 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 26 / Section 27-103
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-27-103
Status: in_force

(1) Sections 43-27-101 and 43-27-103 shall enable the development by the Department of Human Services or the Department of Child Protection Services of a system of services for children or youth in the custody of the Department of Human Services or under the supervision of the Department of Child Protection Services, if funds are appropriated to either department for that purpose. The system of services may consist of emergency response services, an early intervention and treatment unit, respite care, crisis nurseries, specialized outpatient or inpatient treatment services, special needs foster care, therapeutic foster care, emergency foster homes, and Medicaid targeted case management for abused and neglected children and youth as well as children adjudicated delinquent or in need of supervision. Any of these services that are provided shall be arranged by and coordinated through the Department of Human Services or the Department of Child Protection Services, and each department may contract with public or private agencies or entities to provide any of the services or may provide any of the services itself. All of the services shall be provided in facilities that meet the standards set by the Department of Human Services or the Department of Child Protection Services for the particular type of facility involved. None of the services provided shall duplicate existing services except where there is a documented need for expansion of the services.

(2) A description of the services that may be provided under Sections 43-27-101 and 43-27-103 are as follows:

(a) “ Emergency response services ” means services to respond to children or youth in severe crisis and include:

(i) Emergency single-point phone lines;

(ii) Crisis care coordinators staffing shifts that enable twenty-four-hour per day response as “frontline” professionals when crisis calls are received, assist with decision-making, family support, initiate plan of action and remain “on call” for the first seventy-two (72) hours for other service professionals to get in place and insure development of a plan of care;

(iii) Acute care/emergency medical response through contracted services with up to five (5) regional hospitals providing emergency room services and hospitalization for up to seventy-two (72) hours with a maximum of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per day;

(iv) Case managers;

(v) Respite services; and

(vi) Assessment services contracted with social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and other health professionals.

(b) “ Early intervention and treatment unit ” means a unique, nonhospital crisis service in a residential context that is able to provide the level of support and intervention needed to resolve the crisis and as an alternative to hospitalization. This unit shall provide specialized assessment, including a variety of treatment options and services to best intervene in a child or youth's crisis, and provide an appropriate plan for further services upon returning to the home and community. Staff-to-child or youth ratio shall be high, with multidisciplinary, specialized services for up to six (6) children or youths at one (1) time, and with the maximum assessment and treatment planning and services being ninety (90) days for most children or youths.

(c) “ Respite care ” means planned temporary care for a period of time ranging from a few hours within a twenty-four-hour period to an overnight or weekend stay to a maximum of ten (10) days. Care may be provided in-home or out-of-home with trained respite parents or counselors and is designed to provide a planned break for the parents from the caretaking role with the child.

(d) “ Crisis nurseries ” means a program providing therapeutic nursery treatment services to preschool aged children who as preschoolers demonstrate significant behavioral or emotional disorders. These services shall be to therapeutically address developmental and emotional behavioral difficulties through direct intervention with the child in a nursery school environment and to intervene with parents to provide education, support and therapeutic services.

(e) “ Specialized outpatient or inpatient treatment services ,” such as sex offender treatment, means specialized treatment for perpetrators of sexual offenses with children.

(f) “ Special needs foster care ” means foster care for those children with a variety of handicapping conditions or disabilities, including serious emotional disturbance.

(g) “ Therapeutic foster care ” means residential mental health services provided to children and adolescents in a family setting, utilizing specially trained foster parents. Therapeutic foster care essentially involves the following features:

(i) Placement with foster parents who have been carefully selected by knowledgeable, well-trained mental health and social service professionals to work with children with an emotional disturbance;

(ii) Provision of special training to the foster parents to assist them in working with children with an emotional disturbance;

(iii) Low staff-to-child ratio, allowing the therapeutic staff to work very closely with each child, the foster parents and the biological parents, if available;

(iv) Creation of a support system among these specially trained foster parents; and

(v) Payment of a special foster care payment to the foster parents.

(h) “ Emergency foster homes ” means those homes used on a short-term basis for (i) children who are temporarily removed from the home in response to a crisis situation, or (ii) youth who exhibit special behavioral or emotional problems for whom removal from the existing home situation is necessary. In some cases they may provide an emergency placement for infants and toddlers for whom no regular foster home is available, rather than placement into an emergency shelter where older and larger groups of children are placed. Foster parents are trained to deal with the special needs of children placed in these emergency homes.

(i) “ Medicaid targeted case management ” means activities that are related to assuring the completion of proper client evaluations; arranging and supporting treatment plans, monitoring services, coordinating service delivery and other related actions.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-729 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 9 / Section 33-729
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-729
Status: in_force

(1) The corporation may from time to time issue its negotiable bonds and notes in such principal amounts as, in the opinion of the corporation, shall be necessary to provide sufficient funds for achieving the corporate purposes thereof, including operating expenses and reserves, the payment of interest on bonds and notes of the corporation, establishment of reserves to secure such bonds and notes, and all other expenditures of the corporation incident to and necessary or convenient to carry out its corporate purposes and powers. Provided, except as otherwise authorized herein, bonds and notes may be issued annually under this article in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed Three Hundred Fifty Million Dollars ($350,000,000.00), excluding bonds and notes issued to refund outstanding bonds and notes, bonds and notes in which the corporation acts as a conduit issuer and bonds and notes issued for purposes related to Hurricane Katrina. Such annual period shall be the same as the fiscal year of the state, commencing with the annual period of July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010.

(2) The provisions of Sections 75-71-1 through 75-71-57, Mississippi Code of 1972 (the “Mississippi Securities Act”), shall not apply to bonds and notes issued under the authority of this article, and no application for a formal exemption from the provisions of such act shall be required with respect to such bonds and notes.

(3) Except as may otherwise be expressly provided by the corporation, all bonds and notes issued by the corporation shall be general obligations of the corporation, secured by the full faith and credit of the corporation and payable out of any monies, assets or revenues of the corporation, subject only to any agreement with the bondholders or noteholders pledging any particular monies, assets or revenues.

The corporation may issue bonds or notes to which the principal and interest are payable:

(a) Exclusively from the revenues of the corporation resulting from the use of the proceeds of such bonds or notes; or

(b) Exclusively from any particular revenues of the corporation, whether or not resulting from the use of the proceeds of such bonds or notes.

(4) Any bonds or notes issued by the corporation may be additionally secured:

(a) By private insurance, by a direct pay or standby letter of credit, or by any other credit enhancement facility procured by the corporation for the payment of any such bonds;

(b) By a pledge of any grant, subsidy or contribution from the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from the state or any agency, instrumentality or political subdivision thereof, or from any person, firm or corporation; or

(c) By the pledge of any securities, funds or reserves (or earnings thereon) available to the corporation.

(5) Bonds and notes issued by the corporation shall be authorized by a resolution or resolutions of the corporation adopted as provided for by this article; provided, that any such resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds or notes may delegate to an officer or officers of the corporation the power to issue such bonds or notes from time to time and to fix the details of any such issues of bonds or notes by an appropriate certification of such authorized officer.

(6) Except as specifically provided in this article, no notice, consent or approval by any governmental body or public officer shall be required as a prerequisite to the issuance, sale or delivery of any bonds or notes of the corporation pursuant to the provisions of this article. However, all bonds or notes issued pursuant to this article may be validated, except as otherwise provided in this section, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 31-13-1 through 31-13-11, Mississippi Code of 1972 , in the same manner as provided therein for bonds issued by a municipality. Any such validation proceedings shall be held in the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi. Notice thereof shall be given by publication in any newspaper published in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, and of general circulation throughout the state.

(7) It is hereby determined that the corporation is the sole entity in the state authorized to issue bonds or notes for the purposes of financing low and moderate income rental or residential housing as set forth in this article. In addition, the corporation shall have the power to issue mortgage credit certificates, as provided by Section 25 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 , as amended, and to comply with all of the terms and conditions set forth in Section 25 , as the same may be amended from time to time.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-26-11 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 11 / Section 26-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-26-11
Status: in_force

(1) There shall be created local offices of the Department of Child Protection Services in those locations throughout the state as determined by the commissioner. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of each county in which a local office is located to provide office space for the local offices.

The local office of the Department of Child Protection Services shall administer all forms of child welfare services with the exception of those administered by the Department of Human Services. The local offices shall comply with such regulations and submit such reports as may be established or required by the commissioner. Subject to the approval of the commissioner, the local offices may cooperate with other departments, agencies and institutions, state and local, when so requested, in performing services in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.

(2) The Department of Child Protection Services may enter into a lease with each county board of supervisors in each county where a local office is located to allow the department to maximize the availability of federal funds. Fair market value for the county-furnished building will be established and the department shall pay the federal share for the rent to the county. All other expenses related to the operation of the local office shall be split between the department, providing the federal share, and the county, being responsible for the remainder or the state share. This includes, but is not limited to, electricity, water, gas, internet, and janitorial services and supplies. All maintenance and repairs of the local office shall be the responsibility of the county due to the prohibition of federal funds for improvements of real property.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-29 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 29 / Section 33-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-29
Status: in_force

An obligee of an authority shall have the right in addition to all other rights which may be conferred on such obligee, subject only to any contractual restrictions binding upon such obligee:

(a) By mandamus, suit, action or proceeding at law or in equity to compel said authority and the commissioners, officers, agents or employees thereof to perform each and every term, provision and covenant contained in any contract of said authority with or for the benefit of such obligee, and to require the carrying out of any or all such covenants and agreements of said authority and the fulfillment of all duties imposed upon said authority by this article.

(b) By suit, action or proceeding in equity, to enjoin any acts or things which may be unlawful, or the violation of any of the rights of such obligee of said authority.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-21 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 33 / Section 33-21
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-33-21
Status: in_force

All housing projects of an authority shall be subject to the planning, zoning, sanitary and building laws, ordinances and regulations applicable to the locality in which the housing project is situated. In the planning and location of any housing project, an authority shall take into consideration the relationship of the project to any larger plan or long-range program for the development of the area in which the housing authority functions.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-29-23 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 17 / Section 29-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-29-23
Status: in_force

Whoever obtains, or attempts, or aids, or abets any person to obtain by means of a wilfully false statement or representation or by impersonation, or other fraudulent device:

(1) assistance to which he is not entitled; or

(2) assistance greater than that to which he is justly entitled, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or be imprisoned for not more than three (3) months, or be both so fined and imprisoned in the discretion of the court. In assessing the penalty, the court shall take into consideration the amount of money fraudulently received.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-21 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 17 / Section 47-21
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-47-21
Status: in_force

At the time the department makes an evaluation of the case reported, in accordance with the provisions of Section 43-47-9 , it shall be determined, according to the regulations set by the department, whether the vulnerable person is financially capable of paying for the essential services. If he is, he shall make reimbursement for the costs of providing the needed essential services. If it is determined that he is not financially capable of paying for such services, they shall be provided at no cost to the recipient of the services. The court may order the department or any public agency to provide for the custody, care and maintenance of such vulnerable person. Provided, however, that the care, custody and maintenance of any vulnerable person shall be within statutory authorization and budgetary means of such institution, facility, agency or department. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, it is not the intent of the Legislature through the adoption of this chapter to authorize any court exercising jurisdiction over a vulnerable person to enlarge or bring about the addition of new groups or categories of recipients or to increase the types of care and services for such persons under the Mississippi Medicaid Law, and any court exercising jurisdiction over a vulnerable person shall not, in any way, enter an order against the Division of Medicaid to provide for the custody, care, or maintenance of a vulnerable person who is not otherwise eligible for medical assistance under Section 43-13-115 or services under Section 43-13-117 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-53-3 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 6 / Section 53-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-53-3
Status: in_force

(1) Establishment of the council. There is hereby established within the Office of the Governor the Mississippi Leadership Council on Aging, hereafter in this chapter the “council.”

(2) Membership of the council:

(a) The council shall consist of a representative of the Department of Public Safety to be appointed by the Commissioner of Public Safety;

(b) Two (2) representatives of the Mississippi Sheriff's Association, to be elected by the Sheriff's Association;

(c) Two (2) representatives of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police, to be elected by the Association of Chiefs of Police;

(d) One (1) representative of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services, to be appointed by the Executive Director of the Department of Human Services;

(e) Two (2) representatives of the American Association of Retired Persons, to be elected by Mississippi AARP Executive Committee;

(f) Two (2) representatives from community volunteer councils on aging, to be appointed by the Office of the Governor;

(g) One (1) representative from the Office of the Attorney General, Crime Prevention Unit, to be appointed by the Attorney General; and

(h) Two (2) representatives from the aging advocate network, to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

(3) In the performance of its functions, the council shall, to the extent possible, solicit the participation and involvement of retired law enforcement personnel.

(4) The council shall elect a chairperson by a majority vote of the membership.

(5) Members of the council shall serve until the appropriately designated person in each representative organization selects another representative, and all persons on the council shall be subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

(6) Membership on the council shall not constitute the holding of a public office, and members of the council shall not be required to take and file oaths of office before serving on the committee.

(7) The members of the committee shall receive no compensation for their services as members.

(8) No member of the council shall be disqualified from holding any public office or employment nor shall any member forfeit any employment or office by reason of his membership on the council.

(9) The council shall meet as often as deemed necessary, but in no event less than four (4) times annually. The chairman shall call the first meeting of the council no later than October 1996. A majority of the membership shall constitute a quorum for conducting business.
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-35-19 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 18 / 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. § 43-21-157 — MS Code / Title 43 / Chapter 18 / Section 21-157
Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-157
Status: in_force

(1) If a child who has reached his thirteenth birthday is charged by petition to be a delinquent child, the youth court, either on motion of the youth court prosecutor or on the youth court's own motion, after a hearing as hereinafter provided, may, in its discretion, transfer jurisdiction of the alleged offense described in the petition or a lesser included offense to the criminal court which would have trial jurisdiction of such offense if committed by an adult. The child shall be represented by counsel in transfer proceedings.

(2) A motion to transfer shall be filed on a day prior to the date set for the adjudicatory hearing but not more than ten (10) days after the filing of the petition. The youth court may order a transfer study at any time after the motion to transfer is filed. The transfer study and any other social record which the youth court will consider at the transfer hearing shall be made available to the child's counsel prior to the hearing. Summons shall be served in the same manner as other summons under this chapter with a copy of the motion to transfer and the petition attached thereto.

(3) The transfer hearing shall be bifurcated. At the transfer hearing, the youth court shall first determine whether probable cause exists to believe that the child committed the alleged offense. For the purpose of the transfer hearing only, the child may, with the assistance of counsel, waive the determination of probable cause.

(4) Upon such a finding of probable cause, the youth court may transfer jurisdiction of the alleged offense and the youth if the youth court finds by clear and convincing evidence that there are no reasonable prospects of rehabilitation within the juvenile justice system.

(5) The factors which shall be considered by the youth court in determining the reasonable prospects of rehabilitation within the juvenile justice system are:

(a) Whether or not the alleged offense constituted a substantial danger to the public;

(b) The seriousness of the alleged offense;

(c) Whether or not the transfer is required to protect the community;

(d) Whether or not the alleged offense was committed in an aggressive, violent, premeditated or willful manner;

(e) Whether the alleged offense was against persons or against property, greater weight being given to the offense against persons, especially if personal injury resulted;

(f) The sophistication, maturity and educational background of the child;

(g) The child's home situation, emotional condition and life-style;

(h) The history of the child, including experience with the juvenile justice system, other courts, probation, commitments to juvenile institutions or other placements;

(i) Whether or not the child can be retained in the juvenile justice system long enough for effective treatment or rehabilitation;

(j) The dispositional resources available to the juvenile justice system;

(k) Dispositional resources available to the adult correctional system for the child if treated as an adult;

( l ) Whether the alleged offense was committed on school property, public or private, or at any school-sponsored event, and constituted a substantial danger to other students;

(m) Any other factors deemed relevant by the youth court; and

(n) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the transfer of jurisdiction of an alleged offense and a child if that child, at the time of the transfer hearing, previously has not been placed in a juvenile institution.

(6) If the youth court transfers jurisdiction of the alleged offense to a criminal court, the youth court shall enter a transfer order containing:

(a) Facts showing that the youth court had jurisdiction of the cause and of the parties;

(b) Facts showing that the child was represented by counsel;

(c) Facts showing that the hearing was held in the presence of the child and his counsel;

(d) A recital of the findings of probable cause and the facts and reasons underlying the youth court's decision to transfer jurisdiction of the alleged offense;

(e) The conditions of custody or release of the child pending criminal court proceedings, including bail or recognizance as the case may justify, as well as a designation of the custodian for the time being; and

(f) A designation of the alleged offense transferred and of the court to which the transfer is made and a direction to the clerk to forward for filing in such court a certified copy of the transfer order of the youth court.

(7) The testimony of the child respondent at a transfer hearing conducted pursuant to this chapter shall not be admissible against the child in any proceeding other than the transfer hearing.

(8) When jurisdiction of an offense is transferred to the circuit court, or when a youth has committed an act which is in original circuit court jurisdiction pursuant to Section 43-21-151 , the jurisdiction of the youth court over the youth for any future offenses is terminated, except that jurisdiction over future offenses is not terminated if the circuit court transfers or remands the transferred case to the youth court or if a child who has been transferred to the circuit court or is in the original jurisdiction of the circuit court is not convicted. However, when jurisdiction of an offense is transferred to the circuit court pursuant to this section or when an offense committed by a youth is in original circuit court jurisdiction pursuant to Section 43-21-151 , the circuit court shall thereafter assume and retain jurisdiction of any felony offenses committed by such youth without any additional transfer proceedings. Any misdemeanor offenses committed by youth who are in circuit court jurisdiction pursuant to this section or Section 43-21-151 shall be prosecuted in the court which would have jurisdiction over that offense if committed by an adult without any additional transfer proceedings. The circuit court may review the transfer proceedings on motion of the transferred child. Such review shall be on the record of the hearing in the youth court. The circuit court shall remand the offense to the youth court if there is no substantial evidence to support the order of the youth court. The circuit court may also review the conditions of custody or release pending criminal court proceedings.

(9) When any youth has been the subject of a transfer to circuit court for an offense committed in any county of the state or has committed any act which is in the original jurisdiction of the circuit court pursuant to Section 43-21-151 , that transfer or original jurisdiction shall be recognized by all other courts of the state and no subsequent offense committed by such youth in any county of the state shall be in the jurisdiction of the youth court unless transferred to the youth court pursuant to Section 43-21-159(3) . Transfers from youth courts of other states shall be recognized by the courts of this state and no youth who has a pending charge or a conviction in the adult court system of any other state shall be in the jurisdiction of the youth courts of this state, but such youths shall be in the jurisdiction of the circuit court for any felony committed in this state or in the jurisdiction of the court of competent jurisdiction for any misdemeanor committed in this state.