Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 18 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part 6 - Division of Family and Children's Services › Chapter 1 - DFCS Policy Manual › Section 18-6-1-A - Administration › Subpart I - ADMINISTRATION › Section 18-6-1-A-I-IX - ONGOING ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT AND PRACTICE

Current through June 25, 2024
The MDHS/DFCS Deputy Administrator shall ensure the
						ongoing efficient operation of the administrative teams and shall remain
						informed of the effectiveness of individual team members. The Administrator
						shall ensure that vacancies or absences of administrative team members are
						addressed through current succession rosters.
The Deputy Administrator shall:
* ensure that job descriptions accurately reflect actual
						job duties,
* perform timely and thorough performance appraisals on
						staff directly supervised by the Administrator, and
* delegate to appropriate Office Directors the
						responsibility to provide annual:
* evaluations of staff performance;
* assessments of adherence to MDHS conflict of interest
						and outside employment policies; (
See
MDHS Administrative
						Policy)
* assessment of compliance with legal requirements,
						including licensing and mandatory reporting; laws, and fiscal responsibility;
* report of all contracts and assessment of contracting
						practices as defined in MDHS policy and regulations of State Personnel Board
						(SPB) and the Department of Finance and Administration. (
See
MDHS Administrative Policy)
* assessment of the effectiveness of DFCS
						communication;
* assessment of any research involving service
						recipients.
A.
County and
					 Regional Administrative Procedures
Each county and regional office shall have the following
						procedures in place:
* sign-in/out procedures that ensure the time of arrival
						and departure, expected time of return, and departure destination are logged
						for each employee in county, regional, and state offices
* County Activity records, maintained by employees should
						include:
* date,
* case activities,
* case identification,
* individual mileage logs containing specific
						destinations of travel, and
* time elapsed during travel
* procedures to ensure that DFCS mail is collected and
						distributed in a prompt and consistent manner
* each staff member shall submit to their assigned
						supervisor a monthly Projected Work Plan prior to the third working day of each
						month
* adequate staff to cover telephone and reception duties
* a monthly on call schedule for after work hours and
						holidays
* leave requests are managed in a manner to avoid
						inadequate staff coverage or unnecessary workload burdens
* proper management of travel, time, and other resources
* adequate office space is afforded all county, regional,
						or state office staff assigned to local offices with assistance from the
						Director of Field Operations, when needed
* annual budget is prepared and coordinated with other
						MDHS Divisions to reflect the need for administrative supplies, equipment, and
						office space and child welfare and adult funds to meet the needs of DFCS staff
						and clients served by DFCS.
B.
County and Regional Administrative
					 Reporting Requirements
Prior to the third working day of each month, all county
						and regional staff should provide their immediate supervisor with the
						following:
* a completed County Activity record for the previous
						month (or similar documents applicable to adoption and resource staff)
* a projected work plan for the upcoming month
* the employee's completed travel voucher for the
						previous month (
See
Form 13.20.10 on DFCS Connection Website)
* other administrative documents which are required by
						the County and Regional Administrative Procedures Plan
Prior to the fifth working day each month the supervisor
						shall have reviewed and approved or pended the administrative documents listed
						above. Projected Work Plans should include a reasonable forecast of work
						activities. The work plan must include accurate time, travel and resource
						management practices consistent with MDHS AP-42 Travel Policy.
Travel approvals shall be contingent on the accuracy and
						information contained in the travel forms and supporting documentation
						submitted, as attested by the approving supervisor. Travel requests should be
						routed to the supervisor along with the County Activity Record or similar
						documentation as specified above. The supervisor should review and approve
						travel by ensuring consistency between Sign-in/out sheets, County Activity
						Record, and travel vouchers. County Activity Record shall include specific
						addresses or clearly identified sites, such as "
County Youth
						Court
or
County Hospital
."
The supervisor may conduct periodic reviews by comparing
						the above-mentioned documentation to case narratives.
C.
Requirements for Travel Approvals
					 and Signatures
The immediate supervisor shall
match
the
						individual travel entries on the travel voucher (13.20.10) with the county
						Sign-In/Out sheet for the appropriate month, and shall ensure that each travel
						episode is documented by an entry on the County Activity Record consistent with
						the reason for travel. Any client-related/ training/ conference travel episodes
						shall be documented by the supervisor to have a corresponding narrative
						recording in the Mississippi Automated Child Welfare Information System
						(MACWIS) case file.
The immediate supervisor will verify that individual
						travel episodes contain the following:
* the documented reason for travel is clearly stated on
						the County Activity Record;
* the approximate distance of travel seems reasonable,
						and corresponds to the addresses documented on the County Activity Record;
* there is corresponding documentation in case narratives
						or administrative files (MACWIS or confirmations of community meetings or other
						administrative activities not case related);
* travel is consistent with job duties, assignments, and
						activities;
* when narratives indicate that clients are consistently
						not home, it is the supervisor's responsibility to discuss the issue with the
						worker;
* documentation on the Sign-In/Out sheets, County
						Activity Records, case narratives, and Travel vouchers is consistent;
* All requests for travel reimbursement must be submitted
						during the month immediately following the previous month's travel.
Travel should be approved and signed by each employee's
						immediate supervisor. Those who are listed as designees in the Succession
						Roster (
See
"
Administrative Roles- Ongoing Functions
						and Communication
") may sign in the absence of and with the approval
						of the incumbent supervisor. In any event, the succession of authority should
						be established through formal succession rosters or through other forms of
						confirmation as needed. For example, if a RD will be on leave and the person(s)
						named on the formal succession roster is (are) unavailable, the RD may
						designate someone to sign routine forms in their absence through a confirmation
						to the staff directly supervised by the RD and to the RD's immediate
						supervisor.
1.
Special Travel
					 Circumstances
When a travel reimbursement request by any employee
						exceeds one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), approval of such travel shall be
						contingent on the employee's routing to the immediate supervisor the County
						Activity Record and the Travel Voucher (
See
form 13.20.10) and
						any pre-approvals for non-routine (conference, special training, etc.) or
						out-of-state travel and all travel reimbursement requests over $1,000 must be
						sent to the RD and the Director of Field Operations for approval. County
						Activity records should be maintained in the county office and should not be
						mailed to the Director of Field Operations.
The worker's immediate supervisor shall forward all
						documentation to the second-level supervisor indicating that certifications
						above have been completed. If the second level supervisor is the RD he/she
						shall certify the accuracy and fidelity of the travel request. The RD's
						signature shall be required for approval of travel. If the RD is other than
						second level, the second level supervisor shall review and certify the accuracy
						and fidelity of the travel request by initialing the travel voucher (13.20.10)
						before routing all required documentation to the RD for approval.