Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 13 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Division 35 - Children's Division › Chapter 73 - Child Placing Agencies › Section 13 CSR 35-73.030 - Personnel Practices and Personnel

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This proposed amendment implements House
				  Bill 557 (2021) by adding requirements for any individual associated with a
				  child placing agency to successfully complete a background check and an annual
				  Family Care Safety Registry check before the division considers that person
				  eligible for employment at the agency.
(1) Personnel Practices.
(A) An agency shall have a written statement
				of personnel practices, approved by the governing board, which shall be
				furnished to all employees at the time of employment.
(B) The personnel policies shall be reviewed
				annually and updated as necessary by the agency.
1. Personnel policies will include, but not
				be limited to:
A. Hiring and termination
				procedures;
B. Description of
				employment benefits, including, but not limited to, paid vacation, sick leave,
				holidays, leaves of absence, retirement plans, insurance (malpractice, health,
				liability);
C. Provision of annual
				evaluations of work performance;
D.
				Provision for staff development through in-service training and continuing
				education;
E. Provision for
				addressing concerns, disagreements and grievances of staff;
F. Probationary status;
G. Agency chain of command; and H. Employment
				outside the agency.
2.
				Job descriptions shall be established in writing for all positions.
(C) The agency shall investigate
				and evaluate employment application information carefully to determine whether
				employment of an applicant is in the best interests of the children and clients
				served.
1. No person who has served as a
				member of the governing board, administrator, or other officer of an agency
				that has failed to secure a license to operate as a child placing agency shall
				be employed by, licensed by, or associated with a licensed child placing agency
				for a period of two (2) years after termination or cessation of that illegal
				operation.
2. No person,
				administrator, or other officer of an agency which continued in operation after
				having knowledge of the revocation or suspension of the agency's license shall
				be employed by or associated with a licensed agency for a period of two (2)
				years from cessation of the illegal operation.
3. The division may waive provisions of 13
				CSR 35-73.030(1)(C) 1. and 2. if it is shown that the person had no knowledge
				of or had no reason to know the operation was illegal. Such a waiver must take
				place before the employee is hired or a request for a waiver shall be submitted
				to the division within thirty (30) days after it is discovered that an
				ineligible person has been employed.
(D) The agency shall require that each
				individual associated with the agency who is required to submit to a background
				check pursuant to section
				210.493,
				RSMo, 13
				CSR 35-71.015, and
				13 CSR
				35-73.035 successfully complete the background check
				and be found eligible by the division for employment or presence at the
				licensed child placing agency.
(E)
				Prior to the employment of any person for a position requiring credit hours
				and/or a degree from an accredited college or university, a resume and an
				official college transcript, or a copy of the diploma, shall be on file at the
				agency.
(F) An agency shall secure
				the names of at least three (3) persons for each staff person, who are
				unrelated to the staff member, who can provide character references; employer
				references for each staff person from all previous employers within the last
				five (5) years and a history of any previous employment in child placing or
				child caring settings. All references shall be documented by the agency with
				letters or verification in the record of verbal contacts, providing the date,
				person making the contact and the content of the contact.