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-F - Licensure Policy › Section 18-6-1-F-V - LICENSING DECISION

Current through June 25, 2024
The final decision regarding the licensing of Resource
					 Homes rests with the DFCS Licensure ASWS with input and recommendations from
					 the Licensure Specialist. The application may be:
* Withdrawn by the applicant
* Denied by the Permanency Unit
* Approved by the Permanency Unit.
All screened-in applications must be processed and a
					 written decision given to the applicant within:
* One Hundred-Twenty (120) days of the date the applicant
					 completed the Orientation and Screening Phases, or
* Ninety (90) days for expedited relative placements.
If the licensing time frame exceeds the days allowed,
					 reasons must be clearly documented in the Resource Family file in MACWIS and in
					 the child's file if it is an expedited relative placement.
A.
Recommendation for Placement
When the Licensure Specialist has concluded that a family
					 is appropriate for licensure, the Licensure Specialist will submit the SAFE
					 Home Study and make a recommendation of approval in the MACWIS home study.
The Recommendation for placement should include:
* Particular strengths of the family;
* Areas of concern;
* Most appropriate special needs for this family;
* Special needs this family is equipped to handle; if any
* Age of children recommended for this family; and
* Family's interest in adoption, foster care, or both.
B.
Grounds for
				  Denial
If the decision is to deny the license, the Licensure
					 Specialist must state the reasons in the Notice of Action. The Notice of Action
					 shall be sent to the applicant by certified mail with a copy of the notice to
					 the State Office Permanency Unit.
Denial of a potential resource applicant must not be made
					 on the basis of the RCNO of the child(ren) in care or the RCNO of the
					 applicant.
1.
Grounds for
				  denial may include but are not limited to:
* A person residing in a home who has been convicted of a
					 crime that would prevent licensure.
* A person residing in a home who has a record of
					 evidenced child maltreatment.
* A person residing in the home refusing to submit to
					 background checks.
* The minimum standards are not met.
* There is "just cause" to deny the license. "Just cause"
					 exists when:
* The conditions in the home would or could be physically,
					 mentally or emotionally harmful to a child placed in the home.
* When the applicant has a history of alcohol or drug use
					 without documentation of successful treatment and after-care.
* The applicant has been involved in illegal activity.
* The applicant makes ethnic or racial slurs about certain
					 groups of people or expresses other extremist views during the home study
					 process.
* The applicant shows an inability to work with DFCS.
* A person, residing in the home or not residing in the
					 home, that has been determined a high risk driver with the responsibility of
					 transporting the child(ren).
Supporting documentation from the SAFE Questionnaire,
					 observed conditions, statements made by the applicant, the applicant's family
					 or references, etc., must be documented clearly in the study. The Licensure
					 Specialists' feelings are not sufficient for documentation purposes.