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-G - Adoption Policy › Section 18-6-1-G-II - INTRODUCTION

Current through June 25, 2024
The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) is the
					 agency designated, by MISS CODE ANN §
										93-17-31
					 through
					 93-17-31
					 for establishing procedures for handling adoptions within Mississippi. MDHS has
					 designated the Adoption Unit of the Division of Family and Children's Services
					 (DFCS) to have responsibility for adoptive placements made by and through the
					 DFCS
.
A.
Purpose
The primary purpose of the DFCS's Adoption Program is to
					 foster permanent connections for children whose permanent plan is adoption.
B.
Legal Base
Responsibility for providing adoption services to children
					 is authorized under Title IV-B and Title XX of the Social Security Act and
					 MISS. CODE ANN. §
											43-15-13.
					 The State Statute places responsibility with the State Department of Human
					 Services to establish policy and procedures designed to appropriately place
					 children in permanent homes. This includes placing children in suitable
					 adoptive homes approved by a licensed adoption agency or licensed social
					 worker, in cases where restoration to the biological family is not safe,
					 possible or appropriate.
C.
Civil Rights
Adoption services and resources for children will be
					 provided without discrimination and such services cannot be based on race,
					 color, national origin or religious affiliation.
Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA):
The
Improving America's Schools Act
(
					 P.L.
					 103-382 ) contains the
Multi-Ethnic
					 Placement Act of 1994
(MEPA). An amendment to this Act is part of the
Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996
(
					 P.L.
					 104-188 ) and is known as the
Interethnic
					 Adoption Provisions Act of 1996
(IEP). MEPA-IEP prohibits agencies
					 receiving Title IV-E foster care funds from
deny[ing] any person the
					 opportunity to be an adoptive or foster parent ... or delay[ing] or deny[ing]
					 the placement of a child ... solely on the basis of race, color or national
					 origin of the adoptive or foster parent or the child ...
( PL
					 103-382,
					 §
												553 a.1.A-B)
These factors must be applied on an individualized basis,
					 not by general rule "in the best interest of the child."
Neither race, color, nor national origin (RCNO) of a child
					 or prospective caregiver may be considered in the placement selection process
					 for a foster child unless an individualized assessment reveals that such
					 consideration is in the child's best interests. Culture may not be used as a
					 proxy for RCNO. Placements may not be delayed or denied on the basis of RCNO of
					 the child or the provider.
A Licensure Specialist and/or County of Responsibility
					 (COR) Worker must document all factors considered in the selection of a
					 placement for a child.
MEPA
is viewed in conjunction with
					 Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
which prohibits
					 recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating based on race,
					 color, or national origin in their programs and activities and from operating
					 their programs in ways that have the effect of discriminating on the basis of
					 race, color, or national origin.
MEPA
as amended by
IEP
calls for the diligent recruitment of foster and adoptive families that reflect
					 the racial and ethnic diversity of children in foster care. To comply with
					 MEPA/IEP, DFCS shall focus its recruitment process on developing a pool of
					 potential resource families who are willing and able to foster or adopt the
					 children needing placement.
D.
Prohibitions
Each employee of DFCS is prohibited from both the
					 participation in making an independent adoption placement and/or the
					 independent adoption of any child known to the employee through his/her
					 position with DFCS. Violation of this policy is a Group 3 offense and may
					 result in termination of employment.
E.
Definitions
Adopt:
To take by choice into a relationship;
					 to take voluntarily (a child of other parents) as one's own child.
Involuntary Placement:
Youth Court awards
					 legal custody of a child to the MS Department of Human Services based on
					 allegations of child abuse/neglect/exploitation.
Voluntary Placement:
A legal parent requests
					 placement of a child into foster care due to the parent's illness or
					 hospitalization or the legal parent wants to make an adoptive plan for their
					 child.
Adoption Disruption:
An adoption process that
					 ends prior to adoption finalization, resulting in the child's return to (or
					 entry into) foster care or placement with new adoptive parents.
Adoption Dissolution:
A reversal or voiding
					 of an adoption after it has been legally finalized. This results in the child's
					 return to (or entry into) foster care or placement with new adoptive parents.
Adoptive Placement:
A social process carried
					 out through the framework of law, whereby a legal parent/child relationship is
					 created between the child and adoptive parent(s). Actual placement for adoption
					 will not be made until the child is legally free for adoption as certified by
					 the Attorney General's Office (AG).
Legal Risk Adoptive Placement:
The placement
					 of a child into a home for the purpose of adoption prior to the child being
					 legally freed for adoption. These placements are shown as foster home
					 placements, but a legal risk adoptive placement agreement is signed by the
					 adoptive parents and Adoption Specialist. Legal risk adoptive placements may be
					 made for Safe Babies, abandoned infants, infants whose biological mother has
					 signed surrender and the father is unknown, or for any child whose permanent
					 plan of adoption has been approved through youth court.
Interlocutory Decree:
A court order granting
					 legal custody or guardianship to the adoptive petitioners prior to the Final
					 Decree of Adoption. DFCS may or may not recommend an Interlocutory Decree on a
					 case by case basis. The Interlocutory Decree is often used when the adoptive
					 parents must move out-of-state before DFCS can recommend final adoption or
					 before the Chancellor deems it is appropriate to render a decision on final
					 adoptions.
Final Decree of Adoption:
The decree of the
					 court granting and finalizing the adoption and vesting legal custody of the
					 child with the adoptive parents.
Post Adoptive Services:
Supportive Services
					 provided to an adoptive family after the finalization of an adoption to assist
					 in a wide range of issues such as explaining adoption issues for children,
					 providing financial assistance through an adoption subsidy, linking the family
					 to therapeutic services needed to meet the child's special needs, providing
					 search assistance, etc. in order to strengthen and maintain the continuity of
					 placement in the adoptive family.
F.
General
				  Functions/Responsibilities
MDHS has the following functions in carrying out its
					 responsibilities for the care and protection of children in need of adoption:
1.
Developing policies and
				  standards
for the administration of DFCS's Adoption Service Program.
2.
Assessing and
				  preparing
children for transitioning to adoption.
3.
Assessing and preparing
families for adoptive placements.
4.
Placing children
in
				  adoptive homes, as appropriate, and providing post-placement and post-adoption
				  services to the adoptive family.
5.
Providing social services to all
				  parent(s)
(married or unmarried) who seek help in making adoptive
				  plans for their children.
6.
Providing
as requested by the court, social information on
				  independent adoption petitioners.
7.
Serving as a consultant to
				  agencies
providing adoption services, as well as agencies interested
				  in developing an adoption program.
8.
Recommending legislation
which will further protect the child, the biological parents, and the adoptive
				  parent(s).
9.
Informing
the community/public of adoption practices from both
				  a legal and a child behavior perspective.