§ 43-15-1. Title of article
This article may be cited as the “Administration of Child Welfare Law.”
§ 43-15-11. Expenditure of county and municipal moneys for support and maintenance of homeless and destitute children
The board of supervisors of any county and/or the mayor and board of commissioners of any city and/or the mayor and board of aldermen of any municipality in this state are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to expend out of any moneys in their respective treasuries, to be drawn by warrant thereon, a […]
§ 43-15-13. Foster care placement program; objectives; system of individualized plans and reviews; training program for persons who provide foster care and relative care; placement priorities and goals; changes in placement; notice to families; rights and responsibilities of persons who provide foster care and relative care
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 […]
§ 43-15-14. Emergency placement of children in home care; performance of federal name-based criminal history records check of all adults residing in placement home
As used in this section, “emergency placement” means those limited instances when the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services is placing a child in the home of private individuals, including relatives, neighbors or friends, as a result of a sudden unavailability of the child’s primary caretaker. During an emergency placement situation when a child must […]
§ 43-15-15. Registry of children in custody of State Department of Public Welfare and public or private agencies
The State Department of Public Welfare shall maintain a registry of children whose custody lies with them and private or public agencies licensed by the department. Said registry shall contain classifications of children as: Temporary custody for evaluation, not to exceed three (3) months; Temporary custody not to exceed one (1) year with the plan […]
§ 43-15-17. Payments for supportive services; relative care payments
The Department of Child Protection Services is authorized to make such payments as may be appropriate for supportive services to facilitate either the return of children to their natural parents or their adoption, depending upon and contingent upon the availability of the Department of Child Protection Services securing or having sufficient funds to render this […]
§ 43-15-19. Adoption resource exchange registry
The State Department of Public Welfare shall maintain a Mississippi Adoption Resource Exchange registry, which shall contain a total listing of all children freed for adoption as well as a listing of all persons who wish to adopt children and who are approved by a licensed adoption agency in the State of Mississippi. Said registry […]
§ 43-15-21. Penalty for releasing confidential information
Anyone violating or releasing information of a confidential nature without the approval of the court with jurisdiction or the State Department of Public Welfare upon being found guilty shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of no more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment of six (6) months, or both.
§ 43-15-23. “Placing Out”; defined
As used in this section the term “placing out” means to arrange for the free care of a child in a family, other than that of the child’s parent, stepparent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt or legal guardian, for the purpose of adoption or for the purpose of providing care. No person, agency, association, […]
§ 43-15-25. Elected officials as foster parents; payments on behalf of foster child
An elected official shall not be precluded from serving as a foster parent under this act [Chapter 516, Laws of 1998], and any payments on behalf of or for the benefit of a foster child shall not be considered a contract of interest or compensation or financial income to the elected official in violation of […]
§ 43-15-3. Powers and duties of Department of Human Services; appeal to Director of Division of Family and Children’s Services for denial of foster care and/or adoption assistance
The Department of Human Services is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to cooperate fully with the United States Children’s Bureau and Secretary of Labor in establishing, extending and strengthening “child welfare services” for the protection and care of homeless, dependent and neglected children and children in danger of becoming delinquent. Said Department of Human Services […]
§ 43-15-5. Administration of child welfare services
The Department of Human Services shall have authority and it shall be its duty to administer or supervise all public child welfare services, including those services, responsibilities, duties and powers with which the county departments of human services are charged and empowered in this article; administer and supervise the licensing and inspection of all private […]
§ 43-15-6. Criminal background checks and child abuse registry checks for providers of children’s services in residential setting; authority to exclude certain crimes as disqualifying from providing child care; penalties; administrative immunity
Any person, institution, facility, clinic, organization or other entity that provides services to children in a residential setting where care, lodging, maintenance, and counseling or therapy for alcohol or controlled substance abuse or for any other emotional disorder or mental illness is provided for children, whether for compensation or not, that holds himself, herself, or […]
§ 43-15-7. County department authorized to provide protective services; appropriation of funds
The county department of public welfare is hereby authorized to provide protective services for children as will conserve home life; assume responsibility for the care and support of dependent children needing public care away from their homes; place children found by the department to be dependent or without proper care in suitable institutions or private […]
§ 43-15-9. Article inapplicable to orphans’ homes, etc.
None of the provisions of this article shall apply to any orphan’s home, child caring agency or children’s home society under the jurisdiction of and maintained by any fraternal organization, religious or fraternal denomination or nonprofit association or corporation organized and exclusively controlled by any religious denomination.