18 Miss. Code. R. 6-1-A-I-IX
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Case numbers are assigned by the MACWIS system. MACWIS provides DFCS with the means to input and maintain information regarding services to clients; electronically submit and document various approvals and screening processes; document home studies and maintain a directory of placement resources; track case plans and child placement histories, and process board payments to placement resources. All children and family records that can be entered into MACWIS must be entered.
DFCS personnel may access MACWIS case records with their personal MACWIS Identification and password. MACWIS is designed for authorized persons to have access (limited or full) based on their position, and MACWIS profile; not all screens are available to every DFCS employee.
Each individual or family unit determined to be an applicant for service or be the subject of an abuse/neglect investigation may have a paper case folder, if necessary, for the filing of documents that cannot be entered in MACWIS.
Case records must contain sufficient and accurate information to identify the clients; support decisions about interventions or services; and document the delivery of services. DFCS shall maintain a case record for each individual client or family. Case records shall comply with all legal requirements. The case record shall include all information needed to properly serve clients, including, but not limited to the following:
The DFCS Worker must provide copies of the updated medical and educational records, as well as Medicaid cards, of said child to the placement provider at the time of each placement.
Progress notes on all cases including Investigation, Prevention/Protection and Placement cases must be entered into MACWIS within five (5) calendar days.
Service recipients may add a statement to their case records, and:
At case closing, the case paper file records are reviewed and un-summarized notes, personal observations, and impressions are expunged. (See also Policy Section D XI.6 for more information regarding procedures for case closing).
18 Miss. Code. R. 6-1-A-I-IX