Rule 31-9-2.7 - Classification Decisions1. Upon admission, staff make housing, bed, programming, education, and work assignments in accordance with written classification policies. Staff provide youth with heightened supervision until they have collected the information necessary to fully classify youth. The facility administrator or his/her designee regularly reviews the process and any decisions that depart from established policies.2. As part of the classification process, within 72 hours, staff consider the following information with the goal of keeping all youth safe and promoting their physical and emotional well-being: c. Separation of violent from non-violent youth;d. Level of emotional and cognitive development;e. Current charges and offense history;f. Physical size and stature;g. Presence of intellectual or developmental disabilities;h. Physical disabilities;i. Presence of mental health needs; j. The youth's own perception of vulnerability;l. Prior sexual victimization or abusiveness;m. Any gender nonconforming appearance or manner or identification as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, two-spirited, or intersex, and whether the youth may therefore be vulnerable to sexual abuse; andn. Any other specific information about individual youth that may indicate heightened needs for supervision, additional safety precautions, or separation from certain other youth (youth's affiliation with a gang without more specific information does not qualify).3. Staff gather information used for classification through conversations with youth during the intake process and medical and mental health screenings; during classification assessments; and by reviewing court records, case files, facility behavioral records, and other relevant documentation from the youth's files. Facilities avoid questioning youth about sensitive information that can be ascertained through other means.4. Staff do not base housing or programming decisions on race or ethnicity.5. There are no automatic policies for housing or programming of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning, gender non-conforming, and two-spirited youth on the basis of their actual or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation. Staff make any special housing or programming decisions for such youth on an individual basis in consultation with the youth to include the youth's perception of where he or she will be most secure, as well as any recommendations from the youth's health care provider, and document the reasons for the particular treatment. The facility administrator or his/her designee reviews the recommendations of staff and makes a final decision.6. Written policies, procedures, and actual practices ensure that youth with disabilities receive appropriate accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.Miss. Code Ann. §§ 43-21-901 to 43-21-915 (Rev. 2016).