Title 43, Public Welfare

The Department of Youth Services shall have the authority to accept any allotments of federal funds and commodities and shall manage and dispose of them in whatever manner may be required by federal law, and may take advantage of any federal programs, grants-in-aid, or other publ…

The Department of Youth Services is authorized to request from any and all existing agencies, departments, divisions, officers, employees, boards, bureaus, commissions and institutions of the State of Mississippi, or any political subdivision thereof, information, data and assist…

The Department of Human Services shall use the services and resources of the state departments of education and health, and of all other appropriate state departments, agencies or institutions, as will aid in carrying out the purposes of this chapter. It shall be the duty of all …

All positions in the Department of Youth Services shall be included in the state classification system, but the department is encouraged to establish an incentive program to motivate workers who deal directly with the children to obtain master’s degrees in the field of sociology,…

The Department of Human Services shall keep in a suitable book a full and complete record of all of its actions under this chapter, which shall be open at all times to the inspection of the Governor and all persons whom he or either house of the Legislature may designate, and any…

The Department of Human Services shall be the Department of Youth Services and shall retain all powers and duties granted by law to the Department of Youth Services, and wherever the term “Department of Youth Services” appears in any law the same shall mean the Department of Huma…

(a) Within the Division of Youth Services there shall be an Office of Community Services, which shall be headed by a director appointed by and responsible to the Director of the Division of Youth Services. Each director shall hold a master’s degree in social work or a related fie…

(1) The purpose of this section is to outline and structure a long-range proposal in addition to certain immediate objectives for improvements in the juvenile facilities of the Division of Youth Services of the Mississippi Department of Human Services in order to provide modern a…

(1) There is created under the Mississippi National Guard a program to be known as the “Youth Challenge Program.” The program shall be an interdiction program designed for children determined to be “at risk” by the National Guard. (2) The Mississippi National Guard shall implemen…

(1) There is established in the State Treasury a fund to be known as the “Local Juvenile Detention Facility Construction, Renovation and Repair Fund” which shall be administered by the Department of Public Safety. Such fund shall be used for the purposes established in this secti…

(1) The Department of Finance and Administration, at one (1) time or from time to time, may declare by resolution the necessity for issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi to provide funds for construction, repairing, remodeling, equipping, furnishing, ad…

The principal of and interest on the bonds authorized under Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 shall be payable in the manner provided in this section. Such bonds shall bear such date or dates, be in such denomination or denominations, bear interest at such rate or rates not ex…

The bonds authorized under Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 shall be signed by the Chairman of the State Bond Commission, or by his facsimile signature, and the official seal of the State Bond Commission shall be affixed thereto, attested by the Secretary of the State Bond Co…

All bonds and interest coupons issued under the provisions of Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the provisions of the Mississippi Uniform Commercial Code, and in exercising the powers granted by Sections 43-2…

The State Bond Commission shall act as the issuing agent for the bonds authorized under Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233, prescribe the form of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold, pay all fees and costs incurred in such…

The bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 are general obligations of the State of Mississippi, and for the payment thereof the full faith and credit of the State of Mississippi is irrevocably pledged. If the funds appropriated by the Legislatur…

The State Treasurer is authorized to certify to the State Fiscal Officer the necessity for warrants, and the State Fiscal Officer is authorized and directed to issue such warrants, in such amounts as may be necessary to pay when due the principal of, premium, if any, and interest…

(1) Within the Department of Human Services there shall be an Office of Juvenile Correctional Institutions which shall be headed by a Director of Juvenile Institutions, who shall be appointed by the Director of the Division of Youth Services. The Director of Juvenile Institutions…

Upon the issuance and sale of bonds under Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233, the State Bond Commission shall deposit the proceeds of any such sale or sales in a special fund created in the State Treasury to be known as the “Juvenile Justice Assistance Fund.” The proceeds of su…

The bonds authorized under Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions and things that are specified or required by Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-23…

The bonds authorized under the authority of Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 may be validated in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in the manner and with the force and effect provided by Chapter 13, Title 31, Mississippi Code of 1…

Any holder of bonds issued under Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 or of any of the interest coupons pertaining to the bonds may, either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceeding, protect and enforce all rights granted under Sections 43-27-207 through …

All bonds issued under Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 shall be legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries, and for savings banks, trust companies and insurance companies organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi, and such bonds shall be legal securities…

The superintendents of the Mississippi training schools may each receive free lodging in his respective institution for himself and his family, but not free board nor free supplies from the institution. Upon each superintendent’s election to receive board for himself and family f…

Bonds issued under Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 and income from the bonds shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Mississippi.

Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers granted, but Sections 43-27-207 through 43-27-233 shall not be deemed to repeal or to be in derogation of any existing law of this state.

No person shall be committed to an institution under the control of the Department of Youth Services who is seriously handicapped by having mental illness or an intellectual disability. If after a person is referred to the training schools it is determined that he has mental illn…

Any child committed to an institution under the provisions of this chapter may be transferred by the director of the department of youth services, in his discretion, to any of the schools or other facilities under his jurisdiction.

Academic and vocational training at all institutions under the department of youth services shall meet standards prescribed by the state department of education based upon standards required for public schools. The department may prescribe such additional requirements as it may f…

This chapter which establishes a Juvenile Health Recovery Review and a Juvenile Health Recovery Advisory Board are repealed from and after July 1, 2001.

Nothing in this chapter is intended to limit or restrict the operation and effect of Title IV, federal Social Security Act (Subchapter IV, Sections 601-604, Chapter 7, Title 42, U.S. Code Annotated) and Sections 43-15-1 through 43-15-9, inclusive, 43-17-1 through 43-17-25, inclus…

(1) The Department of Finance and Administration, for and on behalf of the Department of Human Services and the State of Mississippi, may enter into a purchase contract, a lease-purchase agreement or other similar contract for the acquisition of land, buildings or equipment that …

There is created in the Department of Human Services, Division of Youth Services, a Statewide Juvenile Work Program under the direction of a statewide coordinator. The statewide coordinator shall assist the youth court judges in implementing and administering the Juvenile Work Pr…

(1) The purpose of this section is to ensure that Mississippi’s juvenile justice system is cost-efficient and effective at reducing juvenile crime and to create a continuum of options for Mississippi’s youth court judges so that they are better equipped to protect our communities…

(1) The Department of Human Services, Division of Youth Services, shall establish a pilot program to be known as the “Amer-I-Can Program.” The program is designed for youths who have been committed to or are confined at the Oakley Youth Development Center. The objectives of this …

(a) The Department of Human Services, shall administer the following duties and responsibilities:(a) To implement and administer laws and policy relating to youth services and coordinate the efforts of the department with those of the federal government and other state department…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act.”

(1) There is created a Mississippi Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Trust Fund as an instrumentality of the state to be administered by the Department of Rehabilitation Services in consultation with the Treasury Department. The ABLE Trust Fund shall consist of state appr…

(1) All property and income of the ABLE Trust Fund, as an instrumentality of the state, is exempt from all taxation by the state and by its political subdivisions. (2) Any contributor or payor to a Mississippi ABLE Program account may deduct from their Mississippi taxable income …

(1) The board has authority to establish a comprehensive investment plan for the purposes of this chapter, to invest any funds of the ABLE Trust Fund in any instrument, obligation, security or property that constitutes legal investments for public funds in the state, and to name …

(1) On or before July 1, 2018, the Mississippi ABLE Board shall establish and administer the Mississippi ABLE Program or shall enter into a contractual relationship or into a consortium with another state or states to provide qualifying Mississippi residents access to enrollment …

(1) The board shall furnish, without charge, to each account owner an annual statement of the following:(a) The amount contributed by the account owner under the participation agreement;(b) The annual earnings and accumulated earnings on the ABLE account; and(c) Any other terms a…

Monies paid into or expended out of the ABLE Trust Fund by or on behalf of a designated beneficiary are exempt from all claims of creditors of the designated beneficiary if the participation agreement has not been terminated. Monies paid into the Mississippi ABLE Program and bene…

(1) Unless otherwise required by the United States Social Security Act, 42 USC Section 1396p(b), the State of Mississippi or any agency or instrumentality of the state, shall not be considered a creditor of, and may not seek repayment for any Medicaid benefits provided to, a desi…

The Mississippi Department of Health, the Department of Rehabilitation Services, the Division of Medicaid, the Department of Child Protection Services and the State Department of Education shall assist, cooperate and coordinate with the Mississippi ABLE Board in the provision of …

The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any part of this chapter is declared invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration shall not affect the parts of this chapter which remain.