MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representatives Moss, Bailey, Clarke, Dedeaux, Robinson, Rogers (61st), Ward
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-33-205, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS FOR THE TERMS "PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANT" AND "PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANT REGISTRY" FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE SPECIAL DISABILITY PROGRAMS LAW; TO AMEND SECTION 37-33-211, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS, FINGERPRINTING AND CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS, AND A REGISTRY FOR PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-33-205, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-33-205. (a) "Department" or "agency" means the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;
(b) "Director" means the Director of the Office of Special Disability Programs;
(c) "Executive director" means the Executive Director of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;
(d) "Independent living services" includes, but is not limited to, the following services in accordance with definitions in the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act: (i) information and referral services, independent living skills training, peer counseling including cross-disability peer counseling, and individual and systems advocacy; (ii) counseling services, including psychological, psychotherapeutic and related services; (iii) services related to securing housing or shelter, including services related to community group living, and supportive of the purposes of the Rehabilitation Act and of the titles of the Rehabilitation Act, and adaptive housing services (including appropriate accommodations to and modifications of any space used to serve, or occupied by, individuals with disabilities); (iv) rehabilitation technology; (v) mobility training; (vi) services and training for individuals with cognitive and sensory disabilities, including life skills training, and interpreter and reader services; (vii) personal assistance services, including attendant care and the training of personnel providing such services; (viii) surveys, directories, and other activities to identify appropriate housing, recreation opportunities, and accessible transportation and other support services; (ix) consumer information programs on rehabilitation and independent living services available under the Rehabilitation Act, especially for minorities and other individuals with disabilities who have traditionally been unserved or underserved by programs under the Rehabilitation Act; (x) education and training necessary for living in a community and participating in community activities; (xi) supported living; (xii) transportation, including referral and assistance for that transportation and training in the use of public transportation vehicles and systems; (xiii) physical rehabilitation; (xiv) therapeutic treatment; (xv) provision of needed prostheses and other appliances and devices; (xvi) individual and group social and recreational services; (xvii) training to develop skills specifically designed for youths who are individuals with disabilities to promote self-awareness and esteem, develop advocacy and self-empowerment skills, and explore career options; (xviii) services for children; (xix) services under other federal, state or local programs designed to provide resources, training, counseling or other assistance, of substantial benefit in enhancing the independence, productivity and quality of life of individuals with disabilities; (xx) appropriate preventive services to decrease the need of individuals assisted under the Rehabilitation Act for similar services in the future; (xxi) community awareness programs to enhance the understanding and integration into society of individuals with disabilities; and (xxii) such other services as may be necessary and not inconsistent with the provisions of the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act;
(e) "Personal care attendant" or "attendant" means any person engaged in or applying to become engaged in providing personal assistance services for people who are severely disabled;
(f) "Personal care attendant registry" or "registry" means the registry of personal care attendants who have successfully completed all qualifications and training requirements to provide personal assistance services for people who are severely disabled;
(g) "Special disability services" includes, but is not * * * limited to, those services otherwise provided as independent living services;
(h) "Office" means the Office of Special Disability Programs;
(i) "Regulations" means regulations made by the executive director with the approval of the state board, including regulations pertaining to special disability services;
(j) "Rehabilitation engineering" means the systematic application of technologies, engineering methodologies, or scientific principles to meet the needs of and address the barriers confronted by individuals with disabilities in areas that include education, rehabilitation, employment, transportation, independent living and recreation;
(k) "Rehabilitation engineering services" means applying engineering principles to the design, modification, customization and/or fabrication of assistive technology for individuals with disabilities. An assistive technology device is any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. The areas of practice for rehabilitation engineering typically encompasses job accommodations, computer access, vehicle modifications, architectural modifications and home modifications, augmentative/alternative communications, environmental controls, positioning devices, seating and mobility, sensory aids and learning accommodations;
(l) "State Board" means the State Board of Rehabilitation Services.
SECTION 2. Section 37-33-211, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-33-211. (1) The Office of Special Disability Programs shall assist individuals with the most severe disabilities determined to be eligible and in carrying out the purposes of the Rehabilitation Act is authorized among other things:
(a) To cooperate with other departments, agencies and institutions, both public and private, in providing rehabilitation services, in studying the problems involved therein, and in establishing, programs and services as may be necessary or desirable; and
(b) To conduct research and compile statistics relating to the provision of rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities.
(2) The Office of Special Disability Programs shall utilize federal grant money through Title VII of the most current amendment of the federal Rehabilitation Act to assist those individuals with the most severe disabilities. The office will work to provide medical equipment, home modifications, vehicle modifications and other independent living services to assist those individuals determined to be eligible according to the regulations of Title VII of the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act to remain in or return to mainstream society.
(3) The State Attendant Care Program created by the Mississippi Legislature in 1985 to provide personal care services for people who are severely disabled may function under the Office of Special Disability Programs. Personal care services will be provided to those individuals determined to be eligible by the office in accordance with policies established by the department.
(a) Personal care attendants who are determined to be eligible by the office provide personal care services for people who are severely disabled and in the Attendant Care Program or any program that provides personal care services. Personal care attendants must have the following qualifications:
(i) Must be at least eighteen (18) years of age;
(ii) Must be a high school graduate, have a GED, or demonstrate the ability to read and write adequately;
(iii) Must be able to follow verbal and written instructions;
(iv) Must have the ability to communicate effectively;
(v) Must have no known physical or mental limitations that prevent lifting, transferring or providing any other assistance to the client;
(vi) May be a family member, but must not be a spouse or person who has legal responsibility of the recipient of personal care services;
(vii) Must not have a criminal history according to paragraph (d) of this subsection;
(viii) Must have a current driver's license, identification card and social security card; and
(ix) Must be able to assist the recipient of personal care services independently.
(b) To be a personal care attendant, an individual must:
(i) Submit three (3) letters of reference from individuals who:
1. Are not employed by the office;
2. Are not under the individual's supervision;
3. Have known the individual for at least three (3) years; and
4. Attest to the individual's good character and ability to meet the performance requirements of a personal care assistant; and
(ii) Submit evidence of having met the qualifications and training requirements of paragraphs (a), (d) and (e) of this subsection.
(c) Personal care attendants or applicants must provide the office all documentation and fees necessary for requesting the personal care assistant's or applicant's criminal history record information. The office shall obtain current criminal history record checks on all persons applying for the position to provide personal care services. The criminal history record check information must be kept on file for any new hires. In order to determine an applicant's suitability for employment as a personal care attendant, the applicant must be fingerprinted. If no disqualifying record is identified at the state level, the Department of Public Safety shall forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a national criminal history record check. The applicant shall pay the fee, not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00), for the fingerprinting and criminal history record checks; however, the office, in its discretion, may waive the fee for the fingerprinting and criminal history records check on behalf of any applicant.
(d) Persons shall not be employed by the office as personal care attendants if a criminal history record check shows that the person has a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
(e) A personal care attendant must also:
(i) Hold a valid license as a nurse in this state;
(ii) Hold a valid certification as a certified nurse aide in this state;
(iii) Have satisfactorily completed training as specified in paragraph (f) of this subsection and passed a standardized competency test approved by the department; or
(iv) Have had training or experience equivalent to the training specified in paragraph (f) of this subsection and passed a standardized competency test approved by the office.
(f) The training referred to in paragraph (e)(iii) or (iv) of this subsection must be approved by the office, must be provided by a licensed nurse and must provide at least forty (40) hours of instruction in the subject areas authorized by the office.
(g) To protect children, the elderly, the disabled, and to promote home and community safety by providing information concerning personal care attendants, the office shall develop and maintain a personal care attendant registry of persons who have successfully met the qualifications and training of paragraphs (a), (d) and (e) of this subsection. Information in the registry shall be readily accessible on the office's Web site by the public and personal care attendants. The office shall also provide toll-free telephone access for members of the public to access and obtain information from the registry.
(h) The registry shall include, but not be limited to, the following information concerning each personal care attendant who has successfully met the qualifications and training of paragraphs (a), (d) and (e) of this subsection:
(i) Full name, including premarital name and any other names currently or previously used;
(ii) Current home address;
(iii) Gender;
(iv) Date of birth;
(v) Type of approved licensing or certification program successfully completed, the name of the entity providing the program, and the date on which the program was completed; and
(vi) History of work, including dates of employment and name and contact information of entity providing the employment.
(i) The registry shall be updated at least monthly. Any person or entity required or choosing to provide information to the registry shall promptly submit updated information whenever the information changes. The office shall specify which information for the registry shall be submitted and updated, subject to the provisions of this subsection.
(j) No charges shall be imposed on any person or entity for any costs related to the registry.
(k) The office shall provide reasonable and appropriate timetables, notices and phase-in mechanisms for applying various provisions of this subsection to education and training programs, persons becoming personal care attendants and persons already engaged as personal care attendants. Persons employed as personal care attendants on July 1, 2010, shall be registered as soon as practicable, but not later than twelve (12) months after that date.
(l) The director, with the approval of the executive director, shall make rules and regulations reasonably necessary to implement the provisions of this subsection.
(4) The Office of Special Disability Programs shall provide special disability services through programs developed with other state and federal agencies. The individuals and services provided shall be in conformity with any program policies and eligibility categories established by the programs.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.