Senate Bill 2694

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES TO REQUEST THAT A CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY PERFORM A FEDERAL NAME-BASED CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS CHECK OF EACH ADULT RESIDING IN THE HOME DURING AN EMERGENCY PLACEMENT SITUATION WHEN A CHILD MUST BE PLACED IN HOME CARE DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF PARENTS OR CUSTODIANS; TO PROVIDE THAT NAME-BASED CHECK RESULTS MAY BE PROVIDED TO THE MISSISSIPPI CRIMINAL INFORMATION CENTER (MCIC) OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, WHICH SHALL THEN PROVIDE A COMPLETE SET OF EACH ADULT RESIDENT'S FINGERPRINTS TO THE MCIC CENTRAL REPOSITORY FOR THE IMMEDIATE SUBMISSION TO THE FBI WITHIN 14 CALENDAR DAYS FROM THE DATE THE NAME SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED; TO PROVIDE THAT THE CENTRAL REPOSITORY SHALL EITHER POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE FINGERPRINT SUBJECT OR FORWARD THE FINGERPRINTS TO THE FBI WITHIN 14 CALENDAR DAYS FROM THE DATE THE NAME SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, "emergency placement" means those limited instances when the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services is placing a child in the home of private individuals, including neighbors, friends, or relatives, as a result of a sudden unavailability of the child's primary caretaker.

(2) During an emergency placement situation when a child must be placed in home care due to the absence of parents or custodians, the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services (MDCPS) may request that a criminal justice agency perform a federal name-based criminal history records check of each adult residing in the home. Name-based check results may be provided to the Mississippi Criminal Information Center (MCIC) of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, which shall then provide a complete set of each adult resident's fingerprints to the MCIC central repository for the immediate submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date the name search was conducted. The central repository shall either positively identify the fingerprint subject or forward the fingerprints to the FBI within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date the name search was conducted. The child shall be removed from the home immediately if any adult resident fails to provide their fingerprints and written permission to perform a federal criminal history records check when requested.

(3) When placement of a child in a home is denied as a result of a name-based criminal history records check of a resident, and the resident contests that denial, each such resident shall, within fourteen (14) calendar days, submit to MDCPS a complete set of the resident's fingerprints with written permission allowing MCIC to forward the fingerprints to the MCIC criminal history records repository for submission to the FBI.

(4) The MCIC criminal history records repository and the FBI may each charge a reasonable fee for processing a fingerprint-based criminal history record check.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.