Youth Services Contact Information

Youth Services Contact Information Address: Mississippi Department of Human Services Division of Youth Services Oakley Youth Development Center 2375 Oakley Road Raymond, MS 39154 Fax: 601-857-0590 Chapter 2: Definitions Admission: The process by which youth legally authorized to Oakley Youth Development Center may be accepted or rejected for placement at the facility. Admission Packet: The minimum documentation required for admission to Oakley Youth Development Center (OYDC) to provide an accurate account of the youth’s history and current needs, so that the facility can insure that the youth’s medical, educational, mental health and treatment needs can be met by the resources available to the facility. Assessment Team or Multi-Disciplinary Evaluation Team (MET): The Assessment Team or the Multi-Disciplinary Evaluation Team is a group of mandated evaluators responsible for evaluating a student and making a recommendation of eligibility to the Individual Education Plan Team. Behavior Management System: The overall use of rewards and consequences to modify and/or manage the behavior, conduct and culture observed by youth housed at Oakley Youth Development Center. Behavior Modification Unit: A specialized program designed to provide a high level of supervision and structure, to assist youth in learning to manage their emotions, thinking and actions to reduce the likelihood of committing acts of aggression or out of control behavior. Classification System: An objective system composed of a progressive series of environmental structures to determine the specific level of supervision and freedom of movement throughout the facility for each student. This system is a fundamental component of the overall behavior management system, in which youth are classified based on factors, including but not limited to: history of assault, history of escape, major and minor disciplinary infractions, performance and/or participation in scheduled activities and programs, and their anticipated length of stay. The Classification System is intended to provide limits, supervision, and surveillance corresponding to the student’s need for structure to reduce risk for violence, destructive behavior, and elopement while residing at Oakley Youth Development Center. Child Find: Each public agency is responsible for identifying, locating, and evaluating all children with disabilities from birth through twenty-one (21) years of age. This requirement applies to, but is not limited to: A. Highly mobile children, such as migrant and homeless children; B. Children who are not enrolled in school but who have not yet graduated; C. Children who are wards of the State; D. Children with disabilities who are enrolled by their parents in private or parochial elementary and secondary schools; E. Children who are enrolled in public educational programs, such as Head Start; F. Children who are suspected of having a disability and may be in need of special education, even though they are advancing from grade to grade; and G. Children who are ages birth to three (3), including those receiving Part C services through the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) Early Intervention Programs (EIP), known as First Steps. Communicable Disease: An infectious disease transmissible by direct contact with an effected individual or the individual’s discharges or by indirect means. Due Process Hearing: A non-judicial administrative procedure to determine if substantial evidence exists to find a youth guilty of a rule violation. Due Process Isolation: Any instance when a youth is confined alone in a room as a result of a Due Process Hearing. Epidemic: A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time. Experimental Medical Procedure: A procedure in which there is the expectation that the patient/subject shall benefit, but the uncertainty about the benefit and risks is typically greater compared with the standard treatment. Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): Special education and related services provided to students with disabilities in conformity with an IEP at public expense and under public supervision at no cost to the parents. Grievance: A formal complaint filed when a student feels that he/she is being treated unfairly, being/feeling threatened, the student’s rights have been violated and/or to remedy a problem or issue that is of concern to the student. Health Care Personnel: An individual whose primary duty is to provide health, dental or mental health services to student in keeping with their respective levels of education, training, and experience. The individual is licensed in the State of Mississippi without restriction to practice nursing, medicine, dentistry or psychiatry. Health Record: The student specific MDHS Oakley Youth Development Center record that contains all medical, dental and psychiatric assessments, diagnoses, treatment summaries clinic visits, progress notes, doctors’ orders, laboratory reports, and any other information pertaining to the student’s medical, dental and mental health and treatment. Honor’s Program: The Honor’s Program is a voluntary program for students eligible by State designation, which combines specialized classes (e.g., character development) with work projects designed to benefit other students at the facility and the public. The program consists of participating in the election process, contributing to one’s community, and the preservation of the environment. Students in the program will attend special classes, participate in the unit-based governmental meetings which helps direct the program activities, and engage in work projects both on the Oakley Campus and in the community. Individual Education Plan (IEP): A written statement for a student with a disability that is developed, implemented, reviewed, and revised in accordance with Mississippi Special Education Rules and required procedures of the Mississippi Department of Education. The IEP evidences that the student is receiving a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and it provides for the student to receive educational services— regular and special education—that may be reasonably predicted to benefit the student. Independent Evaluation: An evaluation that is conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the MDHS/DYS. It can be provided at public expense if a parent disagrees with the evaluation conducted by the public agency. A parent has the right to an IEE (Independent Education Evaluation) at his/her own expense, which the IEP Committee must consider. Individual Instruction Plan (IIP): An educational plan developed for each student entering the facility that includes objectives that each individual student will be working on. Infectious Disease: A disease caused by the entrance into the body of organisms (such as bacteria, fungi or viruses) which grow and multiply there. Intake Management Unit: The unit where youth are housed upon commitment to Oakley Youth Development Center until essential testing, information collection and orientation have been completed. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): A federal mandate that requires education programs, to the maximum extent appropriate, to educate students with disabilities with their non-disabled peers. Length of Stay: The length of time a youth is housed at Oakley Youth Development Center. Medical Order: A written or telephone order by a licensed physician/dentist/psychiatrist written on the Doctor’s Order Form containing over-the counter’s (OTC) and prescription drugs. Medical Protocol: Treatment for a specific condition; activated in an emergency situation; may contain both OTC’s and prescription drugs, when approved by a physician. Multi-Tiered Systems Support (MTSS): MTSS provides guidance on appropriate interventions data collections, data-based decision making, evaluation, and progress monitoring for students in supplementary and/or intensive academic and behavioral supports to ensure all students graduate school, college and are career ready. Nonpublic School: The term nonpublic school includes the following: (a) private schools, (b) church-related and parochial schools, (c) special purpose schools either privately owned and operated or governed by a public agency other than the Mississippi Department of Education, and (d) tribal schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education. Observation Unit: A housing unit with special rules and procedures established to manage youth that threaten the secure and orderly management of the facility. Pandemic: (Of a disease) Prevalent all over a whole country or the world. Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP): Mental health care provider licensed and sufficiently trained to provide the necessary mental health program services. Standing Orders: A listing of preferred treatment for a specific condition, approved by a physician/dentist/psychiatrist, containing over the counter (OTC) medication only. Surrogate Parent: An adult volunteer who is appointed to advocate and ensure the student’s rights are protected. The surrogate’s responsibilities include all areas related to special education. Surrogates are expected to 1) participate in the required training sessions, 2) possess adequate knowledge and skills to represent the student 3) attend meetings requiring special education decision-making and 4) communicate with the student at regular intervals to ensure adequate representation of their educational needs. A surrogate parent may be appointed by the court or MDHS/DYS. Surrogates cannot engage in activities that conflict with the interest of the student they represent or work for the Department of Human Services. Transition Plan: A student’s service plan, which shall be adopted by the youth’s Community Counselor for implementation upon return to the community. Treatment Team: Team of individuals best suited to create and implement a transition plan that meets the individualized needs the youth should concentrate on during and after commitment. The community services counselor will communicate with the institutional counselor by phone regarding issues or concerns he or she may have with the youth’s transition plan. The team shall include an institutional counselor who is the chairperson of the treatment team, the youth and his or her family or an adult advocate or mentor who can act on the family’s behalf, the transition coordinator/counselor, a mental health counselor or advocate, psychiatrist as appropriate, educational representatives, direct care staff from housing unit, and members of other community- based support resources. Youth Master File (YMF): The official commitment record maintained for each student that documents his/her program service delivery and all court documents addressing legal commitment. Chapter 3: Institutional Practices