NATCHEZ &045; Adams County will be one of three counties in the state targeted for child and family services review by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau early in 2004.

Advocates and agency directors whose programs center on children and families met Friday at the Adams County office of the state Department of Human Services to begin a lengthy assessment that will lead up to the federal review.

&uot;We’re here to see how we’re doing in taking care of our children,&uot; said Diana Hiott of the state DHS office as she opened the two-hour meeting and led a round-table discussion.

&uot;What services do we have, what needs do we have and what is being done to get where we want to be,&uot; Hiott said. &uot;We want to identify clearly those we need to serve better, and then the federal government will be better able to target new grant money for us.&uot;

Money for programs within the entire state of Mississippi is at stake, as the three counties that will take part in the review will serve as models for assessing how the state is meeting welfare needs.

&uot;Are we in compliance? If not funds will be cut, a scary thought,&uot; said Sylvia Sessions, DHS director of social services for the 13-county

Region Five, which includes Adams County. &uot;Mississippi doesn’t need to lose funds.&uot;

Federal funds provide a 75 percent match to the state’s 25 percent, Sessions said. &uot;That means a lot of money.&uot;

Sessions said community involvement is essential for the assessment to work. &uot;Out of this we hope to have a complete resource guide,&uot; she said. &uot;If someone has a need, there is a resource directory to show who in Adams County offers that. It will be a valuable tool.&uot;

Leaders of the Friday meeting divided areas of study into these:

Safety:

Children are first and foremost protected from abuse and neglect.

Children are safely maintained in their own homes whenever possible.

Permanency:

Children have permanency and stability in their living situations.

The continuity of family relationships and connections are preserved for children.

Child and family well being:

Families have enhanced capacity to provide for their children’s needs.

Children receive appropriate services to meet their educational needs.

Children receive adequate services to meet their physical and mental health needs.

The review also will take a close look at Mississippi’s statewide information system, the case review system, the quality assurance system, staff training, agency responsiveness to the community and foster and adoptive parent recruitment, licensing and retention.

&uot;For example, foster parenting is a very strong need here,&uot; Sessions said. &uot;Coming out of all of this we should be able to show the needs. There is a population of kids who are not served.&uot;

Once the federal review has been completed, Adams County and the state will have a period of time to come into compliance where flaws in the systems of assistance are found.