Correctional Services

The Institutional Services Division inspectors (environmentalist and nutritionists) have 104 facilities that must be inspected at least twice a year in accordance with laws and federal or state court orders. These inspections involve environmental housing, food safety, and food nutrition.

State correctional facilities include the State Penitentiary at Parchman, Central and South Mississippi Correctional Facilities, Community Work Centers and Restitution Centers throughout the state. Other facilities include county jails housing state prisoners, private prisons, and juvenile facilities.

The division forwards all reports involving state facilities to the Governor’s office, Attorney General’s office, Commissioner of Corrections and Prison Defense Council. The county reports are forwarded to the County Sheriff, Board of Supervisors, County Attorney, Commissioner of Corrections and the Prison Defense Council.

Family Day Care Homes

The Family Day Care Homes program is a direct result of a USDA grant through the State Department of Education Child Nutrition Division. The grant allows the Child Nutrition Division to reimburse sponsors and providers for feeding children in private homes.

Sponsors are non-profit organizations that recruit and monitor homes for compliance with the Department of Education’s rules and regulations. Providers are private homes meeting the following criteria:

1. provides day care services for children 0-5 years of ages
2. maximum number of participants is 5 children
3. serves 2 to 3 meals or 2 meals plus a snack per day

Through an agreement between the Department of Education and the Department of Health, the homes must pass an environmental health and safety inspection ($75 charge) conducted by the health department.

Consumer Products Safety

The division director is the state designee for the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). He receives information about product hazards and recalls and contracts to inspect and investigate products for hazards and recall effectiveness.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission has hundreds of recalls annually. The CPSC contracts with the MSDH to determine how effectively those recalls were carried out and if they are in compliance with the guidelines which the CPSC and industry have agreed upon. Current information on product recalls is available on the internet at http://www.cpsc.gov.

Americans With Disabilities Act

This law was passed and signed in 1991 with the Office of United States Attorney General responsible for implementing it. There is nondiscrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodation and commercial facilities. The Institutional Services Division review plans for all public buildings and schools for compliance with this act.

This rule implements Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act, Public Law 101-103, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by private entities in places of public accommodation; requires that all new places of public accommodation and commercial facilities be designed and constructed so as to be readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities; and requires that examinations or courses related to licensing or certification for professional and trade purposes be accessible to persons with disabilities.