Section 400.12205. Required staff.

(1) An agency shall employ or contract for all of the following staff positions:

(a)   Chief administrator.

(b)   Social service supervisor.

(c)     Social service worker.

(2)    An agency shall appoint a chief administrator who possesses at least 1 of the following:

(a)   A master’s degree in a human behavioral science, or in another major where 25% of the course credits earned toward the degree are in human behavioral sciences, business administration, or public administration from an accredited college or university and 2 years of experience in an agency or child caring institution, at least 1 of which is in a management capacity.

(b)   A bachelor’s degree in a human behavioral science, or in another major where 25% of the course credits earned toward the degree are in human behavioral sciences, business administration, or public administration from an accredited college or university and 4 years of post- bachelor’s degree experience in an agency or child caring institution, at least 2 of which are in a management capacity.

(3)   An agency shall report any change of chief administrator by the next business day to the department.

(4)      An agency shall appoint a social service supervisor who possesses the qualifications in either of the following:

(a)     A master’s degree from an accredited college or university in a human behavioral science or in another major where 25% of the course credits earned toward the degree are in human behavioral sciences and 1 year of experience as a social service worker in an agency, or a child caring institution, or in an agency in a child welfare function.

(b)     A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a human behavioral science, or in another major where 25% of the course credits earned toward the degree are in human behavioral sciences, and 4 years of experience as a social service worker, 2 years of which are in an agency or in a child caring institution, or in an agency in a child welfare function.

(5)     An agency shall appoint a social service worker who possesses at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a major in a human behavioral science, or in another major where 25% of the course credits earned toward the degree are in human behavioral sciences.

(6)   A person who is employed by the agency or who has a contract with the agency and who fulfills more than 1 function specified by subrule (1) of this rule shall meet the requirements for each position.

(7)   If a social service worker also has social service supervisor responsibilities, as permitted under subrule (6) of this rule, then the worker shall not supervise his or her own tasks as a social service worker.

(8)   An agency shall employ or contract for a sufficient number of competent staff to carry out the provisions covered by these rules. The workload for each staff member shall not be more than any of the following:

(a)  Five social service workers per supervisor.

(b)   Fifteen children assigned to a social services worker for purposes of providing direct services in foster care, independent living, adoption, or post adoption services or a combination thereof.

(c)   Thirty certified or enrolled foster homes per social service worker.

History: 1998-2000 AACS; 2014 AACS.