24 Miss. Code. R. 2-14.5 - Ethical Conduct
A. Ethical and
professional conduct refers to a framework for the ethical and professional
behavior of agencies certified by DMH and their agency representatives. Ethical
and professional conduct in the context of the service delivery environment
requires that DMH-certified providers strive to prevent harm and to follow a
set of principles such as professional responsibilities, professional conduct,
competency, fairness, respect, honesty, integrity, and accountability. Ethical
and professional conduct also refers to professional standards and professional
codes of conduct specific to fields, credentials, and/or occupations.
In addition to complying with ethical standards set forth by any relevant licensing/credentialing entity or professional organizations, the governing authority and all employees, interns, and volunteers (regardless of whether they hold a professional credential/license) must adhere to the highest ethical and moral conduct in their interactions with the people and family members they serve, as well as in their use of agency provider funds and grants.
B. Breaches of
ethical or moral conduct toward people, their families, or other vulnerable
people, include but are not limited to, the following situations from which an
agency provider is prohibited from engaging:
1. Borrowing money or property.
2. Accepting gifts of monetary
value.
3. Sexual (or other
inappropriate) contact.
4. Entering
into business transactions or arrangements, (an exception can be made by the
Executive Director of the certified agency provider. The Executive Director of
the certified agency provider is responsible for ensuring that there are no
ethical concerns associated with the hiring and supervision
practices).
5. Physical, mental, or
emotional abuse.
6. Theft,
embezzlement, fraud, or other actions involving deception or deceit, or the
commission of acts constituting a violation of laws regarding vulnerable
adults, violent crimes, or moral turpitude, whether or not the agency,
employee, intern, or volunteer is criminally prosecuted and whether or not
directed at people or the people's families.
7. Exploitation.
8. Failure to maintain proper professional
and emotional boundaries.
9.
Aiding, encouraging, or inciting the performance of illegal or immoral
acts.
10. Making reasonable
treatment-related needs of the people secondary or subservient to the needs of
the agency, employee, intern, or volunteer.
11. Failure to report knowledge of unethical
or immoral conduct or giving false statements during inquiries to such
conduct.
12. Action or inaction,
which indicates a clear failure to act in an ethical, moral, legal, and
professional manner.
13. Breach of
and/or misuse of confidential information.
14. Failure to report suspected or confirmed
abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a person receiving services in accordance
with state reporting laws to include (but not limited to) the Vulnerable
Persons Act and Child Abuse or Neglect Reporting requirements.
15. Negligence or incompetence in the
practice or performance of services.
16. Engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or
unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud, or cause harm
while rendering services.
17.
Obtaining DMH provider certification or DMH professional credential by fraud,
deceit, material deception, or other misrepresentation.
18. Assisting another person or agency in
falsely obtaining DMH provider certification or a DMH professional
credential.
19. Perpetrating or
cooperating in fraud or material deception in obtaining DMH certification or a
DMH professional credential.
20.
Engaging in or permitting the performance of unacceptable services via the
agency's deliberate or grossly negligent act or failure to act, regardless of
whether actual damage is established.
21. Treating any person differently or
detrimentally through discrimination, based on federal definitions.
22. Engaging in false or misleading
advertising about service provision.
23. Revealing confidential information except
as may be required by law.
24.
Engaging in dual or multiple relationships in a manner which could increase the
risk of exploitation, impair professional judgement, and/or bring harm to
people receiving services.
25.
Performing services for compensation or representing the agency as a
DMH-certified provider when the provider does not hold a current DMH
certification.
26. Purposeful
misrepresentation of an agency's DMH certification.
27. Utilizing social media or other media
platforms in a manner which is exploitative of or breaches the confidentiality
of people served.
28. Engaging in
conduct considered by DMH to be detrimental to the people being served, their
families, and/or the public at large.
C. The agency provider must also adhere to
ethical conduct in their use of agency provider funds and grants in their
business practices.
D.
DMH-certified agency providers must conduct their activities and services in
accordance with applicable federal and state laws, these rules, as applicable,
and any other applicable rules/regulations.
E. DMH-certified agencies shall not harass or
seek retaliation against a person who has acted in a responsible and ethical
manner to expose inappropriate, unethical, or discriminatory practices or who
reports, in good faith, a perceived ethical violation, grievance, complaint,
serious incident, and/or a concern with professional or policy
noncompliance.
F. A DMH-certified
agency provider determined to have committed a breach of ethical conduct may
have administrative action taken on their DMH certification.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.