Advocates File Contempt Motion Against Mississippi Child Welfare System Over Failure To Meet System Transformation Goals

On March 9, 2015, advocates for children in Mississippi’s child welfare system filed a motion asking the court to find the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) in contempt of the Olivia Y settlement agreement due to the state’s on-going failure to meet the terms of the agreement. The motion for contempt was triggered because MDHS failed to hire a director for sustainable transformation (DST), and create a Transformation Team for the Division of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS). In the motion, attorneys representing the Olivia Y plaintiffs asked District Judge Tom Lee find the state . . .