Subject 290-2-17 ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION
The purpose or function of the Maternity Home shall be
clearly defined in its charter and/or constitution and
by-laws.
The Maternity Home shall meet a need in the geographical area
it serves or plans to serve.
Each Maternity Home shall have a board of directors which
operates as the governing board of the agency. The governing board shall be
organized so that legal responsibility and administrative authority shall be
clearly defined. This applies only to Maternity Homes chartered for non-profit
operation. In a privately owned home where maternity care is provided, the
owner and/or operator is legally responsible for the establishment and
enforcement of policies and the operation of the Home.
| (a) |
Composition of Board.
| 1. |
The governing board shall be made up of
men and women who are representative of the community served. Board members
should be selected who have personal qualifications, interest, time and ability
to provide leadership, to represent the agency, to interpret its program, and
to participate fully and consistently in carrying out their
responsibilities. |
| 2. |
The board
shall be composed of not less than ten and not more than thirty-five members
unless provided otherwise by local ordinance. |
| 3. |
Members shall not receive a salary for
their services but may be reimbursed for expense incurred in connection with
their office. |
| 4. |
A meeting of the
governing body shall be held at least ten (10) times a year. |
| 5. |
Provisions should be made for systematic
rotation of board members through a plan of overlapping terms of office. The
number of consecutive terms for membership shall be limited. |
|
| (b) |
Function and Responsibility of
the Board. The governing board of a Maternity Home is responsible for
establishing and maintaining its corporate entity. In carrying out this
responsibility it is the duty of the Board to:
| 1. |
Appoint a well-qualified executive to whom
responsibility for administration is delegated; |
| 2. |
Assume joint responsibility with the
executive for the determination of the general plans and policies of the
Agency; |
| 3. |
Insure adequate
financing and budgeting for the Agency; |
| 4. |
Interpret the Agency's program to the
community. An informed citizenry is necessary for community understanding of
unmarried parents and their needs, for wider use of agency services, for
appropriate referrals, and for adequate financing; |
| 5. |
Coordinate the work of the Agency with
that of other agencies toward a broad community plan of service. The Maternity
Home should be considered as only one resource in the service needed, and
should be related to, and integrated with, all services in the
community; |
| 6. |
Periodically review
the Agency's program in order to determine whether its existing policies are
meeting current needs. |
|
The Agency shall have a sound plan of financing which assures
sufficient funds to enable it to provide effective services. A new Agency shall
have sufficient funds to finance its first year of operation. All accounts
shall be audited at least annually by a certified public accountant and the
report made a part of the Agency record. An estimated budget, showing details
of income and expenditures for the approaching fiscal year, shall be prepared
and approved by the board prior to the beginning of each fiscal year. Board
officers and staff responsible for handling a substantial amount of funds shall
be bonded. Fund raising shall be carried on according to approved and ethical
processes. Unless specifically exempt by law, the Maternity Home must be
registered with the Secretary of State as a charitable organization. For
nonprofit agencies fees for clients shall be flexible, based on actual per diem
cost rate. A sliding scale based on the client's ability to pay or her
resources to meet the cost and the community's responsibility to provide an
adequate facility is desirable.
| (1) |
The Agency shall have a written statement
of purposes and objectives, services offered, eligibility requirements for
service and the procedures for implementing services. These should be
incorporated in an Agency manual which would be available for guidance of the
board of directors, Agency staff and to referring agencies. |
| (2) |
The policies and procedures of the
Maternity Home should carry out the purposes of services to unmarried parents:
| (a) |
to assure protection of the well-being
and rights of the child born out of wedlock and his parents; |
| (b) |
to make sure that their current needs are
met; |
| (c) |
to help them achieve a
more satisfying need and socially acceptable way of life; |
| (d) |
to promote normal growth and development
of the child; and |
| (e) |
to prevent
the occurrence of consequent problems for the parent, child and
community. |
|
| (3) |
No
Maternity Home shall assume responsibility for placement directly or indirectly
of children for adoption unless the Home has a child-placing license. Any
evidence of violation of this requirement shall be sufficient ground for
non-issuance of a license, or for revocation of a license already
issued. |
| (1) |
Staff should be
selected not only for their training and competence for the particular position
to be filled, but also for their ability to develop and maintain those
attitudes which will contribute to the therapeutic climate of the agency and
which will enable them to work effectively with unmarried parents. The work
program for the unmarried mother shall not be used as a substitute for
financing adequate staff. When unmarried mothers are housed on different floors
there shall be at least one resident staff member on each floor. There shall be
on duty at all times two adults serving in the capacity of housemother and an
alternate person to be on call. There shall be on call at all times a
registered nurse. |
| (2) |
Administrative Staff.
| (a) |
The Executive
Director.
| 1. |
The executive director should
have at least one year of professional training and experience in social work,
and knowledge and skill in administration and management. She should have an
understanding of the problems involved in pregnancy and out-of-wedlock
parenthood. |
| 2. |
The executive
director should have the ability to distinguish between the work she is
equipped to undertake and that which must be done by professionally educated
specialists. |
| 3. |
The executive
director shall be in full charge of the management of the Home and make regular
reports to the board on all phases of its operation. She should perform the
following duties:
| (i) |
direction of the agency
program; |
| (ii) |
provide professional
leadership and technical consultation to the board, help to determine policy,
and to assist in periodic evaluation of the Agency's services; |
| (iii) |
recruit, employ and discharge
staff; |
| (iv) |
hold staff meetings at
regular intervals, and discuss plans and policies with the staff; |
| (v) |
provide an in-service training program
for personnel; |
| (vi) |
prepare annual
budget for presentation to the board, keep board advised of financial needs,
supervise purchasing, and operate within the budget established; |
| (vii) |
establish and maintain good working
relationships with other social agencies and represent the Agency in the
community; |
| (viii) |
interpret the
Agency's program and services and give community leadership in developing
resources for services to unmarried parents and their children. |
|
|
| (b) |
Assistant to the
Executive. Each Maternity Home shall have an assistant to the executive to whom
administrative responsibility can be delegated in the executive's
absence. |
|
| (3) |
Social
Service Staff.
| (a) |
Caseworkers.
| 1. |
At least one caseworker shall be employed
who is a graduate from an accredited school of social work. Other caseworkers
who are college graduates with a minimum of one year work experience may be
utilized as case aides if there is adequate supervision from a professionally
trained caseworker. |
| 2. |
There should
be one caseworker for each twenty-five unmarried mothers. |
| 3. |
There shall be at least one full time
supervisor for each six (6) caseworkers. Supervisors shall be graduates of an
accredited school of social work. |
|
| (b) |
Group Workers. A group worker with
professional training in social work should carry responsibility for planning
group activities and for working with selected activity groups that require
skilled leadership. |
|
| (4) |
Resident Staff.
| (a) |
A full time resident
director shall be employed when the executive director does not live at the
Home. |
| (b) |
Resident houseparents
shall be at least twenty-five years of age and shall have at least a high
school education or its equivalent. They shall have the ability to accept and
work with unmarried mothers. |
|
| (5) |
Maintenance and Domestic Staff.
| (a) |
Sufficient domestic and maintenance staff
shall be employed so that the houseparents and the residents do not have to
assume major responsibility for heavy household duties. |
| (b) |
Domestic staff shall be selected who have
the ability to understand the confidentiality of the work and to respect the
program. |
|
| (6) |
Clerical
Staff. Each Maternity Home shall have adequate clerical services to keep
correspondence, records, bookkeeping and files current and in good order.
Unmarried mothers shall not be used in this capacity. |
| (7) |
Medical Staff.
| (a) |
A licensed physician and a licensed
pediatrician, when the Home operates a nursery, shall be available to
coordinate the services of the Home with that of the hospital used for
confinement, to provide consultation service to the staff regarding diagnosis
and treatment of medical conditions and should be on call in case of illness
not directly associated with pregnancy. |
| (b) |
A registered nurse shall be on call at
all times, when the Home operates a nursery. If there is only one registered
nurse, she should live in the Home and be on call by the practical nurse when
an emergency arises. |
| (c) |
For
immediate post partum care it is desirable to have one nurse for each five
persons by day and for each ten persons by night. |
| (d) |
There shall be on duty at all times one
attendant who meets the approval of the Home's physician for every six babies.
During the time the attendant is caring for babies she should not give care to
bed patients. |
|
| (8) |
Consultants and Other Specialists. Complete services to unmarried parents
require utilization of many professional skills. Qualified specialists,
including physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, religious counselors, and
attorneys should be available for direct work with the unmarried mother, and
for consultation and interpretation to staff. |
| (1) |
The Agency shall have written personnel
policies and operating practices which should be available to all staff
members. These should define:
| (a) |
qualifications, duties and responsibility for each position in the
Agency; |
| (b) |
salary scales and
provisions for increments; |
| (c) |
hours of work, holidays, vacations, sick leave; |
| (d) |
conditions of employment, dismissal;
and |
| (e) |
employment benefits,
including retirement plan, social security, hospitalization, and other
insurance. Personnel policies should be developed by a joint committee of board
and staff. Lines of authority should be clearly defined, but with sufficient
flexibility for effective intra-agency communication among all levels at
administrative responsibility. |
|
| (2) |
Physical Examinations. All staff shall
have a physical examination prior to employment and annually thereafter. A
report of each examination shall be made a part of the employee's personnel
file. |
| (3) |
Salaries. A salary scale
for each type of position shall be established. Salary should be adequate to
attract and keep competent staff, should be equivalent to prevailing rates and
commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. |
| (4) |
Living Arrangements. Resident staff shall
be provided with quarters which are comfortable, insure reasonable privacy,
rest during hours off duty, provision for personal belongings, and shall have
bath and toilet facilities separate from those used by the unmarried
mothers. |
| (5) |
Leave.
| (a) |
Hours on duty shall not exceed 44 hours
per week. |
| (b) |
Provision should be
made for annual vacations, time off for study and training, institutes, and
legal holidays. |
| (c) |
There shall be
provision for sick leave for all permanent employees. |
|
| (6) |
Insurance and Retirement. Plans for
social security, hospital and/or health insurance, and workmen's compensation
should be made available for all staff. |
