53-2-304. Staff personnel of county department. (1) Each county board shall select and appoint from a list of qualified persons furnished by the department of public health and human services staff personnel that are necessary. The staff personnel in each county must consist of at least one qualified staff worker or investigator and clerks and stenographers that may be necessary. If conditions warrant, the county board, with the approval of the department of public health and human services, may appoint some fully qualified person listed by the department as supervisor of its staff personnel. The staff personnel of each county department are directly responsible to the county board, but the department of public health and human services may supervise the county employees in respect to the efficient and proper performance of their duties. The county board of public welfare may not dismiss any member of the staff personnel without the approval of the department of public health and human services. The department may request the county board to dismiss any member of the staff personnel for inefficiency, incompetence, or similar cause. The final authority for dismissal is the county board. In counties where the department has assumed the administration of welfare duties, the final authority for dismissal is the director of the department.
     (2) Public assistance staff personnel attached to the county board must be paid from state public assistance funds both their salaries and their travel expenses as provided for in 2-18-501 through 2-18-503 when away from the county seat in the performance of their duties, but the county board of public welfare shall reimburse the department of public health and human services from county poor funds the full amount of the salaries and travel expenses not reimbursed to the department by the federal government and the full amount of the department's administrative costs that are allocated by the department to the county for the administration of county welfare programs and not reimbursed to the department by the federal government. Under circumstances prescribed by the department of public health and human services, the reimbursement by the county board of public welfare may be less than the county share as prescribed in this subsection. All other administrative costs of the county department must be paid from county poor funds.
     (3) On or before the 20th day of the month following the month for which the payments to the public assistance staff personnel of the county were made, the department of public health and human services shall present to the county department of public welfare a claim for the required reimbursements. The county board shall make reimbursements within 20 days after the presentation of the claim, and the department of public health and human services shall credit all reimbursements to its account for administrative costs.
     (4) If a county has transferred its public assistance and protective services responsibilities to the state under part 8 of this chapter, the department shall select, appoint, and supervise all necessary public assistance and protective services personnel, including if necessary a supervisor of staff personnel. All personnel are directly responsible to the department.

     History: En. Subd. (b), Sec. 10, Part 1, Ch. 82, L. 1937; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 129, L. 1939; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 44, L. 1963; amd. Sec. 50, Ch. 121, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 48, Ch. 439, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 19, Ch. 37, L. 1977; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 109, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 71-217; amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 651, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 146, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 75, Ch. 609, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 410, Ch. 546, L. 1995.