There is hereby created a State Department of Human Resources, with subordinate bureaus and divisions which shall operate under a State Board of Human Resources and consist of a Commissioner of Human Resources and such other officers and employees as are authorized to be appointed under this chapter.

There shall be a State Board of Human Resources which shall consist of the Governor, as chairman, and six other members, not less than two of whom shall be women, appointed by the Governor without regard to political affiliation but on the basis of recognized interest in welfare work with the advice and consent of the senate. The members of said board shall be appointed by the Governor for a term of six years, and vacancies shall be filled by the Governor for any unexpired term. The state board shall hold meetings at times and places to be prescribed by rules of the state board or as may be designated by the chairman. The presence of four members at any regular or special meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business. Members of the state board shall receive no compensation for their services other than expenses incurred while in attendance at the meetings of the state board or on business of the state department, such expenses to be paid in the manner and in an amount as is prescribed for other state officers and employees and persons traveling on official business for the state or any of its departments, institutions, boards, bureaus, commissions, councils, committees and other like agencies.

(a) The chief executive officer of the State Department of Human Resources shall be known as the Commissioner of the State Department of Human Resources.

(b) It shall be the duty of the state board to appoint the commissioner who shall serve at its pleasure. He shall be appointed on the basis of education, ability and experience in the administration of public welfare and without regard to residence or political affiliation and the state board shall set the salary of the commissioner. The commissioner shall be the executive and administrative officer of the state department and shall exercise all the rights, powers, duties and authority vested in the state department. The state board, in conference with the commissioner, shall be responsible for the adoption of policies, rules and regulations for its government and for the government of the state department. All administrative and executive duties and responsibilities of the state department shall be performed by the commissioner, subject to the authority of the state board. The state board, subject to the provisions of the merit system wherein applicable, shall have the power and it shall be its duty to fix minimum standards of service and personnel, and to set salary schedules, based upon education, training, previous experience and general efficiency which must have been attained by persons selected for positions to be filled in the state department and the county departments of human resources hereinafter created.

(c) The commissioner shall submit to the state board for its approval an annual budget of all funds appropriated by the legislature to the state department for the specific purposes for which they are appropriated and also a budget of federal funds which may be allotted to the state by the federal government for the purposes of the state department according to the regulations of the federal authorities. He shall publish annually a full report of the operation and administration of the Department of Human Resources, together with recommendations and suggestions and submit such report to the state board. The commissioner, subject to the applicable provisions of the merit system, shall appoint a director of each bureau and such other personnel as may be necessary for the efficient performance of the duties prescribed in this chapter.

(d) The commissioner shall interpret policies, rules and regulations formulated by the state board and shall have power, subject to the approval of the state board, to create within the state department such bureaus as are necessary for the effective operation of the public assistance program, and to allocate and reallocate functions among bureaus and departmental agencies.

The commissioner, with the approval of the Attorney General, shall be authorized, subject to the provisions of the state merit system law, to appoint a legal counsel for the State Department of Human Resources. He shall be commissioned as assistant attorney general and shall have the authority and duties of an assistant attorney general but he shall devote his entire time to the business of the Department of Human Resources.

The compensation for the said legal counsel shall be paid out of funds appropriated to the State Department of Human Resources and in the same manner as the compensation of other employees is paid.

The state department, subject to the approval of the state board, shall allocate such federal and state funds for public assistance, administration and services as are available, in a manner that assures equitable treatment of needy individuals in similar circumstances throughout the state. The allocation of these funds shall be based on the relative welfare needs in the several counties. In determining the relative welfare needs of the several counties consideration shall be given to the number of persons eligible to receive public assistance, the financial needs of those eligible persons, and the cost of administration and services. All these factors shall be determined in accordance with uniform standards set by the state department, subject to the approval of the state board, which standards shall in no case contravene the Social Security Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. The method of determining the needs in the several counties shall be uniform throughout the state. Funds allocated shall be expended in the manner prescribed by the state department, subject to the approval of the state board.

The aim of the state department shall be the promotion of a unified development of welfare activities and agencies of the state and of the local governments so that each agency and each governmental institution shall function as an integral part of a general system. In order to carry out effectively these aims, it shall be the duty and responsibility of the state department to:

(1) Administer or supervise all forms of public assistance including general home relief, outdoor and indoor care for persons in need of assistance, also including those duties that have to do primarily with the determination of need and authorization of relief.

(2) Exercise all the powers, duties, and responsibilities previously vested by law in the State Child Welfare Department.

(3) Provide services to county or municipal governments including the organization and supervision of counties for the effective carrying out of welfare functions, the compilation of statistics, and other information relative to public welfare and to make surveys and in other ways to ascertain the facts which cause or contribute to the need for public assistance, family welfare, child welfare, and other welfare activities.

(4) Assist other departments, agencies, and institutions of the state and federal government, when so requested, by performing services in conformity with the purposes of the state department.

(5) Act as the agent of the federal government in welfare matters of mutual concern, and in the administration of any federal funds granted to the state to aid in the furtherance of any of the functions of the state department, and be empowered to meet such federal standards as may be established for the administration of such funds.

(6) Designate county departments as its agents under its rules and regulations to perform any of the state department's functions.

(7) Administer such welfare functions as may hereafter be vested in it by law.

(8) Establish and enforce reasonable rules and regulations governing the custody, use, and preservation of the records, papers, files, and communications of the state and county departments. The use of such records, papers, files, and communications by any other agency or department of government shall be limited to the purposes for which they are furnished and by the provisions of the law under which they may be furnished. All case records of recipients of, and applicants for, assistance, including, but not limited to, payments and services, shall be considered confidential and not public writings and shall not be subject to public use or inspection. At each session of the circuit court, however, the director of human resources in each county shall, upon request, submit to the grand jury a list of persons receiving public assistance in the county or division of the county covered by the court, and the grand jury may examine the list of public assistance recipients within the county and make such investigation in regard thereto as may be necessary to verify the accuracy of the same. It shall be the duty of the presiding judge to charge the grand jury at each session that it may make such investigation. The information obtained from either the state or county departments of human resources by the grand juries in investigations shall be subject to the same safeguards with respect to the confidential nature of such information as prevails with respect to such records and information while in the custody of the county or state departments of human resources. Confidential information concerning children and their families and applicants for and recipients of public assistance, including, but not limited to, payments or services, shall not be used or disclosed for any purposes not directly connected with the administration of public assistance, or the investigation thereof by grand juries. Any violation of this provision shall be a misdemeanor and punishable accordingly.

(9) Cooperate with the State Department of Corrections or with any pardon and parole authority of the State of Alabama by making necessary investigations with reference to families or dependents of persons committed to state penal institutions; in the discharge of its responsibility with reference to dependent or neglected minor children whose parent or parents may be inmates of any prison or jail, the State Department of Human Resources shall cooperate and advise with the State Department of Corrections and with the officials of the courts committing said parent or parents to a prison or jail to the end that as full protection as possible may be afforded the families or children of said prisoners.

(10) Seek out, through investigation, complaints from citizens, or otherwise, the minor children in the state who are in need of its care and protection and shall, as far as may be possible, through existing agencies, public or private, or through such other resources, aid such children to a fair opportunity in life.

(11) Advise with the judges and probation officers of the juvenile courts of the several counties of the state, and aid in perfecting the organization and work of such courts.

(12) Exercise the right of visitation and inspection of all state, county, municipal, and other agencies and institutions, public or private, receiving, placing, or caring for dependent or neglected minor children for the purpose of ascertaining from time to time the capacity and adequacy of the facilities offered by these agencies and institutions for the care of such children; the manner, character or way in which such children are cared for in such institutions or agencies, the children who are in such institutions, the facts showing their social status, the source of income and cost of maintenance, and the way in which such children are received into and dismissed from such institutions or agencies.

(13) License biennially all institutions and agencies except those under state ownership and control, caring for, receiving, or placing minor children and to revoke such license for cause.

(14) Establish and maintain homes or other agencies for the care of dependent or neglected minor children or contract with any approved agency or institution for the care of such children, and, also, receive and care for dependent or neglected minor children committed to its care, make a careful physical examination and, if possible, a mental examination of every such child, investigate in detail the personal and family history of the child and its environment, and place such children in family homes or in approved suitable institutions operating in accordance with the provisions of this title and supervise such children however placed.

(15) Require reports from courts and institutions, public and private, to the extent and in the form and manner as required by law.

(16) Solicit, receive, and hold gifts, devises, and bequests of money, real estate and other things of value to be used in the support, development, and carrying on of its work.

(17) Administer and exercise all responsibility for the food stamp program.

(18) Establish rules and standards for the inspection, approval, and operation of foster homes for adults which serve only those individuals who are eligible for adult foster care services and are referred and placed by the Department of Human Resources.

(19) Establish rules and standards for the inspection and approval of adult day care centers and adult day care homes with whom the Department of Human Resources contracts or otherwise agrees to purchase adult day care services.

(a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:

(1) ABSENT PARENT. The parent of a minor child who owes a financial ligation for the support of the minor child or a putative parent against whom a complaint has been filed.

(2) OFFICE. The state parent locator in the Department of Human Resources for the location of absent parents, hereinafter created.

(b) The Office of State Parent Locator for the Location of Absent Parents is hereby established, and shall perform the following duties:

(1) Assist any governmental agency or department in locating an absent parent.

(2) Coordinate any activity on a state level in a search for an absent parent.

(3) Obtain and disseminate, as hereinafter provided, any information which directly relates to the identity or location of an absent parent.

(4) Develop guidelines for coordinating activities of any governmental department, board, commission, bureau, or agency in providing information necessary for the location of absent parents, and otherwise implementing the provisions of this section.

(c) Upon request of the office, any governmental department, board, commission, bureau, or agency in this state shall provide any information which shall assist in implementing the provisions of this section.

(d) The information which is obtained by the office shall only be available to a governmental department, board, commission, bureau, agency, or political subdivision of any state for the purposes of locating an absent parent for enforcing their liability of support.

There is hereby created in each county a county board of human resources, which shall consist of seven members, not less than two of whom shall be women, selected by the county commission from the citizenship of the county on the basis of their recognized interest in the public welfare; provided that in counties in which there are cities having a population of 60,000 or more, according to the last federal census, the city commission or other governing body of the city shall have equal authority with the county commission in selecting the membership of the county board of human resources. No person holding an elective public office, no person who is a candidate for election to a public office, no person who is an employee of the county department of human resources and no person who is related by consanguinity or affinity within the fourth degree or nearer under the civil law to any such officer or employee shall be a member of such county board of human resources. The members of said board shall be appointed for a term of six years, and vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as above provided. The county board shall elect from its members a chairman and a secretary to serve at its pleasure. The county board shall hold meetings under rules to be established by it in conformity with the regulations of the state board, and such additional meetings as may be called by the chairman. The presence of four members at any regular or special meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business. Members of the county board shall serve without compensation for their services as members, but shall be reimbursed for the amount of their traveling and other expenses actually paid out while in attendance at the meetings of the county board or on business of the department.

The county board, subject to the provisions of the merit system, shall appoint a county director, who shall be the executive officer of the county department, and the appointment shall be made without regard to political affiliation. The tenure of the county director shall be at the pleasure of the county board. Upon request of the local board, the state personnel department shall establish a county register of eligibles who are residents of the county in which the vacancy exists. If no appointment is made from the local register or there is no local register, then appointment shall be made from the statewide register.

It shall be the further duty of the county board to meet from time to time with the county director and to point up unmet needs in the county, to advise concerning economic conditions in the county which might affect the welfare program, to assist in informing the citizens of the public welfare program, to cooperate with other agencies, individuals and organizations in the community in the development of facilities designed for human betterment, and to advise concerning changes which would make for a more effective and efficient public welfare program.

(a) There is hereby created in each county a county department of human resources which shall consist of the county director of human resources and such other officers and employees as the county board and state department shall deem necessary for the efficient performance of the welfare services of the county. The county director, subject to the approval of the county board and the provisions of the merit system, shall appoint such staff as may be necessary to administer the welfare activities within the county. Upon request of the local board, the state personnel department shall establish a county register of eligibles who are residents of the county in which the vacancy exists. If no appointment is made from the local register or there is no local register then appointment shall be made from the statewide register. Any person employed in county departments shall be covered under the provisions of the state merit system.

(b) It shall be the duty of the county director to meet regularly with the county board to formulate general policies, rules and regulations, which policies, rules and regulations must be consistent with the policies, rules and regulations of the state department. All administrative and executive duties and responsibilities of the county department shall be performed by the county director and must be in accordance with the rules and regulations of the state department, subject to the approval of the state board. These duties and responsibilities shall include relief to persons in need of assistance; the performance of family welfare services; the care of children who are dependent, neglected, under insufficient guardianship or otherwise handicapped, and such other child-care activities as shall be directed to it by the State Department of Human Resources; and the investigation of applications for admissions to and discharges from county institutions providing care and treatment of indigents. It shall be the duty of the county departments of human resources to furnish to the county board and the state department such reports concerning the activities of the county department and concerning the status of the welfare functions within its jurisdiction as the state department shall require. If appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, the county department of human resources shall, through its director and his assistants hereinafter provided for, perform under the supervision of such court, the functions of a probation officer of the court having jurisdiction of children who are dependent, neglected, under insufficient guardianship or otherwise handicapped.

The county commission in any county shall have the power and is hereby authorized to appropriate out of the public funds of the county such sum or sums of money, as it may deem wise to be expended by the county department for the relief of children under 18 years of age. Disbursements shall be made upon itemized statements approved by the county director. This shall not be interpreted so as to limit the power of the judge of the juvenile court to make orders for the care of children adjudged dependent, neglected or delinquent.

The county commission and the incorporated municipalities within the county may make joint appropriations for office space, the maintenance thereof and supplies.

The governing body in any county or any municipality shall have the power and authority to make other and further provision for the care of the poor and needy of the county or municipality. The disbursement of such funds as are made available for expenditure by the county departments must be approved by the State Department of Human Resources.

The state department is authorized and it shall be its duty to develop standards of assistance for the administration of the various public assistance programs in the state, to administer these programs through county departments of human resources and to provide such forms, records, reports and rules of procedure as may be necessary in order to obtain uniform practices with respect to public assistance throughout the state. The state department shall make such reports and furnish such information as shall be required by the social security administration in the administration of the public assistance program. The state department shall have the power to review all applications for public assistance received by the county departments, to review all disallowances of awards, amounts of awards or modifications of awards made by the county departments and to make such decision as to the granting of assistance and the amount of assistance and terms thereof as is justified by the facts, and as is in conformity with the assistance laws and policies in effect. The decision by the state department shall be complied with.

(a) Commissioner authorized to make reproductions and destroy originals. —The Commissioner of Human Resources of the State of Alabama is authorized to make or to have made microfilm copies, photostatic copies or other similar photographic reproductions of all books, records, papers or other documents required to be maintained or kept by the department of human resources or any agency, division or employee thereof. The Commissioner of Human Resources is authorized to destroy or cause to be disposed of any books, records, papers or other documents which have been microfilmed, photostated or otherwise photographed. Such microfilms, photostats or other photographs shall be retained and kept in lieu of such books, records, papers or documents required to be kept or maintained.

(b) Effect of reproductions; certification; admission in evidence. —Such microfilm copies, photostatic copies or other similar photographic reproductions of such above-named documents shall for all purposes be deemed to be and have the force and effect of such documents themselves. A photostatic copy, photographic reproduction or other similar photographed typewritten copies or other copies of such original microfilm copy, photostatic copy or other similar photographic reproduction of such documents shall be duly certified to by the officer having custody of such original microfilm copy, photostatic copy or other similar photographic reproduction in the department of human resources, and must be received as evidence in all courts in the same manner and to the same extent as would be the duly certified copy of such documents themselves.

(c) Legislative intent. —It is hereby declared to be the legislative intent to permit the commissioner to dispose of any books, records, papers or any other documents required by law to be kept or maintained by the department of human resources in the event that photographic reproductions of such books, records, papers or other documents are made or caused to be made by such commissioner, and to give such photographic reproduction the same force and effect as the book, record, paper or other document which has been so photographed and disposed of.

(a) The Commissioner of the State Department of Human Resources shall have the authority to destroy or cause to be destroyed, in his discretion:

(1) RECORDS OF CERTAIN AGENCIES. - All records of the Alabama Relief Administration, the Alabama Transient Bureau and Surplus Commodity Distribution presently in the custody and under the control of the State Department of Human Resources.

(2) OBSOLETE COUNTY CASE RECORD MATERIAL. - Obsolete case record material in the custody of county departments, subject to the following conditions:

a. Case record material concerning old age pensions, aid to the blind, aid to the permanently and totally disabled, aid to dependent children and temporary aid shall be preserved for a period of at least five years from and after the date of the last contact with the county department by the subject of such material.

b. All fiscal audits for the period in which the cases covered by such case record material were receiving assistance or service shall have been completed; provided however, that nothing in this section shall prohibit the commissioner from exercising the authority to destroy case record material which has been photographically reproduced in accordance with Section 38-2-11.

(3) CANCELLED COUNTY CHECKS. - All cancelled checks issued by and filed in county departments from the inception of the public welfare program in 1935 to October 1, 1951; provided, that records showing the payments evidenced by such checks must be preserved in either the state department or the county department.

(4) CERTAIN FILES. - Statements contained in case record files made by recipients and their relatives as required by Act No. 694 of the 1951 Legislature of Alabama.

(5) RECORDS RELATING TO SURPLUS COMMODITIES. - Case record material concerning the distribution of surplus commodities received from the United States Department of Agriculture and related records and reports concerning the handling and distribution of such surplus commodities; provided that such case record material and records and reports shall be preserved for a period of at least three years from and after the close of the state fiscal year to which they pertain.

(b) In effecting the destruction of records permitted by this section, the commissioner shall establish reasonable rules and regulations insuring that the confidentiality of records shall be preserved during the process of destruction.

Before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, the Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources and other public welfare officers shall execute to the State of Alabama a bond, to be approved by the Governor, in amounts to be fixed by the State Board of Human Resources, for the faithful performance of their duties.