Mississippi § 93-17-103 - Development of interstate compacts; authority of Department of Public Welfare; definitions.

§ 93-17-103. Development of interstate compacts; authority of Department of Public Welfare; definitions.

The Mississippi Department of Public Welfare is authorized to develop, participate in the development of, negotiate and enter into one or more interstate compacts on behalf of this state with other states to implement one or more of the purposes set forth in Sections 93-17-101 through 93-17-109. When so entered into, and for so long as it shall remain in force, such a compact shall have the force and effect of law. For the purposes of Sections 93-17-101 through 93-17-109, the term “state” shall mean a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or a territory or possession of or administered by the United States. For the purposes of Sections 93-17-101 through 93-17-109, the term “adoption assistance state” means the state that is signatory to an adoption assistance agreement in a particular case. For the purposes of Sections 93-17-101 through 93-17-109, the term “residence state” means the state of which the child is a resident by virtue of the residence of the adoptive parents.