§ 49-4A-7 - Powers and duties of department
O.C.G.A. 49-4A-7 (2010)
49-4A-7. Powers and duties of department
(a) The department shall be authorized to:
(1) Accept for detention in a youth development center or other juvenile detention facility any child who is committed to the department under Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 15;
(2) Provide probation and parole and other court services for children and youth pursuant to a request from a court under Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 15;
(3) Provide casework services and care or payment of maintenance costs for children and youths who have run away from their home communities within this state or from their home communities in this state to another state or from their home communities in another state to this state; pay the costs of returning such runaway children and youths to their home communities; and provide such services, care, or costs for runaway children and youths as may be required under Chapter 3 of Title 39;
(4) Enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with federal, state, county, and municipal governments and their agencies and departments; enter into contracts with public and private institutions and agencies of this and other states; enter into leases with private vendors selected to operate programs on behalf of the department which leases shall run concurrently with the department's service contracts; provided, however, that any such lease shall provide that if the property which is the subject of the lease is sold and conveyed during the term of the lease, such lease shall expire by operation of law 90 days after the closing of such sale and conveyance; and enter into contracts with individuals, as may be necessary or desirable in effectuating the purposes of this chapter; and
(5) Solicit and accept donations, contributions, and gifts and receive, hold, and use grants, devises, and bequests of real, personal, and mixed property on behalf of the state to enable the department to carry out its functions and purposes.
(b) When given legal custody over a child or youth for detention in a youth development center or other facility under court order under Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 15, the department shall have:
(1) The right of physical possession of the child or youth;
(2) The right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the child or youth;
(3) The responsibility to provide the child or youth with food, clothing, shelter, and education;
(4) The right to determine in which facility the child or youth shall live; and
(5) The right and duty to provide or obtain for a child or youth medical, hospital, psychiatric, surgical, or dental care or services as may be considered appropriate and necessary by competent medical authority without securing prior consent of parents or legal guardians.
(c) The board may authorize the commissioner to enter into contracts and agreements provided for in this Code section subject to the approval of the board or may, through appropriate action of the board, delegate such authority to the commissioner.