The family and children services division in Pearl River County’s Department of Human Services is seeking viable office space in order to reach state accreditation and manage their workload properly.

PRC Department of Human Services Director Marvin Houston said the division is in the early stages of becoming accredited in the state of Mississippi.

“If the division becomes accredited it would elevate our status and allow us to receive more grants to help the children,” Houston said.

In order to qualify, the division must meet certain requirements, including managing an adequate number of employees and having viable office space. Recently, the division hired three new employees and is in the process of hiring four more. However, the division doesn’t have adequate office space to accommodate their new employees, Houston said.

In April, Houston and DHS Area Social Work Supervisor Dana Spiers requested the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors help find a suitable office space for their division, which currently resides in a county building in Poplarville. At the meeting, the board discussed several options and agreed to find a place that meets the department’s needs, according to previous Item coverage.

“It’s important that our employees have their own offices and right now there’s no privacy and enough workspace for them to handle their confidential cases,” Houston said.

Recently, several supervisors toured the building the office is currently located in to see if the space could be improved internally, Pearl River County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin said.

Houston said the supervisors recommended several options including constructing walls around the office to give employees more privacy. They plan to meet in the near future to choose the best option, Houston said.

The state recently mandated the division staff more employees to handle the rising cases in Pearl River County concerning families in need, Houston said.

“In order to increase our staff we have to have the workspace available that way we can tend to the needs of the children here,” Houston said.

It’s unknown why there’s an increase in cases countywide. Houston said it could be attributed to the influx of people after hurricane Katrina.

The division won’t pursue accreditation until they’re able to provide the workspace and employees necessary to help families in the area, Houston said.