MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Welfare
By: Senator(s) Bryan
AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 41-4-1, 41-4-2, 41-4-3, 41-4-5, 41-4-7, 41-4-8, 41-4-9, 41-4-11, 41-4-13, 41-4-17, 41-4-18, 41-4-19, 41-4-21, 41-4-23, 41-4-25, 41-4-27, 41-4-29, 41-19-33, 41-19-43, 41-19-45, 41-21-63, 41-21-65, 41-21-67, 41-21-68, 41-21-71, 41-21-73, 41-21-77, 41-21-87, 41-21-143 AND 41-31-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH RELATE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 41-4-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-1. (1) The goal of the Rose Isabel Williams Mental Health Reform Act of 2011 is to reform the current Mississippi mental health delivery system so that necessary services, supports and operational structures for all its citizens with mental illness and/or alcohol and drug dependence and/or comorbidity, whether children, youth or adults, are accessible and delivered preferably in the communities where these citizens live. To accomplish this goal, this act provides that initially certain core services as defined in subsection (2) of this section should be available to residents of each county in the state. These services may be provided by community mental health/intellectual disability centers. In order to determine what services are available, the State Department of Mental Health is directed to survey the community mental health/intellectual disability centers, and the community mental health/intellectual disability centers are directed to report what services they are currently providing in each county. This act does not require any community mental health/intellectual disability center to provide any service. This act is not independent authority for any program not otherwise authorized.
(2) The State Board of Mental Health is authorized and empowered to promulgate regulations to ensure that core adult mental health services, child mental health services, intellectual/developmental disability services, and substance abuse prevention and treatment/rehabilitation services are provided throughout the state through the regional mental health/intellectual disability commissions and centers or through other providers. The State Board of Mental Health is directed to give priority to crisis services and crisis stabilization unit services provided twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, where trained emergency-crisis response staff triage referrals and respond in a timely and adequate manner to diffuse a current personal crisis situation.
SECTION 2. Section 41-4-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-2. The purpose of this chapter is to coordinate, develop, improve, plan for, and provide all services for persons of this state with mental illness, emotional disturbance, alcoholism, drug dependence, and an intellectual disability; to promote, safeguard and protect human dignity, social well-being and general welfare of these persons under the cohesive control of one (1) coordinating and responsible agency so that mental health and intellectual disability services and facilities may be uniformly provided more efficiently and economically to any resident of the State of Mississippi; and further to seek means for the prevention of these disabilities.
SECTION 3. Section 41-4-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-3. (1) There is created a State Board of Mental Health, referred to in this chapter as "board," consisting of nine (9) members, to be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, each of whom shall be a qualified elector. Three (3) members shall be appointed from each Mississippi Supreme Court District. One (1) appointee shall be a licensed medical doctor who is a psychiatrist, one (1) shall hold a Ph.D. degree and be a licensed clinical psychologist, one (1) shall be a licensed medical doctor, and one (1) of whom shall be a social worker with experience in the mental health field.
The State Board of Mental Health, created by former Section 41-4-3, is continued and reconstituted as follows: Effective January 1, 2028, each member shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of office of four (4) years, provided that five (5) members shall be appointed in 2028 to a term ending December 31, 2031, and four (4) members shall be appointed in 2030 to a term ending December 31, 2033. Appointments made at the beginning of the four-year cycle shall be made to fill any member's term which actually expires that year and any member's term which expires next until the majority of the membership of the board or commission is reached. Appointments made at the beginning of the third year of the four-year cycle shall be made for the remainder of the membership positions irrespective of the time of their prior appointment. Any question regarding the order of appointments shall be determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with the specific statute. All appointment procedures, vacancy provisions, interim appointment provisions and removal provisions specifically provided for in Section 7-1-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be fully applicable to appointments to the State Board of Mental Health.
The board shall elect a chairman whose term of office shall be one (1) year and until his successor shall be elected.
(2) Each board member shall be entitled to a per diem as is authorized by law and all actual and necessary expenses, including mileage as provided by law, incurred in the discharge of official duties.
(3) The board shall hold regular meetings quarterly and such special meetings deemed necessary, except that no action shall be taken unless there is present a quorum of at least five (5) members.
(4) No board member may be appointed for more than two (2) consecutive terms.
SECTION 4. Section 41-4-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-5. There is created the State Department of Mental Health, herein referred to as "department," which shall consist of four (4) or more divisions, among them the Division of Intellectual Disabilities, the Division of Alcohol and Drug Misuse, the Division of Mental Health, and the Division of Administration, Planning and Coordination, and such other divisions as the board deems appropriate.
SECTION 5. Section 41-4-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-7. The State Board of Mental Health shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) To appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a full-time Executive Director of the Department of Mental Health, who shall be employed by the board and shall serve as executive secretary to the board. The executive director shall serve for a term of four (4) years, consistent with the provisions of Section 7-1-35, Mississippi Code of 1972. The first director shall be a duly licensed physician with special interest and competence in psychiatry, and shall possess a minimum of three (3) years' experience in clinical and administrative psychiatry. Subsequent directors shall possess at least a master's degree or its equivalent, and shall possess at least ten (10) years' administrative experience in the field of mental health. The salary of the executive director shall be determined by the board;
(b) To appoint a Medical Director for the Department of Mental Health. The medical director shall provide clinical oversight in the implementation of evidence-based and best practices; provide clinical leadership in the integration of mental health, intellectual disability and addiction services with community partners in the public and private sectors; and provide oversight regarding standards of care. The medical director shall serve at the will and pleasure of the board, and will undergo an annual review of job performance and future service to the department;
(c) To establish and implement its state strategic plan;
(d) To develop a strategic plan for the development of services for persons with mental illness, persons with developmental disabilities and other clients of the public mental health system. Such strategic planning program shall require that the board, acting through the Strategic Planning and Best Practices Committee, perform the following functions respecting the delivery of services:
(i) Establish measures for determining the efficiency and effectiveness of the services specified in Section 41-4-1(2);
(ii) Conducting studies of community-based care in other jurisdictions to determine which services offered in these jurisdictions have the potential to provide the citizens of Mississippi with more effective and efficient community-based care;
(iii) Evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of the services specified in Section 41-4-1(2);
(iv) Recommending to the Legislature by January 1, 2014, any necessary additions, deletions or other changes necessary to the services specified in Section 41-4-1(2);
(v) Implementing by July 1, 2012, a system of performance measures for the services specified in Section 41-4-1(2);
(vi) Recommending to the Legislature any changes that the department believes are necessary to the current laws addressing civil commitment;
(vii) Conducting any other activities necessary to the evaluation and study of the services specified in Section 41-4-1(2);
(viii) Assisting in conducting all necessary strategic planning for the delivery of all other services of the department. Such planning shall be conducted so as to produce a single strategic plan for the services delivered by the public mental health system and shall establish appropriate mission statements, goals, objectives and performance indicators for all programs and services of the public mental health system. For services other than those specified in Section 41-4-1(2), the committee shall recommend to the State Board of Mental Health a strategic plan that the board may adopt or modify;
(e) To set up state plans for the purpose of controlling and treating any and all forms of mental and emotional illness, alcoholism, drug misuse and developmental disabilities;
(f) [Repealed]
(g) To enter into contracts with any other state or federal agency, or with any private person, organization or group capable of contracting, if it finds such action to be in the public interest;
(h) To collect reasonable fees for its services; however, if it is determined that a person receiving services is unable to pay the total fee, the department shall collect no more than the amount such person is able to pay;
(i) To certify, coordinate and establish minimum standards and establish minimum required services, as specified in Section 41-4-1(2), for regional mental health and intellectual disability commissions and other community service providers for community or regional programs and services in adult mental health, children and youth mental health, intellectual disabilities, alcoholism, drug misuse, developmental disabilities, compulsive gambling, addictive disorders and related programs throughout the state. Such regional mental health and intellectual disability commissions and other community service providers shall, on or before July 1 of each year, submit an annual operational plan to the State Department of Mental Health for approval or disapproval based on the minimum standards and minimum required services established by the department for certification and itemize the services specified in Section 41-4-1(2), including financial statements. As part of the annual operation plan required by this paragraph (i) submitted by any regional community mental health center or by any other reasonable certification deemed acceptable by the department, the community mental health center shall state those services specified in Section 41-4-1(2) that it will provide and also those services that it will not provide. If the department finds deficiencies in the plan of any regional commission or community service provider based on the minimum standards and minimum required services established for certification, the department shall give the regional commission or community service provider a six-month probationary period to bring its standards and services up to the established minimum standards and minimum required services. The regional commission or community service provider shall develop a sustainability business plan within thirty (30) days of being placed on probation, which shall be signed by all commissioners and shall include policies to address one or more of the following: the deficiencies in programmatic services, clinical service staff expectations, timely and appropriate billing, processes to obtain credentialing for staff, monthly reporting processes, third-party financial reporting and any other required documentation as determined by the department. After the six-month probationary period, if the department determines that the regional commission or community service provider still does not meet the minimum standards and minimum required services established for certification, the department may remove the certification of the commission or provider and from and after July 1, 2011, the commission or provider shall be ineligible for state funds from Medicaid reimbursement or other funding sources for those services. However, the department shall not mandate a standard or service, or decertify a regional commission or community service provider for not meeting a standard or service, if the standard or service does not have funding appropriated by the Legislature or have a state, federal or local funding source identified by the department. No county shall be required to levy millage to provide a mandated standard or service above the minimum rate required by Section 41-19-39. After the six-month probationary period, the department may identify an appropriate community service provider to provide any core services in that county that are not provided by a community mental health center. However, the department shall not offer reimbursement or other accommodations to a community service provider of core services that were not offered to the decertified community mental health center for the same or similar services. The State Board of Mental Health shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this paragraph (i), in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Law (Section 25-43-1.101 et seq.);
(j) To establish and promulgate reasonable minimum standards for the construction and operation of state and all Department of Mental Health certified facilities, including reasonable minimum standards for the admission, diagnosis, care, treatment, transfer of patients and their records, and also including reasonable minimum standards for providing day care, outpatient care, emergency care, inpatient care and follow-up care, when such care is provided for persons with mental or emotional illness, an intellectual disability, alcoholism, drug misuse and developmental disabilities;
(k) To implement best practices for all services specified in Section 41-4-1(2), and to establish and implement all other services delivered by the Department of Mental Health. To carry out this responsibility, the board shall require the department to establish a division responsible for developing best practices based on a comprehensive analysis of the mental health environment to determine what the best practices for each service are. In developing best practices, the board shall consider the cost and benefits associated with each practice with a goal of implementing only those practices that are cost-effective practices for service delivery. Such best practices shall be utilized by the board in establishing performance standards and evaluations of the community mental health centers' services required by paragraph (d) of this section;
(l) To assist community or regional programs consistent with the purposes of this chapter by making grants and contracts from available funds;
(m) To establish and collect reasonable fees for necessary inspection services incidental to certification or compliance;
(n) To accept gifts, trusts, bequests, grants, endowments or transfers of property of any kind;
(o) To receive monies coming to it by way of fees for services or by appropriations;
(p) To serve as the single state agency in receiving and administering any and all funds available from any source for the purpose of service delivery, training, research and education in regard to all forms of mental illness, intellectual disabilities, alcoholism, drug misuse and developmental disabilities, unless such funds are specifically designated to a particular agency or institution by the federal government, the Mississippi Legislature or any other grantor;
(q) To establish mental health holding centers for the purpose of providing short-term emergency mental health treatment, places for holding persons awaiting commitment proceedings or awaiting placement in a state mental health facility following commitment, and for diverting placement in a state mental health facility. These mental health holding facilities shall be readily accessible, available statewide, and be in compliance with emergency services' minimum standards. They shall be comprehensive and available to triage and make appropriate clinical disposition, including the capability to access inpatient services or less restrictive alternatives, as needed, as determined by medical staff. Such facility shall have medical, nursing and behavioral services available on a twenty-four-hour-a-day basis. The board may provide for all or part of the costs of establishing and operating the holding centers in each district from such funds as may be appropriated to the board for such use, and may participate in any plan or agreement with any public or private entity under which the entity will provide all or part of the costs of establishing and operating a holding center in any district;
(r) To certify/license case managers, mental health therapists, intellectual disability therapists, mental health/intellectual disability program administrators, addiction counselors and others as deemed appropriate by the board. Persons already professionally licensed by another state board or agency are not required to be certified/licensed under this section by the Department of Mental Health. The department shall not use professional titles in its certification/licensure process for which there is an independent licensing procedure. Such certification/licensure shall be valid only in the state mental health system, in programs funded and/or certified by the Department of Mental Health, and/or in programs certified/licensed by the State Department of Health that are operated by the state mental health system serving persons with mental illness, an intellectual disability, a developmental disability or addictions, and shall not be transferable;
(s) To develop formal mental health worker qualifications for regional mental health and intellectual disability commissions and other community service providers. The State Personnel Board shall develop and promulgate a recommended salary scale and career ladder for all regional mental health/intellectual disability center therapists and case managers who work directly with clients. The State Personnel Board shall also develop and promulgate a career ladder for all direct care workers employed by the State Department of Mental Health;
(t) The employees of the department shall be governed by personnel merit system rules and regulations, the same as other employees in state services;
(u) To establish such rules and regulations as may be necessary in carrying out the provisions of this chapter, including the establishment of a formal grievance procedure to investigate and attempt to resolve consumer complaints;
(v) To grant easements for roads, utilities and any other purpose it finds to be in the public interest;
(w) To survey statutory designations, building markers and the names given to mental health/intellectual disability facilities and proceedings in order to recommend deletion of obsolete and offensive terminology relative to the mental health/intellectual disability system. Based upon a recommendation of the executive director, the board shall have the authority to name/rename any facility operated under the auspices of the Department of Mental Health for the sole purpose of deleting such terminology;
(x) To ensure an effective case management system directed at persons who have been discharged from state and private psychiatric hospitals to ensure their continued well-being in the community;
(y) To develop formal service delivery standards designed to measure the quality of services delivered to community clients, as well as the timeliness of services to community clients provided by regional mental health/intellectual disability commissions and other community services providers;
(z) To establish regional state offices to provide mental health crisis intervention centers and services available throughout the state to be utilized on a case-by-case emergency basis. The regional services director, other staff and delivery systems shall meet the minimum standards of the Department of Mental Health;
(aa) To require performance contracts with community mental health/intellectual disability service providers to contain performance indicators to measure successful outcomes, including diversion of persons from inpatient psychiatric hospitals, rapid/timely response to emergency cases, client satisfaction with services and other relevant performance measures;
(bb) To enter into interagency agreements with other state agencies, school districts and other local entities as determined necessary by the department to ensure that local mental health service entities are fulfilling their responsibilities to the overall state plan for behavioral services;
(cc) To establish and maintain a toll-free grievance reporting telephone system for the receipt and referral for investigation of all complaints by clients of state and community mental health/intellectual disability facilities;
(dd) To establish a peer review/quality assurance evaluation system that assures that appropriate assessment, diagnosis and treatment is provided according to established professional criteria and guidelines;
(ee) To develop and implement state plans for the purpose of assisting with the care and treatment of persons with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia. This plan shall include education and training of service providers, caregivers in the home setting and others who deal with persons with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, and development of adult day care, family respite care and counseling programs to assist families who maintain persons with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia in the home setting. No agency shall be required to provide any services under this section until such time as sufficient funds have been appropriated or otherwise made available by the Legislature specifically for the purposes of the treatment of persons with Alzheimer's and other dementia;
(ff) Working with the advice and consent of the administration of Ellisville State School, to enter into negotiations with the Economic Development Authority of Jones County for the purpose of negotiating the possible exchange, lease or sale of lands owned by Ellisville State School to the Economic Development Authority of Jones County. It is the intent of the Mississippi Legislature that such negotiations shall ensure that the financial interest of the persons with an intellectual disability served by Ellisville State School will be held paramount in the course of these negotiations. The Legislature also recognizes the importance of economic development to the citizens of the State of Mississippi and Jones County, and encourages fairness to the Economic Development Authority of Jones County. Any negotiations proposed which would result in the recommendation for exchange, lease or sale of lands owned by Ellisville State School must have the approval of the State Board of Mental Health. The State Board of Mental Health may and has the final authority as to whether or not these negotiations result in the exchange, lease or sale of the properties it currently holds in trust for persons with an intellectual disability served at Ellisville State School.
If the State Board of Mental Health authorizes the sale of lands owned by Ellisville State School, as provided for under this paragraph (ff), the monies derived from the sale shall be placed into a special fund that is created in the State Treasury to be known as the "Ellisville State School Client's Trust Fund." The principal of the trust fund shall remain inviolate and shall never be expended. Any interest earned on the principal may be expended solely for the benefits of clients served at Ellisville State School. The State Treasurer shall invest the monies of the trust fund in any of the investments authorized for the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program under Section 37-155-9, and those investments shall be subject to the limitations prescribed by Section 37-155-9. Unexpended amounts remaining in the trust fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned on amounts in the trust fund shall be deposited to the credit of the trust fund. The administration of Ellisville State School may use any interest earned on the principal of the trust fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, as needed for services or facilities by the clients of Ellisville State School. Ellisville State School shall make known to the Legislature, through the Legislative Budget Committee and the respective Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate, its proposed use of interest earned on the principal of the trust fund for any fiscal year in which it proposes to make expenditures thereof. The State Treasurer shall provide Ellisville State School with an annual report on the Ellisville State School Client's Trust Fund to indicate the total monies in the trust fund, interest earned during the year, expenses paid from the trust fund and such other related information.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as applying to or affecting mental health/intellectual disability services provided by hospitals as defined in Section 41-9-3(a), and/or their subsidiaries and divisions, which hospitals, subsidiaries and divisions are licensed and regulated by the Mississippi State Department of Health unless such hospitals, subsidiaries or divisions voluntarily request certification by the Mississippi State Department of Mental Health.
All new programs authorized under this section shall be subject to the availability of funds appropriated therefor by the Legislature;
(gg) Working with the advice and consent of the administration of Boswell Regional Center, to enter into negotiations with the Economic Development Authority of Simpson County for the purpose of negotiating the possible exchange, lease or sale of lands owned by Boswell Regional Center to the Economic Development Authority of Simpson County. It is the intent of the Mississippi Legislature that such negotiations shall ensure that the financial interest of the persons with an intellectual disability served by Boswell Regional Center will be held paramount in the course of these negotiations. The Legislature also recognizes the importance of economic development to the citizens of the State of Mississippi and Simpson County, and encourages fairness to the Economic Development Authority of Simpson County. Any negotiations proposed which would result in the recommendation for exchange, lease or sale of lands owned by Boswell Regional Center must have the approval of the State Board of Mental Health. The State Board of Mental Health may and has the final authority as to whether or not these negotiations result in the exchange, lease or sale of the properties it currently holds in trust for persons with an intellectual disability served at Boswell Regional Center. In any such exchange, lease or sale of such lands owned by Boswell Regional Center, title to all minerals, oil and gas on such lands shall be reserved, together with the right of ingress and egress to remove same, whether such provisions be included in the terms of any such exchange, lease or sale or not.
If the State Board of Mental Health authorizes the sale of lands owned by Boswell Regional Center, as provided for under this paragraph (gg), the monies derived from the sale shall be placed into a special fund that is created in the State Treasury to be known as the "Boswell Regional Center Client's Trust Fund." The principal of the trust fund shall remain inviolate and shall never be expended. Any earnings on the principal may be expended solely for the benefits of clients served at Boswell Regional Center. The State Treasurer shall invest the monies of the trust fund in any of the investments authorized for the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program under Section 37-155-9, and those investments shall be subject to the limitations prescribed by Section 37-155-9. Unexpended amounts remaining in the trust fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any earnings on amounts in the trust fund shall be deposited to the credit of the trust fund. The administration of Boswell Regional Center may use any earnings on the principal of the trust fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, as needed for services or facilities by the clients of Boswell Regional Center. Boswell Regional Center shall make known to the Legislature, through the Legislative Budget Committee and the respective Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate, its proposed use of the earnings on the principal of the trust fund for any fiscal year in which it proposes to make expenditures thereof. The State Treasurer shall provide Boswell Regional Center with an annual report on the Boswell Regional Center Client's Trust Fund to indicate the total monies in the trust fund, interest and other income earned during the year, expenses paid from the trust fund and such other related information.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as applying to or affecting mental health/intellectual disability services provided by hospitals as defined in Section 41-9-3(a), and/or their subsidiaries and divisions, which hospitals, subsidiaries and divisions are licensed and regulated by the Mississippi State Department of Health unless such hospitals, subsidiaries or divisions voluntarily request certification by the Mississippi State Department of Mental Health.
All new programs authorized under this section shall be subject to the availability of funds appropriated therefor by the Legislature;
(hh) Notwithstanding any other section of the code, the Board of Mental Health shall be authorized to fingerprint and perform a criminal history record check on every employee or volunteer. Every employee and volunteer shall provide a valid current social security number and/or driver's license number which shall be furnished to conduct the criminal history record check. If no disqualifying record is identified at the state level, fingerprints shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check;
(ii) The Department of Mental Health shall have the authority for the development of a consumer friendly single point of intake and referral system within its service areas for persons with mental illness, an intellectual disability, developmental disabilities or alcohol or substance abuse who need assistance identifying or accessing appropriate services. The department will develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation procedure ensuring that, where appropriate, the affected person or their parent or legal guardian will be involved in the assessment and planning process. The department, as the point of intake and as service provider, shall have the authority to determine the appropriate institutional, hospital or community care setting for persons who have been diagnosed with mental illness, an intellectual disability, developmental disabilities and/or alcohol or substance abuse, and may provide for the least restrictive placement if the treating professional believes such a setting is appropriate, if the person affected or their parent or legal guardian wants such services, and if the department can do so with a reasonable modification of the program without creating a fundamental alteration of the program. The least restrictive setting could be an institution, hospital or community setting, based upon the needs of the affected person or their parent or legal guardian;
(jj) To have the sole power and discretion to enter into, sign, execute and deliver long-term or multiyear leases of real and personal property owned by the Department of Mental Health to and from other state and federal agencies and private entities deemed to be in the public's best interest. Any monies derived from such leases shall be deposited into the funds of the Department of Mental Health for its exclusive use. Leases to private entities shall be approved by the Department of Finance and Administration and all leases shall be filed with the Secretary of State;
(kk) To certify and establish minimum standards and minimum required services for county facilities used for housing, feeding and providing medical treatment for any person who has been involuntarily ordered admitted to a treatment center by a court of competent jurisdiction. The minimum standard for the initial assessment of those persons being housed in county facilities is for the assessment to be performed by a physician, preferably a psychiatrist, or by a nurse practitioner, preferably a psychiatric nurse practitioner. If the department finds deficiencies in any such county facility or its provider based on the minimum standards and minimum required services established for certification, the department shall give the county or its provider a six-month probationary period to bring its standards and services up to the established minimum standards and minimum required services. After the six-month probationary period, if the department determines that the county or its provider still does not meet the minimum standards and minimum required services, the department may remove the certification of the county or provider and require the county to contract with another county having a certified facility to hold those persons for that period of time pending transportation and admission to a state treatment facility. Any cost incurred by a county receiving an involuntarily committed person from a county with a decertified holding facility shall be reimbursed by the home county to the receiving county; and
(ll) To provide orientation training to all new commissioners of regional commissions and annual training for all commissioners with continuing education regarding the Mississippi mental health system and services as developed by the State Department of Mental Health. Training shall be provided at the expense of the department except for travel expenses which shall be paid by the regional commission.
SECTION 6. Section 41-4-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-8. (1) A person shall not make, present or cause to be made or presented a material falsification of diagnosis of a Medicaid-eligible client for a claim for Medicaid mental health services benefits, knowing the diagnosis and claim to be false, fictitious or fraudulent.
(2) A person who violates this section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or by a fine of not more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), or both.
(3) For purposes of subsection (1), if a regional mental health/intellectual disability center submits claims for Medicaid reimbursement or other funds from the Department of Mental Health, the lack of a certified physician or psychologist evaluation of the client for such claim as required under Section 41-4-7(c) shall be deemed a material falsification of diagnosis by the person responsible for making or presenting such claim.
SECTION 7. Section 41-4-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-9. The State Board of Mental Health is hereby authorized and directed to create advisory councils to assist the board and department in the performance and discharge of their duties.
SECTION 8. Section 41-4-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-11. (1) On July 1, 1974, the Board of Trustees of Mental Institutions of the State of Mississippi and the Mississippi Interagency Commission on Mental Illness and Mental Retardation shall be abolished. The authority now vested in the State Board of Health relating to mental health, drug misuse and alcoholism is rescinded as of July 1, 1974.
(2) As of July 1, 1974, the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield, the East Mississippi State Hospital at Meridian, the Ellisville State School at Ellisville, the North Mississippi Regional Center at Oxford, and any other mental or intellectual disability facility that may be established, shall become subject to the jurisdiction and control of the State Department of Mental Health.
(3) All duties, responsibilities, authority, power, assets, liabilities, contractual rights and obligations, and property rights, whether accruing or vesting in the abolished agencies before or after April 23, 1974, are vested in the State Board of Mental Health.
(4) The board upon recommendation of the executive director shall select the heads of divisions and institutions necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter who shall have qualifications appropriate to the duties they must discharge.
(5) Employees of the abolished agencies or divisions of agencies holding positions on June 30, 1974, shall be employees of the State Department of Mental Health on July 1, 1974. The board may combine or abolish positions as necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
(6) Subject to the provisions and limitations of this chapter as expressly set forth in Section 41-4-13, all offices, services, programs and other activities of the abolished agencies or divisions of agencies are made offices, services, programs or other activities of the State Department of Mental Health, and the board is authorized to reorganize such offices, services, programs or other activities so as to achieve economy and efficiency; and the board may establish bureaus, divisions, hospitals, clinics, mental health centers, homes for persons with an intellectual disability, or other facilities for providing mental health services if it finds such action to be in the public interest.
SECTION 9. Section 41-4-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-13. All commodities, equipment and furniture purchased and supply contracts entered into by the board shall be in accord with the provisions of Title 31, Chapter 7, Mississippi Code of 1972. No purchases shall be made from, nor shall any sales be made to, any member of the board.
SECTION 10. Section 41-4-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-17. Nothing herein contained shall operate to vest the State Board of Mental Health with any authority or jurisdiction over the Mississippi Children's Rehabilitation Center.
SECTION 11. Section 41-4-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-18. (1) Notwithstanding Section 41-7-191(11) and Section 41-7-171 et seq. or any other section of law, the Department of Mental Health shall have the authority to contract with private and/or public entities to transfer beds within intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities owned and operated by the Department of Mental Health to locations owned and operated by private and/or public entities for the purpose of serving individuals with intellectual disabilities in the settings most appropriate to meet their needs.
(2) Any license granted to the Department of Mental Health by the Department of Health for the operation of transferred intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities beds shall remain in the name of the Department of Mental Health and shall not be transferred into the name of the contractor unless the contractor has received the appropriate certificates of need.
SECTION 12. Section 41-4-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-19. The board, may with the approval of the commission of budget and accounting, require the transfer of funds appropriated for the use of agencies consolidated under the provisions of this chapter. Said funds shall be transferred by the state auditor of public accounts to a separate account in the state treasury. The auditor shall issue his warrants upon requisitions signed by the proper person, officer or officers designated by the board.
SECTION 13. Section 41-4-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-21. For the operations of all facilities placed under the control of the department and for all of its operations, the board shall adopt a uniform system of reporting and accounting approved by the State Department of Audit, and shall prepare an annual report to the Legislature setting forth the disbursements of all moneys appropriated and specifying the facilities and activities upon which funds were expended. It shall prepare annually, or cause to be prepared, a budget for its total operation for the ensuing fiscal period in the manner and form as required by the Legislative Budget Office.
SECTION 14. Section 41-4-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-23. (a) It will be the duty of the director of any mental health or intellectual disability facility under the direction or control of the State Department of Mental Health to designate certain employees as security guards and campus police. The names, qualifications, and training of such campus police will be reported to the Executive Director of the State Department of Mental Health and spread upon the official minutes of the State Board of Mental Health.
All campus police, subsequent to employment but prior to performing duties as campus police, will attend and satisfactorily complete the training course required for law enforcement officers at the Law Enforcement Officer's Training Academy or an equivalent facility. Campus police training may be at the expense of the Department of Mental Health and conditioned upon work repayment by the employee in accordance with educational leave regulations promulgated by the State Board of Mental Health. Failure to meet repayment obligations may result in revocation of law enforcement certification in the same manner provided in Section 37-101-291. A complete record of all law enforcement training of each employee will be maintained in each employee's record of employment. A master file of all such employees' training will be kept in the central office of the State Department of Mental Health.
(b) All campus police will be duly constituted peace officers with powers and duties of a constable but such authority may be exercised only on the premises of institutions under the control of the State Department of Mental Health and public property immediately adjacent to such premises. Each person designated as a security guard or campus police will enter into bond in the penalty amount of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), the premium for which shall be paid by the facility employing such security guard or campus police.
(c) All security guards and campus police will exercise their authority while in performance of their duty on any of the facilities under the direction or control of the State Department of Mental Health and public property immediately adjacent to such facilities; will be required to dress in uniforms prescribed by the State Board of Mental Health; and will be authorized to carry weapons. Employees designated as campus police shall be duly sworn and vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests, and shall exercise primarily the responsibilities of the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals, and the enforcement of the ordinances and policies of the Department of Mental Health, a political subdivision of the State of Mississippi. Employees designated as campus police shall be considered law enforcement officers within the meaning of Section 45-6-3.
SECTION 15. Section 41-4-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-25. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the director of a Department of Mental Health facility has the authority to transfer any patient/resident to another Department of Mental Health facility as necessary for the welfare of that or any other patients/residents.
SECTION 16. Section 41-4-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-27. The mental health crisis center located in Brookhaven, Mississippi, shall be named in honor of the late Senator Billy V. Harvey. The Department of Mental Health shall place a distinctive plaque in a prominent place within the crisis center, which states the background, accomplishments and service of the late Senator Billy V. Harvey to the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 17. Section 41-4-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-29. (1) As used in this section, the following terms shall be defined as provided in this subsection:
(a) "Autism spectrum disorder" or "ASD" shall be defined by the current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association.
(b) "Autism services" means services designed to meet the needs of individuals with ASD across their lifespan, including services selected in collaboration with the parents or guardians of children with ASD or adults with ASD and services delivered in inclusive environments, to the extent practical, and services that are part of a coordinated system of care.
(c) "Coordinated system of care" means the total statewide effort, inclusive of case management, that is directed at meeting the needs of individuals with ASD and their families.
(2) There is an urgent and substantial need to develop and implement a statewide comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system of care for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. To help address that need, there is established the Division of Autism Services within the Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities of the State Department of Mental Health to develop and coordinate autism services for individuals with ASD and their families.
(3) The Division of Autism Services, under the supervision of the Director of the Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, shall provide leadership in program development for children and adults with ASD, including establishment of program standards and coordination of program capacity. The Division of Autism Services shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) To define the roles and responsibilities of the division;
(b) To develop a long-term plan, reviewed annually, for a comprehensive statewide coordinated system of care for individuals with ASD, which, to the extent practicable, is derived from scientific-based research and nationally recognized best practices; and
(c) To ensure interagency collaboration, public participation, and mutual sharing of information to facilitate policy decisions and the implementation of a plan for a comprehensive statewide system of care to individuals with ASD.
SECTION 18. Section 41-19-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-19-33. (1) Each region so designated or established under Section 41-19-31 shall establish a regional commission to be composed of members appointed by the boards of supervisors of the various counties in the region. Each regional commission shall employ or contract with an accountant for the purpose of managing the finances of the commission. The accountant shall provide an annual audit to the commission in addition to his or her other duties. It shall be the duty of such regional commission to administer mental health/intellectual disability programs certified and required by the State Board of Mental Health and as specified in Section 41-4-1(2). In addition, once designated and established as provided hereinabove, a regional commission shall have the following authority and shall pursue and promote the following general purposes:
(a) To establish, own, lease, acquire, construct, build, operate and maintain mental illness, mental health, intellectual disability, alcoholism and general rehabilitative facilities and services designed to serve the needs of the people of the region so designated, provided that the services supplied by the regional commissions shall include those services determined by the Department of Mental Health to be necessary and may include, in addition to the above, services for persons with developmental and learning disabilities; for persons suffering from narcotic addiction and problems of drug abuse and drug dependence; and for the aging as designated and certified by the Department of Mental Health. Such regional mental health and intellectual disability commissions and other community service providers shall, on or before July 1 of each year, submit an annual operational plan to the Department of Mental Health for approval or disapproval based on the minimum standards and minimum required services established by the department for certification and itemize the services as specified in Section 41-4-1(2), including financial statements. As part of the annual operation plan required by Section 41-4-7(h) submitted by any regional community mental health center or by any other reasonable certification deemed acceptable by the department, the community mental health center shall state those services specified in Section 41-4-1(2) that it will provide and also those services that it will not provide. If the department finds deficiencies in the plan of any regional commission or community service provider based on the minimum standards and minimum required services established for certification, the department shall give the regional commission or community service provider a six-month probationary period to bring its standards and services up to the established minimum standards and minimum required services. The regional commission or community service provider shall develop a sustainability business plan within thirty (30) days of being placed on probation, which shall be signed by all commissioners and shall include policies to address one or more of the following: the deficiencies in programmatic services, clinical service staff expectations, timely and appropriate billing, processes to obtain credentialing for staff, monthly reporting processes, third-party financial reporting and any other required documentation as determined by the department. After the six-month probationary period, if the department determines that the regional commission or community service provider still does not meet the minimum standards and minimum required services established for certification, the department may remove the certification of the commission or provider, and from and after July 1, 2011, the commission or provider shall be ineligible for state funds from Medicaid reimbursement or other funding sources for those services. After the six-month probationary period, the Department of Mental Health may identify an appropriate community service provider to provide any core services in that county that are not provided by a community mental health center. However, the department shall not offer reimbursement or other accommodations to a community service provider of core services that were not offered to the decertified community mental health center for the same or similar services.
(b) To provide facilities and services for the prevention of mental illness, mental disorders, developmental and learning disabilities, alcoholism, narcotic addiction, drug abuse, drug dependence and other related handicaps or problems (including the problems of the aging) among the people of the region so designated, and for the rehabilitation of persons suffering from such illnesses, disorders, handicaps or problems as designated and certified by the Department of Mental Health.
(c) To promote increased understanding of the problems of mental illness, intellectual disabilities, alcoholism, developmental and learning disabilities, narcotic addiction, drug abuse and drug dependence and other related problems (including the problems of the aging) by the people of the region, and also to promote increased understanding of the purposes and methods of the rehabilitation of persons suffering from such illnesses, disorders, handicaps or problems as designated and certified by the Department of Mental Health.
(d) To enter into contracts and to make such other arrangements as may be necessary, from time to time, with the United States government, the government of the State of Mississippi and such other agencies or governmental bodies as may be approved by and acceptable to the regional commission for the purpose of establishing, funding, constructing, operating and maintaining facilities and services for the care, treatment and rehabilitation of persons suffering from mental illness, an intellectual disability, alcoholism, developmental and learning disabilities, narcotic addiction, drug abuse, drug dependence and other illnesses, disorders, handicaps and problems (including the problems of the aging) as designated and certified by the Department of Mental Health.
(e) To enter into contracts and make such other arrangements as may be necessary with any and all private businesses, corporations, partnerships, proprietorships or other private agencies, whether organized for profit or otherwise, as may be approved by and acceptable to the regional commission for the purpose of establishing, funding, constructing, operating and maintaining facilities and services for the care, treatment and rehabilitation of persons suffering from mental illness, an intellectual disability, alcoholism, developmental and learning disabilities, narcotic addiction, drug abuse, drug dependence and other illnesses, disorders, handicaps and problems (including the problems of the aging) relating to minimum services established by the Department of Mental Health.
(f) To promote the general mental health of the people of the region.
(g) To pay the administrative costs of the operation of the regional commissions, including per diem for the members of the commission and its employees, attorney's fees, if and when such are required in the opinion of the commission, and such other expenses of the commission as may be necessary. The Department of Mental Health standards and audit rules shall determine what administrative cost figures shall consist of for the purposes of this paragraph. Each regional commission shall submit a cost report annually to the Department of Mental Health in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the department.
(h) To employ and compensate any personnel that may be necessary to effectively carry out the programs and services established under the provisions of the aforesaid act, provided such person meets the standards established by the Department of Mental Health.
(i) To acquire whatever hazard, casualty or workers' compensation insurance that may be necessary for any property, real or personal, owned, leased or rented by the commissions, or any employees or personnel hired by the commissions.
(j) To acquire professional liability insurance on all employees as may be deemed necessary and proper by the commission, and to pay, out of the funds of the commission, all premiums due and payable on account thereof.
(k) To provide and finance within their own facilities, or through agreements or contracts with other local, state or federal agencies or institutions, nonprofit corporations, or political subdivisions or representatives thereof, programs and services for persons with mental illness, including treatment for alcoholics, and promulgating and administering of programs to combat drug abuse and programs for services for persons with an intellectual disability.
(l) To borrow money from private lending institutions in order to promote any of the foregoing purposes. A commission may pledge collateral, including real estate, to secure the repayment of money borrowed under the authority of this paragraph. Any such borrowing undertaken by a commission shall be on terms and conditions that are prudent in the sound judgment of the members of the commission, and the interest on any such loan shall not exceed the amount specified in Section 75-17-105. Any money borrowed, debts incurred or other obligations undertaken by a commission, regardless of whether borrowed, incurred or undertaken before or after March 15, 1995, shall be valid, binding and enforceable if it or they are borrowed, incurred or undertaken for any purpose specified in this section and otherwise conform to the requirements of this paragraph.
(m) To acquire, own and dispose of real and personal property. Any real and personal property paid for with state and/or county appropriated funds must have the written approval of the Department of Mental Health and/or the county board of supervisors, depending on the original source of funding, before being disposed of under this paragraph.
(n) To enter into managed care contracts and make such other arrangements as may be deemed necessary or appropriate by the regional commission in order to participate in any managed care program. Any such contract or arrangement affecting more than one (1) region must have prior written approval of the Department of Mental Health before being initiated and annually thereafter.
(o) To provide facilities and services on a discounted or capitated basis. Any such action when affecting more than one (1) region must have prior written approval of the Department of Mental Health before being initiated and annually thereafter.
(p) To enter into contracts, agreements or other arrangements with any person, payor, provider or other entity, under which the regional commission assumes financial risk for the provision or delivery of any services, when deemed to be necessary or appropriate by the regional commission. Any action under this paragraph affecting more than one (1) region must have prior written approval of the Department of Mental Health before being initiated and annually thereafter.
(q) To provide direct or indirect funding, grants, financial support and assistance for any health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization or other managed care entity or contractor, where such organization, entity or contractor is operated on a nonprofit basis. Any action under this paragraph affecting more than one (1) region must have prior written approval of the Department of Mental Health before being initiated and annually thereafter.
(r) To form, establish, operate, and/or be a member of or participant in, either individually or with one or more other regional commissions, any managed care entity as defined in Section 83-41-403(c). Any action under this paragraph affecting more than one (1) region must have prior written approval of the Department of Mental Health before being initiated and annually thereafter.
(s) To meet at least annually with the board of supervisors of each county in its region for the purpose of presenting its total annual budget and total mental health/intellectual disability services system. The commission shall submit an annual report on the adult mental health services, children mental health services and intellectual disability services required by the State Board of Mental Health.
(t) To provide alternative living arrangements for persons with serious mental illness, including, but not limited to, group homes for persons with chronic mental illness.
(u) To make purchases and enter into contracts for purchasing in compliance with the public purchasing law, Sections 31-7-12 and 31-7-13, with compliance with the public purchasing law subject to audit by the State Department of Audit.
(v) To ensure that all available funds are used for the benefit of persons with mental illness, persons with an intellectual disability, substance abusers and persons with developmental disabilities with maximum efficiency and minimum administrative cost. At any time a regional commission, and/or other related organization whatever it may be, accumulates surplus funds in excess of one-half (1/2) of its annual operating budget, the entity must submit a plan to the Department of Mental Health stating the capital improvements or other projects that require such surplus accumulation. If the required plan is not submitted within forty-five (45) days of the end of the applicable fiscal year, the Department of Mental Health shall withhold all state appropriated funds from such regional commission until such time as the capital improvement plan is submitted. If the submitted capital improvement plan is not accepted by the department, the surplus funds shall be expended by the regional commission in the local mental health region on group homes for persons with mental illness, persons with an intellectual disability, substance abusers, children or other mental health/intellectual disability services approved by the Department of Mental Health.
(w) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to fingerprint and perform a criminal history record check on every employee or volunteer. Every employee or volunteer shall provide a valid current social security number and/or driver's license number that will be furnished to conduct the criminal history record check. If no disqualifying record is identified at the state level, fingerprints shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check.
(x) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, each regional commission shall have the authority to create and operate a primary care health clinic to treat (i) its patients; and (ii) its patients' family members related within the third degree; and (iii) its patients' household members or caregivers, subject to the following requirements:
(i) The regional commission may employ and compensate any personnel necessary and must satisfy applicable state and federal laws and regulations regarding the administration and operation of a primary care health clinic.
(ii) A Mississippi licensed physician must be employed or under agreement with the regional commission to provide medical direction and/or to carry out the physician responsibilities as described under applicable state and/or federal law and regulations.
(iii) The physician providing medical direction for the primary care clinic shall not be certified solely in psychiatry.
(iv) A sliding fee scale may be used by the regional commission when no other payer source is identified.
(v) The regional commission must ensure services will be available and accessible promptly and in a manner that preserves human dignity and assures continuity of care.
(vi) The regional commission must provide a semiannual report to the Chairmen of the Public Health Committees in both the House of Representatives and Senate. At a minimum, for each reporting period, these reports shall describe the number of patients provided primary care services, the types of services provided, and the payer source for the patients. Except for patient information and any other information that may be exempt from disclosure under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Mississippi Public Records Act, the reports shall be considered public records.
(vii) The regional commission must employ or contract with a core clinical staff that is multidisciplinary and culturally and linguistically competent.
(viii) The regional commission must ensure that its physician as described in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph (x) has admitting privileges at one or more local hospitals or has an agreement with a physician who has admitting privileges at one or more local hospitals to ensure continuity of care.
(ix) The regional commission must provide an independent financial audit report to the State Department of Mental Health and, except for patient information and any other information that may be exempt from disclosure under HIPAA and the Mississippi Public Records Act, the audit report shall be considered a public record.
For the purposes of this paragraph (x), the term "caregiver" means an individual who has the principal and primary responsibility for caring for a child or dependent adult, especially in the home setting.
(y) In general to take any action which will promote, either directly or indirectly, any and all of the foregoing purposes.
(z) All regional commissioners shall receive new orientation training and annual training with continuing education regarding the Mississippi mental health system and services as developed by the State Department of Mental Health. Training shall be provided at the expense of the department except for travel expenses which shall be paid by the regional commission.
(aa) To establish a community mental health center to provide mental health services in its region.
(2) The types of services established by the State Department of Mental Health that must be provided by the regional mental health/intellectual disability centers for certification by the department, and the minimum levels and standards for those services established by the department, shall be provided by the regional mental health/intellectual disability centers to children when such services are appropriate for children, in the determination of the department.
(3) Each regional commission shall compile quarterly financial statements and status reports from each individual community health center. The compiled reports shall be submitted to the coordinator quarterly. The reports shall contain a:
(a) Balance sheet;
(b) Statement of operations;
(c) Statement of cash flows; and
(d) Description of the status of individual community health center's actions taken to increase access to and availability of community mental health services.
(4) (a) The community mental health center shall submit a written quarterly report to the board of supervisors of each county in its region. The report shall be prepared on a standard form developed and provided to the community mental health centers by the State Department of Mental Health. The report shall include the following information for the prior quarter:
(i) The number of occupancy percentages reported by the crisis stabilization unit in the region;
(ii) The number of individuals held in jail after the commitment process has been initiated and the number of individuals the community mental health center provided treatment to while they were in jail, as required by Section 41-21-67;
(iii) The number of pre-affidavit screenings conducted;
(iv) The number of individuals diverted to a lesser restrictive alternative from commitment;
(v) The number of crisis stabilization unit denials and the reason for denial;
(vi) Summary report of Medicaid claims, including denials; and
(vii) Cash balance as of the date of the end of the quarter.
(b) The community mental health center shall provide the Department of Mental Health, local sheriffs and chancery court judges with a copy of the community mental health center's report each quarter.
(5) (a) In order to improve quality, access, and innovation in the provision of mental health and substance use services to individuals treated at Community Mental Health Centers, regional commissions, as established in Section 41-19-33, are authorized to provide services through enhanced certification as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). CCBHCs shall provide comprehensive, holistic services, respond to local needs, incorporate evidence-based practices, and establish care coordination as a center for service delivery, including effective community partnerships with law enforcement, schools, hospitals, primary care providers, veterans' groups and other organizations to improve care, reduce recidivism, and address health disparities.
(b) The Department of Mental Health and the Division of Medicaid are authorized and directed to submit an application to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to join the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Demonstration Grant at the next available application period.
(c) The CCBHC system shall be consistent with the demonstration program established by Section 223 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) of 2014 and other applicable federal laws governing the CCBHC model. The Department of Mental Health shall be the entity charged with certifying and monitoring compliance of CCBHC clinics, and the Division of Medicaid shall be responsible for establishing a prospective payment system (PPS) to fund the CCBHC program.
SECTION 19. Section 41-19-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-19-43. Whenever it is necessary to commit and transport any eligible patient to a regional mental health or intellectual disability facility for treatment or care, the chancery clerk and sheriff shall be entitled to expenses as provided for by the laws of Mississippi for commitment and transportation to state mental institutions and transportation in the county or outside of the county to a community mental health center or other appropriate facility.
SECTION 20. Section 41-19-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-19-45. (1) After making expenditures of at least Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,500,000.00) each year to provide funding for county and municipal law enforcement training and court liaisons as authorized by this section, the Department of Mental Health is authorized to expend any additional funds to provide grants to community mental health centers for the purpose of increasing housing for patients. A community mental health center may apply to the Department of Mental Health for a grant to pay for the cost of patient housing. A community mental health center desiring assistance under this section must submit an application to the Department of Mental Health. The application must include any information required by the Department.
SECTION 21. Section 41-21-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-21-63. (1) No person, other than persons charged with crime, shall be committed to a public treatment facility except under the provisions of Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107 or 43-21-611 or 43-21-315. However, nothing herein shall be construed to repeal, alter or otherwise affect the provisions of Section 35-5-31 or to affect or prevent the commitment of persons to the Veterans Administration or other agency of the United States under the provisions of and in the manner specified in those sections.
(2) (a) The chancery court, or the chancellor in vacation, shall have jurisdiction under Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107 except over persons with unresolved felony charges unless paragraph (b) of this subsection applies.
(b) If a circuit court with jurisdiction over unresolved felony charges enters an order concluding that a person is incompetent to stand trial and is not restorable to competency in the foreseeable future, the circuit court shall retain jurisdiction and shall proceed with civil commitment procedures in the same manner as described in Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107. The order of the circuit court finding that the person is incompetent to stand trial and is not restorable to competency in the foreseeable future shall be in lieu of the affidavit for commitment provided for in Section 41-21-65. Additionally, if the finding of the circuit court is based on the report and/or testimony of a physician or psychologist that has examined the person, the provisions of Section 41-21-67 for psychiatric examinations shall not apply.
(3) The circuit court shall also have jurisdiction under Sections 99-13-7, 99-13-9 and 99-13-11.
(4) Before the release of a person referred for civil commitment under this section and committed under Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107, the Department of Mental Health must notify the district attorney of the county where the offense was committed. The district attorney must notify the crime victim or a family member who has requested notification under Section 99-43-35 and the sheriffs of both the county where the offense was committed and the county of the committed person's destination.
SECTION 22. Section 41-21-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-21-65. (1) It is the intention of the Legislature that the filing of an affidavit under this section be a simple, inexpensive, uniform, and streamlined process for the purpose of facilitating and expediting the care of individuals in need of treatment.
(2) The Uniform Civil Commitment Affidavit developed by the Department of Mental Health under this section must be provided by the clerk of the chancery court to any party or affiant seeking a civil commitment under this section, and must be utilized in all counties to commence civil commitment proceedings under this section. The affidavit must be made available to the public on the website of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health.
(3) The Department of Mental Health, in consultation with the Mississippi Chancery Clerks Association, the Mississippi Conference of Chancery Court Judges and the Mississippi Association of Community Mental Health Centers, must develop a written guide setting out the steps in the commitment process no later than January 1, 2020. The guide shall be designated as the "Uniform Civil Commitment Guide" and must include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) Steps in the civil commitment process from affidavit to commitment, written in easily understandable layman's terms;
(b) A schedule of fees and assessments that will be charged to commence a commitment proceeding under this section;
(c) Eligibility requirements and instructions for filing a pauper's affidavit; and
(d) A statement on the front cover of the guide advising that persons wishing to pursue a civil commitment under this section are not required to retain an attorney for any portion of the commitment process.
(4) Immediately upon availability, but no later than January 1, 2020, the Uniform Civil Commitment Guide must be provided by the clerk of the chancery court to any party or affiant seeking a civil commitment under this section and also must be made available to the public on the website of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health.
(5) If any person is alleged to be in need of treatment, any relative of the person, or any interested person, may make affidavit of that fact and shall file the Uniform Civil Commitment Affidavit with the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which the person alleged to be in need of treatment resides, but the chancellor or duly appointed special master may, in his or her discretion, hear the matter in the county in which the person may be found or the circuit judge may hear such matter as provided in Section 41-21-63. Prior to filing an affidavit for commitment of an individual, the relative or interested person shall be connected with the community mental health center for a pre-affidavit screening as set forth in Section 41-21-67. The pre-affidavit screening is mandatory and must be completed before any affidavit for commitment is filed, except as otherwise provided in Section 41-21-67(1) or (2). The affidavit shall set forth the name and address of the proposed patient's nearest relatives and whether the proposed patient resides or has visitation rights with any minor children, if known, and the reasons for the affidavit. The affidavit must contain factual descriptions of the proposed patient's recent behavior, including a description of the behavior, where it occurred, and over what period of time it occurred, if known. The affidavit shall state specifically that a less restrictive alternative treatment was considered and specify why treatment less restrictive than involuntary commitment is not appropriate. Each factual allegation may be supported by observations of witnesses and the pre-affidavit screener named in the affidavit. The Department of Mental Health, in consultation with the Mississippi Chancery Clerks' Association, shall develop a simple, one-page affidavit form for the use of affiants as provided in this section. The affidavit also must state whether the affiant has received notice of the pre-affidavit screening from a community mental health center determining whether the alleged acts by the proposed respondent warrant civil commitment in lieu of other less-restrictive treatment options. No chancery clerk shall require an affiant to retain an attorney for the filing of an affidavit under this section.
(6) The chancery clerk may charge a total filing fee for all services equal to the amount set out in Section 25-7-9(o), and the appropriate state and county assessments as required by law which include, but are not limited to, assessments for the Judicial Operation Fund (Section 25-7-9(3)(b)); the Electronic Court System Fund (Section 25-7-9(3)(a)); the Civil Legal Assistance Fund (Section 25-7-9(1)(k)); the Court Education and Training Fund (Section 37-26-3); State Court Constituent's Fund (Section 37-26-9(4)); and reasonable court reporter's fee. Costs incidental to the court proceedings as set forth in Section 41-21-79 may not be included in the assessments permitted by this subsection. The total of the fees and assessments permitted by this subsection may not exceed One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00).
(7) The prohibition against charging the affiant other fees, expenses, or costs shall not preclude the imposition of monetary criminal penalties under Section 41-21-107 or any other criminal statute, or the imposition by the chancellor of monetary penalties for contempt if the affiant is found to have filed an intentionally false affidavit or filed the affidavit in bad faith for a malicious purpose.
(8) Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to conflict with Section 41-21-63.
(9) The Department of Mental Health shall provide annual training to chancery and circuit court clerks to inform them about statutory procedures for civil commitments.
SECTION 23. Section 41-21-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-21-67. (1) (a) Prior to filing an affidavit for commitment of an individual, the relative or interested person shall be connected with the community mental health center in the county of financial responsibility or the county where the proposed patient is present for conduct of preliminary investigation to determine the need to file an affidavit for involuntary commitment. However, a pre-affidavit screening is not required before the relative or interested person files the affidavit for commitment if the individual to be committed is being treated in a licensed hospital with licensed acute psychiatric beds and has already had two (2) qualified professional evaluations, provided that the licensed hospital notifies the community mental health center that the individual is in the hospital at least twenty-four (24) hours before filing the affidavit. If the community mental health center is unavailable, any reputable licensed physician, psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, as allowed in the discretion of the court, may conduct the pre-affidavit screening and examination as set forth in Section 41-21-69. The pre-affidavit screening shall be completed within twenty-four (24) hours of the community mental health center being notified. The community mental health center shall provide the pre-affidavit screening report to the chancery clerk for the county in which the petition is to be filed upon completion. The community mental health center shall appoint a screener to conduct an investigation. The prospective petitioner may not be the pre-affidavit screener. The investigation must include:
(i) An interview with the proposed patient and other individuals who appear to have knowledge of the condition of the proposed patient, if practicable. In-person interviews with the proposed patient are preferred. If the proposed patient is not interviewed, specific reasons must be documented;
(ii) Identification and investigation of specific alleged conduct that is the basis for application;
(iii) Identification, exploration, and listing of the specific reasons for rejecting or recommending alternatives to involuntary commitment; and
(iv) In the case of a commitment based on mental illness, information relevant to treatment.
(b) In conducting the investigation required by this subsection, the screener shall have access to all relevant medical records of proposed patients currently in treatment facilities, state-operated treatment programs, or community-based treatment programs. Data collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be considered private data on individuals. The pre-affidavit screening report is not admissible as evidence in court except by agreement of counsel or as permitted by the rules of court and is not admissible in any court proceedings unrelated to the commitment proceedings.
(c) When the pre-affidavit screener recommends commitment, a written report shall be sent to the chancery clerk for the county in which the petition is to be filed. The statement of facts contained in the written report must meet the requirements of Section 41-21-65(5), specifically certifying that a less restrictive alternative treatment was considered and specifying why treatment less restrictive than involuntary commitment is not appropriate.
(d) The pre-affidavit screener shall refuse to support the filing of an affidavit if the investigation does not disclose evidence sufficient to support commitment. Notice of the pre-affidavit screener's decision shall be provided to the prospective petitioner and the court. If a commitment is not recommended, the pre-affidavit screener shall provide the prospective petitioner with connection to other alternative services and resources available and offered, if appropriate.
(e) If the interested person wishes to proceed with a petition contrary to the recommendation of the pre-affidavit screener, application may be made directly to the chancellor, who shall determine whether or not to proceed with the petition. Notice of the chancellor's determination shall be provided to the interested party.
(2) After a pre-affidavit screener has attempted to complete an in-person screening, if a person is actively violent or refuses to participate in the pre-affidavit screening and the screening cannot be completed, then upon recommendation of the community mental health center, the affidavit may be filed and a writ issued for a sheriff to intervene. The pre-affidavit screener shall document why the pre-affidavit screening could not be completed. After completing the pre-affidavit screening required by subsection (1) of this section, receiving the written report from the pre-affidavit screener, and upon filing of an affidavit of commitment, the clerk, upon direction of the chancellor of the court, shall issue a writ directed to the sheriff of the proper county to take into custody the person alleged to be in need of treatment and to take the person for physical and mental examination and treatment by the appropriate community mental health center established under Section 41-19-31. Except as otherwise provided in Section 41-21-63, the community mental health center will be designated as the first point of entry for pre-affidavit screening and treatment. The writ may provide where the person shall be held before being taken for examination and treatment, which shall include any licensed medical facility or crisis stabilization unit. Reapplication may be made to the chancellor. If a pauper's affidavit is filed by an affiant who is a guardian or conservator of a person in need of treatment, the court shall determine if either the affiant or the person in need of treatment is a pauper and if the affiant or the person in need of treatment is determined to be a pauper, the county of the residence of the respondent shall bear the costs of commitment, unless funds for those purposes are made available by the state.
(3) (a) Upon receiving the pre-affidavit screening and filing of an affidavit of commitment, the chancellor shall immediately appoint and summon two (2) reputable, licensed physicians or one (1) reputable, licensed physician and either one (1) psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant to conduct a physical and mental examination of the person at a place to be designated by the clerk or chancellor and to report their findings to the clerk or chancellor. However, if the pre-affidavit screening recommends against commitment, the chancellor may refuse to appoint two (2) physicians to conduct a physical and mental examination. However, any nurse practitioner or physician assistant conducting the examination shall be independent from, and not under the supervision of, the other physician conducting the examination. A nurse practitioner or psychiatric nurse practitioner conducting an examination under this chapter must be functioning within a collaborative or consultative relationship with a physician as required under Section 73-15-20(3). In all counties in which there is a county health officer, the county health officer, if available, may be one (1) of the physicians so appointed. If a licensed physician is not available to conduct the physical and mental examination within forty-eight (48) hours of the pre-affidavit screening, the court, in its discretion and upon good cause shown, may permit the examination to be conducted by the following: (a) two (2) nurse practitioners, one (1) of whom must be a psychiatric nurse practitioner; or (b) one (1) psychiatric nurse practitioner and one (1) psychologist or physician assistant. Neither of the physicians nor the psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant selected shall be related to that person in any way, nor have any direct or indirect interest in the estate of that person nor shall any full-time staff of residential treatment facilities operated directly by the State Department of Mental Health serve as examiner.
(b) Any health care practitioner who conducts a physical and mental examination of a person as provided under paragraph (a) of this subsection may sign the certificate required for establishing a guardianship or conservatorship for the person and take care of other related requirements as otherwise provided by law, at the time of conducting the physical and mental examinations.
(4) The clerk shall ascertain whether the respondent is represented by an attorney, and if it is determined that the respondent does not have an attorney, the clerk shall immediately notify the chancellor of that fact. If the chancellor determines that the respondent for any reason does not have the services of an attorney, the chancellor shall immediately appoint an attorney for the respondent at the time the examiners are appointed.
(5) (a) If the chancellor determines that there is probable cause to believe that the respondent has a mental illness and that there is no reasonable alternative to detention, the chancellor may order that the respondent be retained as an emergency patient at any licensed medical facility, crisis stabilization unit, or any other available suitable location for evaluation by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant and that a peace officer transport the respondent to the specified facility, unit or location. If the community mental health center serving the county has partnered with Crisis Intervention Teams under the provisions of Sections 41-21-131 through 41-21-143, the order may specify that the licensed medical facility be a designated single point of entry within the county or within an adjacent county served by the community mental health center. If the person evaluating the respondent finds that the respondent has a mental illness and in need of confinement and/or treatment, the chancellor may order that the respondent be retained at the licensed medical facility, crisis stabilization unit, or any other available suitable location as the court may so designate pending an admission hearing. If necessary, the chancellor may order a peace officer or other person to transport the respondent to that facility, or unit or suitable location. Any respondent so retained may be given such treatment as is indicated by standard medical practice. However, the respondent shall not be held in a hospital operated directly by the State Department of Mental Health.
(b) A jail or other detention center may not be used for custody unless the community mental health center has explored and exhausted the availability of other appropriate facilities, such as the crisis stabilization unit, the local hospital and any Department of Mental Health certified location; the chancellor specifically authorizes it; and the respondent is actively violent. The county of residence of any such person shall pay the cost of such interim treatment. The community mental health center shall provide documentation of the person's violent behavior and that no other appropriate facilities are available to the chancellor. Under these circumstances, no person may remain in a jail for longer than twenty-four (24) hours unless the community mental health center requests an additional twenty-four (24) hours from the chancellor. The community mental health center shall provide treatment during this timeframe pending placement at an appropriate facility.
For the purposes of this subsection (5), "actively violent" means that the behavior presents an immediate and serious danger to the safety of the individual or another, the individual has inflicted or attempted to inflict serious bodily harm on another, or has acted in such a way as to create a substantial risk of serious bodily harm to another, or has engaged in extreme destruction of property; and that there is a reasonable probability that this conduct will be repeated.
The provisions of this paragraph (b) shall not be construed to include jails that are designated as holding facilities under the requirement provided by Section 41-21-77.
(6) (a) Whenever a licensed psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant who is certified to complete examinations for the purpose of commitment or a licensed physician has reason to believe that a person poses an immediate substantial likelihood of physical harm to himself or others or is gravely disabled and unable to care for himself by virtue of mental illness, as defined in Section 41-21-61(e), then the physician, psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant may hold the person or may admit the person to and treat the person in a licensed medical facility, without a civil order or warrant for a period not to exceed seventy-two (72) hours. However, if the seventy-two-hour period begins or ends when the chancery clerk's office is closed, or within three (3) hours of closing, and the chancery clerk's office will be continuously closed for a time that exceeds seventy-two (72) hours, then the seventy-two-hour period is extended until the end of the next business day that the chancery clerk's office is open. The person may be held and treated as an emergency patient at any licensed medical facility, available regional mental health facility, or crisis stabilization unit. The physician or psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant who holds the person shall certify in writing the reasons for the need for holding.
If a person is being held and treated in a licensed medical facility, and that person decides to continue treatment by voluntarily signing consent for admission and treatment, the seventy-two-hour hold may be discontinued without filing an affidavit for commitment. Any respondent so held may be given such treatment as indicated by standard medical practice. Persons acting in good faith in connection with the detention and reporting of a person believed to have a mental illness shall incur no liability, civil or criminal, for those acts.
(b) Whenever an individual is held for purposes of receiving treatment as prescribed under paragraph (a) of this subsection, and it is communicated to the mental health professional holding the individual that the individual resides or has visitation rights with a minor child, and if the individual is considered to be a danger to the minor child, the mental health professional shall notify the Department of Child Protection Services prior to discharge if the threat of harm continues to exist, as is required under Section 43-21-353.
This paragraph (b) shall be known and may be cited as the "Andrew Lloyd Law."
SECTION 24. Section 41-21-68, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-21-68. (1) Regional commissions established under Section 41-19-31 et seq. are authorized to establish regional holding facilities for the treatment and holding of any person eighteen (18) years of age or older being held for the purpose of civil commitment.
(2) For the purpose of establishing regional holding facilities, each regional commission is authorized to create a holding facility fund and enter into holding facility cooperative agreements with counties both inside and outside the regional commission's designated region. Each county electing to use a regional holding facility may contribute to the regional commission's holding facility fund. The State of Mississippi may match the county's contribution by paying not more than Two Dollars ($2.00) into the holding facility fund for each One Dollar ($1.00) received from the counties, if sufficient funds are available.
(3) Crisis stabilization units operating and receiving state funds from the Department of Mental Health as of January 1, 2015, shall not be eligible for the holding facility state matching contributions provided for in this section. The matching funds provided for in this section shall only be allocated to holding facilities established under this section. Regional commissions requesting decertification of any such crisis stabilization unit to reestablish the unit as a regional holding facility under this section in order to be eligible for state matching contributions may do so only with the approval of the Department of Mental Health.
(4) Counties not contributing to a regional commission holding facility fund shall not be entitled to use of a holding facility. No patient shall be ordered by any court to a holding facility established under this section if the county in which the commitment action is pending has not entered into a cooperative agreement with a regional commission and has not made a contribution to a regional commission holding facility fund.
(5) Holding facilities established under this section shall at a minimum comply with the operational standards for holding facilities established by the Department of Mental Health. Holding facilities may also seek designation and certification as a crisis stabilization unit, single point of entry, and other type of treatment facility so that they may receive reimbursement from the Division of Medicaid for eligible patients.
(6) Holding facilities and committing courts shall not remove persons from the holding facility unless the removal is for clinical purposes. Persons taken to a holding facility established under this section and any treatment professionals called as witnesses shall not be required to appear at the court's location for commitment proceedings, except when extraordinary circumstances are found and determined as reflected by a written order of the chancellor. For the purpose of civil commitment hearings, persons being committed and treatment professionals may participate through videoconferencing. Holding facilities established under this section shall have the capacity and ability to provide videoconferencing between the person being held, the committing court, and treatment professionals. Any attorney for the person being held shall be present at the location of the person during videoconferenced hearings and shall have the ability to consult in private with the person.
(7) Holding facilities are authorized to provide any necessary treatment in person or through the use of videoconferencing between the person and the treatment professional.
(8) For purposes of public participation, jurisdiction and venue, the location of the commitment actions for persons being held at holding facilities established under this section shall be deemed to be the county of the committing court, even though the individual being committed and treatment professionals may be physically located in other jurisdictions when participating in any hearing through videoconference. The jurisdiction of the committing court and law enforcement officials transporting persons to holding facilities shall extend to other jurisdictions for the purpose of conducting hearings held by videoconferencing, and for the purpose of holding and transporting individuals to holding facilities established under this section.
(9) Persons being held or detained for the purpose of civil commitment shall not have a jail photograph or "mug shot" published, except as permitted under Section 41-21-97. Persons and businesses who publish those photographs shall immediately remove the photographs from publication, and destroy any and all copies of those photographs in their possession.
SECTION 25. Section 41-21-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-21-71. If, as a result of the examination, the appointed examiners certify that the person is not in need of treatment, the chancellor, clerk or circuit judge as applicable shall dismiss the affidavit without the need for a further hearing. Except as otherwise provided in Section 41-21-63, if the chancellor or chancery clerk finds, based upon the appointed examiners' certificates and any other relevant evidence, that the respondent is in need of treatment and the certificates are filed with the chancery clerk within forty-eight (48) hours after the order for examination, or extension of that time as provided in Section 41-21-69, the clerk shall immediately set the matter for a hearing. The hearing shall be set within three (3) days of the filing of the certificates unless an extension is requested by the respondent's attorney. In no event shall the hearing be more than five (5) days after the filing of the certificates, unless the court orders to extend the hearing date, which shall not exceed five (5) additional days.
SECTION 26. Section 41-21-73, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-21-73. (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 41-21-63, the hearing shall be conducted before the chancellor. However, the hearing may be held at the location where the respondent is being held. Within a reasonable period of time before the hearing, notice of same shall be provided the respondent and his attorney, which shall include: (a) notice of the date, time and place of the hearing; (b) a clear statement of the purpose of the hearing; (c) the possible consequences or outcome of the hearing; (d) the facts that have been alleged in support of the need for commitment; (e) the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the examiner(s); and (f) other witnesses expected to testify.
(2) The respondent must be present at the hearing unless the chancellor determines that the respondent is unable to attend and makes that determination and the reasons therefor part of the record. At the time of the hearing, the respondent shall not be so under the influence or suffering from the effects of drugs, medication or other treatment so as to be hampered in participating in the proceedings. The court, at the time of the hearing, shall be presented a record of all drugs, medication or other treatment that the respondent has received pending the hearing, unless the court determines that such a record would be impractical and documents the reasons for that determination.
(3) The respondent shall have the right to offer evidence, to be confronted with the witnesses against him and to cross-examine them and shall have the privilege against self-incrimination. The rules of evidence applicable in other judicial proceedings in this state shall be followed.
(4) If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the proposed patient is a person with mental illness or a person with an intellectual disability and, if after careful consideration of reasonable alternative dispositions, including, but not limited to, dismissal of the proceedings, the court finds that there is no suitable alternative to judicial commitment, the court shall commit the patient for treatment in the least restrictive treatment facility that can meet the patient's treatment needs. Treatment before admission to a state-operated facility shall be located as closely as possible to the patient's county of residence and the county of residence shall be responsible for that cost. Admissions to state-operated facilities shall be in compliance with the catchment areas established by the State Department of Mental Health. A nonresident of the state may be committed for treatment or confinement in the county where the person was found.
Alternatives to commitment to inpatient care may include, but shall not be limited to: voluntary or court-ordered outpatient commitment for treatment with specific reference to a treatment regimen, day treatment in a hospital, night treatment in a hospital, placement in the custody of a friend or relative, or the provision of home health services.
For persons committed as having mental illness or having an intellectual disability, the initial commitment shall not exceed three (3) months.
(5) No person shall be committed to a treatment facility whose primary problems are the physical disabilities associated with old age or birth defects of infancy.
(6) The court shall state the findings of fact and conclusions of law that constitute the basis for the order of commitment. The findings shall include a listing of less restrictive alternatives considered by the court and the reasons that each was found not suitable.
(7) A stenographic transcription shall be recorded by a stenographer or electronic recording device and retained by the court.
(8) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, neither the State Board of Mental Health or its members, nor the State Department of Mental Health or its related facilities, nor any employee of the State Department of Mental Health or its related facilities, unless related to the respondent by blood or marriage, shall be assigned or adjudicated custody, guardianship, or conservatorship of the respondent.
(9) The county where a person in need of treatment is found is authorized to charge the county of the person's residence for the costs incurred while the person is confined in the county where such person was found.
SECTION 27. Section 41-21-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-21-77. (1) If admission is ordered at a treatment facility, the sheriff, his or her deputy or any other person appointed or authorized by the court shall immediately deliver the respondent to the director of the appropriate facility. Neither the Board of Mental Health or its members, nor the Department of Mental Health or its related facilities, nor any employee of the Department of Mental Health or its related facilities, shall be appointed, authorized or ordered to deliver the respondent for treatment, and no person shall be so delivered or admitted until the director of the admitting institution determines that facilities and services are available. Persons who have been ordered committed and are awaiting admission may be given any such treatment in the facility by a licensed physician as is indicated by standard medical practice. Any county facility used for providing housing, maintenance and medical treatment for involuntarily committed persons pending their transportation and admission to a state treatment facility shall be certified by the State Department of Mental Health under the provisions of Section 41-4-7(kk). No person shall be delivered or admitted to any non-Department of Mental Health treatment facility unless the treatment facility is licensed and/or certified to provide the appropriate level of psychiatric care for persons with mental illness. It is the intent of this Legislature that county-owned hospitals work with regional community mental health/intellectual disability centers in providing care to local patients. The clerk shall provide the director of the admitting institution with a certified copy of the court order, a certified copy of the appointed examiners' certificates, a certified copy of the affidavit, and any other information available concerning the physical and mental condition of the respondent. Upon notification from the United States Veterans Administration or other agency of the United States government, that facilities are available and the respondent is eligible for care and treatment in those facilities, the court may enter an order for delivery of the respondent to or retention by the Veterans Administration or other agency of the United States government, and, in those cases the chief officer to whom the respondent is so delivered or by whom he is retained shall, with respect to the respondent, be vested with the same powers as the director of the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield, or the East Mississippi State Hospital at Meridian, with respect to retention and discharge of the respondent.
(2) (a) When admission to
a treatment facility is ordered by the court, the chancery clerk shall make
record of the admission. Each chancery clerk shall maintain a record of the
number of persons ordered by the court to be admitted to a treatment facility,
the number of hearings held by the court to determine whether a person should
be admitted to a treatment facility and the number of affidavits filed to admit
a person to a treatment facility under Section 41-21-61 * * * et. seq.
(b) The chancery clerk shall maintain a record each time such clerk receives a denial for admission to a community mental health center crisis stabilization bed, the reason provided to the clerk for such denial, and the subsequent action taken by the clerk upon receiving the denial.
(c) Each chancery clerk shall provide the records required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection (2) to the Department of Mental Health within thirty (30) days of the end of each calendar quarter. Within sixty (60) days of receipt of the chancery clerk records, the Department of Mental Health shall provide a summary to the Chairpersons of the Appropriations, Public Health and Judiciary A and B Committees for the Mississippi House of Representatives and the Mississippi Senate, the Coordinator of Mental Health and the President of the Mississippi Association of Community Mental Health Centers.
SECTION 28. Section 41-21-87, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-21-87. (1) The director of either the treatment facility where the patient is committed or the treatment facility where the patient resides while awaiting admission to any other treatment facility may discharge any civilly committed patient upon filing his certificate of discharge with the clerk of the committing court, certifying that the patient, in his judgment, no longer poses a substantial threat of physical harm to himself or others.
(2) A director of a treatment facility specified in subsection (1) above may return any patient to the custody of the committing court upon providing seven (7) days' notice and upon filing his certificate of same as follows:
(a) When, in the judgment of the director, the patient may be treated in a less restrictive environment; however, treatment in such less restrictive environment shall be implemented within seven (7) days after notification of the court; or
(b) When, in the judgment of the director, adequate facilities or treatment are not available at the treatment facility.
(3) Except as provided in Section 41-21-88, no committing court shall enjoin or restrain any director of a treatment facility specified in subsection (1) above from discharging a patient under this section whose treating professionals have determined that the patient meets one (1) of the criteria for discharge as outlined in subsection (1) or (2) of this section. The director of the treatment facility where the patient is committed may transfer any civilly committed patient from one (1) facility operated directly by the Department of Mental Health to another as necessary for the welfare of that or other patients. Upon receiving the director's certificate of transfer, the court shall enter an order accordingly.
(4) Within twenty-four (24) hours prior to the release or discharge of any civilly committed patient, other than a temporary pass due to sickness or death in the patient's family, the director shall give or cause to be given notice of such release or discharge to one (1) member of the patient's immediate family, provided the member of the patient's immediate family has signed the consent to release form provided under subsection (5) and has furnished in writing a current address and telephone number, if applicable, to the director for such purpose. The notice of release shall also be provided to any victim of such person and/or to any person to whom a restraining order has been entered to protect from such person. The notice to the family member shall include the psychiatric diagnosis of any chronic mental disorder incurred by the civilly committed patient and any medications provided or prescribed to the patient for such conditions.
(5) All providers of service in a treatment facility, whether in a community mental health/intellectual disability center, region or state psychiatric hospital, are authorized and directed to request a consent to release information from all patients which will allow that entity to involve the family in the patient's treatment. Such release form shall be developed by the Department of Mental Health and provided to all treatment facilities, community mental health/intellectual disability centers and state facilities. All such facilities shall request such a release of information upon the date of admission of the patient to the facility or at least by the time the patient is discharged.
(6) Each month the Department of Mental Health-operated facilities shall provide the directors of community mental health centers the names of all individuals who were discharged to their catchment area with referral for community-based services. The department shall require community mental health care providers to report monthly the date that service(s) were initiated and type of service(s) initiated.
SECTION 29. Section 41-21-143, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-21-143. (1) Community mental health center directors shall actively encourage hospitals to develop comprehensive psychiatric emergency services. If a collaborative agreement can be negotiated with a hospital that can provide a comprehensive psychiatric emergency service, that hospital shall be given priority when designating the single point of entry.
(2) The State Department of Mental Health shall encourage community mental health center directors to actively work with hospitals and law enforcement agencies to develop Crisis Intervention Teams and comprehensive psychiatric emergency services and shall facilitate the development of those programs.
(3) State colleges and universities that provide classes in criminal justice are encouraged to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to develop training guidelines and standards for CIT officers and to provide educational classes and continuing education programs by which CIT officers can earn continuing education credits.
SECTION 30. Section 41-31-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-31-5. (1) (a) Before filing an affidavit for inpatient commitment or outpatient treatment of an individual, the relative or interested person shall be connected with the community mental health center in the county of financial responsibility or the county where the proposed patient is present for conduct of preliminary investigation to determine the need to file an affidavit for inpatient commitment or outpatient treatment. If the community mental health center is unavailable, any licensed physician may conduct the pre-affidavit screening. The pre-affidavit screening shall be completed within twenty-four (24) hours of the community mental health center being notified. The community mental health center shall provide the pre-affidavit screening report to the chancery clerk for the county in which the affidavit is to be filed upon completion. The community mental health center shall appoint a screener to conduct an investigation. The prospective affiant may not be the pre-affidavit screener. The investigation must include:
(i) An interview with the proposed patient and other individuals who appear to have knowledge of the condition of the proposed patient, if practicable. In-person interviews with the proposed patient are preferred. If the proposed patient is not interviewed, specific reasons must be documented;
(ii) Identification and investigation of specific alleged conduct that is the basis for application; and
(iii) Identification, exploration and listing of the specific reasons for rejecting or recommending alternatives to inpatient commitment or outpatient treatment.
(b) In conducting the investigation required by this subsection, the screener shall have access to all relevant medical records of proposed patients currently in treatment facilities, state-operated treatment programs, or community-based treatment programs. Data collected pursuant to this paragraph (b) shall be considered private data on individuals. The pre-affidavit screening report is not admissible as evidence in court except by agreement of counsel or as permitted by the rules of court and is not admissible in any court proceedings unrelated to the commitment proceedings.
(c) When the pre-affidavit screener recommends commitment, a written report shall be sent to the chancery clerk for the county in which the petition is to be filed. The statement of facts contained in the written report must meet the requirements of Section 41-31-3(4), specifically certifying that a less restrictive alternative treatment was considered and specifying why treatment less restrictive than inpatient commitment or outpatient treatment is not appropriate.
(d) The pre-affidavit screener shall refuse to support the filing of an affidavit if the investigation does not disclose evidence sufficient to support inpatient commitment or outpatient treatment. Notice of the pre-affidavit screener's decision shall be provided to the prospective affiant and the court. If an inpatient or outpatient commitment is not recommended, the pre-affidavit screener shall provide the prospective petitioner with connection to other alternative services and resources available and offered, if appropriate.
(e) If the interested person wishes to proceed with a petition contrary to the recommendation of the pre-affidavit screener, application may be made directly to the chancellor, who shall determine whether or not to proceed with the petition. Notice of the chancellor's determination shall be provided to the interested party.
(f) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, a pre-affidavit screening shall not be required if the individual to be committed is being treated in a licensed hospital with licensed acute psychiatric beds and has already had two (2) qualified professional evaluations, provided that the licensed hospital notifies the community mental health center that the individual is in the hospital at least twenty-four (24) hours before filing the affidavit.
(2) Whenever an affidavit is filed, the chancellor of the court shall, by order, fix a time upon a day certain for the hearing thereof, either in termtime or in vacation, which hearing shall be fixed not less than five (5) days nor more than twenty (20) days from the filing of the affidavit. The person alleged to be an alcoholic or drug addict shall be served with a citation to appear at the hearing not less than three (3) days prior to the day fixed for the hearing, and there shall be served with such citation a true and correct copy of the affidavit.
(3) The clerk must ascertain whether the respondent is represented by an attorney, and if it is determined that the respondent does not have an attorney, the clerk immediately must notify the chancellor of that fact. If the chancellor determines that the respondent for any reason does not have the services of an attorney, the chancellor shall appoint an attorney for the respondent before a hearing on the affidavit.
(4) At the time fixed, the chancellor shall hear evidence on the affidavit, with or without the presence of the alleged alcoholic or drug addict, and all persons interested shall have the right to appear and present evidence touching upon the truth and correctness of the allegations of the affidavit. The chancellor, in his or her discretion, may require that the alleged alcoholic or drug addict be examined by the county health officer or by such other competent physician or physicians as the chancellor may select, and may consider the results of such examination in reaching a decision in the matter.
(5) If the alleged alcoholic or drug addict admits the truth and correctness of the allegations of the affidavit, or if the chancellor finds from the evidence that such person is an alcoholic or drug addict, and is in need of detention, care and treatment in an institution, and that the other material allegations of the petition are true, then the chancellor shall enter an order so finding, and shall order that such person be remanded and committed to and confined in the proper state institution under this chapter or a private treatment facility under the provisions of Title 41, Chapter 32, Mississippi Code of 1972, or, in the case of an alcoholic to an approved public or private treatment facility pursuant to the provisions of Title 41, Chapter 30, Mississippi Code of 1972, for care and treatment for a period of not less than thirty (30) days nor more than ninety (90) days as the necessity of the case may, in his or her discretion, require. However, when such person is so committed, the medical director of the institution shall be vested with full discretion as to the treatment and discharge of such person, and may discharge and release such person at any time when the condition of such person so justifies.
(6) (a) If the chancellor determines under this section that the alleged alcoholic or drug addict is in need of care and treatment but also affirmatively finds that the alleged alcoholic or drug addict would benefit from the less restrictive option of an outpatient treatment program, the chancellor, in his or her discretion and upon agreement of both the affiant and the person in need of treatment, may order the alleged alcoholic or drug addict into an outpatient treatment program.
(b) If the order directs outpatient treatment, the outpatient treatment provider may prescribe or administer to the respondent treatment consistent with accepted alcohol and drug abuse treatment standards. If the respondent fails or clearly refuses to comply with outpatient treatment, the director of the treatment program, his or her designee or an interested person must make all reasonable efforts to solicit the respondent's compliance. These efforts must be documented and, if the respondent fails or clearly refuses to comply with outpatient treatment after the efforts are made, the efforts must be documented with the court by affidavit. Upon the filing of the affidavit, the sheriff of the proper county may take the respondent into custody. The chancellor thereafter may order the respondent to inpatient treatment as soon as a treatment facility is available.
(c) The respondent may request a hearing within ten (10) days of commitment to inpatient treatment by filing a written request with the chancery clerk of the committing court, or the respondent may request such a hearing in writing to any member of the professional staff of the treatment facility, which must be forwarded to the director and promptly filed with the chancery clerk of the committing court. The respondent must be advised of the right to request such a hearing and of the right to consult a lawyer.
SECTION 31. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.