Title 41, Public Health

(a) The coordinator shall have the following powers and duties:(a) To perform a comprehensive review of Mississippi’s mental health system to determine whether mental health services, including community mental health services, are offered in each county and available to the enti…

(a) For the purposes of Sections 41-20-51 and 41-20-53, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings as defined in this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:(a) “National Suicide Prevention Lifeline” or “NSPL” means the national program that operates …

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to:(a) Save lives by improving access to appropriate services and supports to respond to behavioral health crises;(b) Comply with the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 and the Federal Communication Commission’s rules adopted …

(a) In fulfilling the responsibilities of Sections 41-20-1 through 41-20-11, the coordinator may, subject to federal law:(a) Hire staff needed for the performance of his or her duties under Sections 41-20-1 through 41-20-11, subject to the approval of the Executive Director of th…

(1) When the coordinator determines that a county or a geographic area within a county offers inadequate mental health services, the coordinator shall inform the board(s) of supervisors and the regional commission of the geographic areas where the services are inadequate. (2) Whe…

No admission or commitment to a treatment facility under Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107 or any finding of need for treatment, or any authorization of continued treatment under said sections (a) is an adjudication of legal incompetency, or (b), except as provided in Sections …

(1) A patient has the right to be free from restraints. Restraints shall not be applied to a patient unless the director of the treatment facility or a member of the medical staff determines that they are necessary for the safety of the patient or others. Each use of a restraint …

(1) Unless he or she has a legal guardian or conservator, a married person or a person eighteen (18) years of age or older may be admitted to a treatment facility as a voluntary admittee for treatment, provided that the director deems the person suitable for admission, upon the f…

The court shall have continuing jurisdiction over a person committed to an inpatient or outpatient treatment program under this chapter for one (1) year after completion of the treatment program. During that time, the court, upon affidavit in the same cause of action, may conduct…

(1) All persons acting in good faith in connection with the preparation or execution of applications, affidavits, certificates or other documents; apprehension; findings; determinations; opinions of physicians and psychologists; transportation; examination; treatment; emergency t…

Any person who conspires unlawfully to cause, or unlawfully causes, any person to be adjudicated in need of treatment or as incompetent or to be detained at, or admitted to, or hospitalized in a treatment facility, or any person who receives or detains any person in need of treat…

(1) The purpose of this section is to provide modern and efficient rehabilitation facilities for adolescents with mental illness or with an intellectual disability who have been committed for treatment by a court of competent jurisdiction under Section 41-21-61 et seq. (2) The De…

(a) As used in Sections 41-21-131 through 41-21-143, the following terms shall have the meanings as defined in this section:(a) “Crisis Intervention Team” means a community partnership among a law enforcement agency, a community mental health center, a hospital, other mental heal…

(1) Any law enforcement agency or community mental health center, as a participating partner, is authorized to establish Crisis Intervention Teams to provide for psychiatric emergency services and triage and referral services for persons who are with substantial likelihood of bod…

(1) Community mental health centers shall have oversight of Crisis Intervention Teams operating within their service areas. Proposals for Crisis Intervention Teams shall include the necessary collaborative agreements among the community mental health center, a law enforcement age…

(1) The internal operation of a single point of entry shall be governed by the administration of the hospital and regulated by the State Department of Health, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and other state and federal agencies that have regulato…

(1) If a CIT officer determines that a person is with substantial likelihood of bodily harm, that officer may take the person into custody for the purpose of transporting the person to the designated single point of entry serving the catchment area in which the officer works. The…

A law enforcement officer shall transport the person who is in crisis to the appropriate health care facility in the county or outside of the county at the request of the crisis intervention team or mobile crisis response team.

(1) To implement a comprehensive psychiatric emergency service, a single point of entry must request licensure from the State Department of Health for the number of extended observation beds that are required to adequately serve the designated catchment area. A license for the re…

(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 sh…

There is created in the State Treasury a special interest-bearing fund to be known as the Crisis Intervention Mental Health Fund. The purpose of the fund shall be to provide funding for the seven (7) mental health crisis centers in the state and the Special Treatment Facility loc…

(1) The State Department of Health shall establish, maintain and carry out a comprehensive newborn screening program designed to detect hypothyroidism, phenylketonuria (PKU), hemoglobinopathy, congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), galactosemia, any other conditions listed on the …

(1) All newborn infants shall be screened by the physician or other health care provider attending the infant, using tests that have been approved by the State Board of Health, to detect those conditions listed in Section 41-21-201, any other conditions listed on the Recommended …

(1) The State Board of Health shall establish in the State Department of Health a program to:(a) Identify and investigate birth defects; and(b) Maintain a central registry of cases of birth defects. (a) Identify and investigate birth defects; and (b) Maintain a central registry o…

This section and Section 41-21-253 shall be known and may be cited as “Hudson’s Law.”

(a) The Legislature finds the following:(a) For purposes of this section, the term “chromosomal disorder” means trisomy 13 (otherwise known as Patau syndrome); trisomy 18 (otherwise known as Edwards syndrome); or trisomy 21 (otherwise known as Down syndrome).(b) Any facility, phy…

The rule as to the legal settlement of paupers shall apply in cases of persons with mental illness and persons with an intellectual disability.

(1) For purposes of this section, “Mississippi State Asylum Records” shall mean a collection of individual patient records, in the possession of the Mississippi State Hospital, including, but not limited to, paper charts and digital copies of paper documents, that record patient …

(a) As used in Sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms defined have the meanings ascribed to them:(a) “Appointed examiner” means a person appointed by the court under Section 41-21-67(2) to conduct a mental and physical exam…

(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 th…

(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 A…

(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 prelimin…

(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 estab…

(1) (a) The appointed examiners shall immediately make a full inquiry into the condition of the person alleged to be in need of treatment and shall make a mental examination and physical evaluation of the person, and each examiner must make a report and certificate of the finding…

The Department of Mental Health shall develop standards for the training of psychiatrists and psychologists to perform mental examinations ordered under Section 99-13-11 and Rule 12 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure. The department shall provide training on the standards and mai…

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-…

(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…

(1) If the commitment order directs outpatient treatment, the outpatient treatment physician may prescribe or administer to the respondent treatment consistent with accepted medical standards. (2) If the respondent fails or clearly refuses to comply with outpatient treatment, the…

The respondent in any involuntary commitment proceeding held pursuant to the provisions of sections 41-21-61 through 41-21-107 may make a knowing and intelligent waiver of his rights in such proceeding, provided that the waiver is made by his attorney with the informed consent of…

(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, no…

Subject to appropriation by the Legislature, the Department of Mental Health shall provide funding to each community mental health center to allow the center to designate court liaisons for the counties in its service area.

The costs incidental to the court proceedings including, but not limited to, court costs, prehearing hospitalization costs, cost of transportation, reasonable physician’s, psychologist’s, nurse practitioner’s or physician assistant’s fees set by the court, and reasonable attorney…

If at any time within twenty (20) days after admission of a patient to a treatment facility the director determines that the patient is in need of continued hospitalization, he shall give written notice of his findings, together with his reasons for such findings, to the responde…

Prior to the termination of the initial commitment order, the director of the facility shall cause an impartial evaluation of the patient to be made in order to assess the extent to which the grounds for initial commitment persist, the patient continues to have mental illness, an…

Except as otherwise provided in Section 41-21-63, if a hearing is requested as provided in Section 41-21-74, 41-21-81 or 41-21-99, the court shall not make a determination of the need for continued commitment unless a hearing is held and the court finds by clear and convincing ev…

All costs of the hearing or appeal under Section 41-21-83, including, but not limited to, costs of all writs, notices, petitions, appeals, and attorney’s fees and transportation of the patient to and from the place of the hearing shall be borne by the treatment facility in those …