- The Act requires that in cases dealing with compulsory detention, a pre-screening takes place before an affidavit is filed.
The new law, set to take effect this year, will help prevent people dealing with mental illnesses from being held in jail while they await evaluation and treatment. The change is the result of HB 1640, written by state Rep. Sam Creekmore (R-Ill.) and signed into law by Gov. Tate Reeves (R) earlier this month.
The bill would address a situation in which Mississippians with mental health issues were sometimes held in solitary confinement while they waited for a bed to receive treatment as part of a civil detention process initiated by concerned family members.
Under the current procedure, a person files an affidavit in a local Superior Court for a family member who is reluctant to voluntarily seek help for a mental health issue. After the affidavit is filed, a warrant is issued, allowing local law enforcement to detain the person in question.
“After a warrant is issued, the person is taken into police custody, pre-screened to see if they meet the criteria for detention, and then they are evaluated twice,” said Wendy Bailey, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. “Often, while this evaluation is taking place, the person is held in jail because they were taken in on a warrant before they have been seen by a mental health professional.”
In order to curb cases of people being sent to prison even though no crime has been committed, the new law requires a pre-screening process before filing an affidavit. Bailey told the Magnolia Tribune that this will strengthen the diversion process.
“This strengthens the diversion process by connecting individuals and families to community mental health centers, pre-screening affidavits, and recommending other treatments such as crisis stabilization units, follow-up appointments, and medication adjustments. options,” Bailey explained, adding, “before the courts or law enforcement gets involved.”
“The affidavits will now be required to state that less restrictive options other than involuntary commitment have been considered and why commitment is necessary. The aim is for the Treasury Department to first connect families with local mental health centres,” Bailey said.
Once your local mental health center is notified, you have 24 hours to conduct a preliminary test. The screening process can be conducted at your local mental health center. The process can also be conducted at home by a member of a mobile crisis response team if the person does not wish to leave their home.
“This ensures that the person’s rights are not violated and gives the person an opportunity to meet with a mental health professional for a preliminary examination, if possible, before law enforcement becomes involved,” Bailey said. said.
Rep. Creekmore said the bill allows law enforcement to become involved if a potential patient is violent or if a family member feels unsafe. Law enforcement can escort a member of a mobile crisis response team to your home to conduct the test.
“There is also a safety valve if someone is too violent or refuses to be tested, they can submit an affidavit and proceed with the process,” Bailey added.
If the person must be taken into law enforcement custody for any reason, authorities must exhaust all possible resources to find a bed in a medical facility before placing the person in solitary confinement. Options include, for example, a community mental health center (CMHC), a crisis stabilization unit (CSU), or a hospital. If no resources are found available within that county, the person can be transferred to a surrounding county.
Bailey said the bill also mandates the creation of a daily updated bed registry to help find available services outside the county.
“The state currently has 196 crisis stabilization beds across the state. If a bed is not available in one region, there is often an available bed in another region,” Bailey noted.
If all else fails and jail is the only option, the individual can only be held for 24 hours, unless they become violent. After that, authorities can ask a justice of the peace judge for an additional 24 hours, Creekmore said. While in custody, the individual will be provided with any medical treatment and medication they need.
Creekmore noted that the law has a conservative side, allowing families with loved ones who regularly struggle with mental health issues to get help.
“I think conservatorship can be helpful,” said Rep. Creekmore. “The more arrests we make, the more guardianships can be established and the process completed faster.”
Another change in the new law shortens the time allowed for a hearing to take place, shortening the process from within five to 10 days to three to five days.
When the bill becomes law on July 1, it will establish record-keeping and reporting procedures to provide greater information to each county’s board of supervisors and the Department of Mental Health. Required reports will include the occupancy rate of CSUs in the area, the number of people booked into the jail after each commitment process began, how many pre-affidavit tests were administered, how many people were referred to less restrictive treatment options, the number of CSU denials that occurred and the reasons for the denials.
Creekmore said the reporting element was added because each county’s Board of Supervisors provides financial support to CMHC and is “on the ground.”
“They need to know exactly what’s going on,” he says.
This year’s reforms come on the heels of HB 1222, passed in 2023. Congressman Creekmore said that while the improvements being made were positive, there was still more to achieve.
“We continue to see improvements from House Bill 1222 from last year and this is an extension of that bill. So I really think that over the next few years, the changes in the scope of reporting and the process are only going to make the good that’s happening in mental health even worse,” said Rep. Creekmore.
Creekmore plans to introduce legislation in the next legislative session that would create metrics to measure CMHC performance, along with an action plan to address low-performing facilities. He also wants to create a program similar to Tennessee’s that would provide tiered housing assistance for eligible mental health patients on Medicaid.
