Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 41 - PUBLIC HEALTH (§§ 41-1-1 — 41-149-NEW-003) › Chapter 20 - MENTAL HEALTH ACCESSIBILITY (§§ 41-20-1 — 41-20-53) › Section 41-20-9 - Coordinator's duties upon determination of inadequate mental health services in county or geographic area within county

(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)
When the coordinator determines services are inadequate, the coordinator shall determine if there is a plan in place or a plan being developed to increase access to mental health services in that county or the geographic area within the county where mental health services are inadequate and shall assess the viability of the plan, including its sufficiency to address the inadequacy of the available mental health services.
(3)
If there is no plan in place or being developed, the coordinator may allow the county board of supervisors or the regional commission a reasonable time to develop and implement a plan.
(4)
If the coordinator determines that the plan is or will be insufficient to provide mental health services to the population of the county or the geographic area within the county where the services are inadequate, the coordinator shall develop and implement a plan to facilitate increased access to mental health services in the county or geographic area by:
(a)
First meeting with the board of supervisors of the county in which the mental health services are inadequate and the regional commission in which the county is located to explain in detail the possible consequences of the failure of the county and commission to address the inadequacy of the available mental health services in the county or the geographic area within the county, which shall include putting the regional commission on probation and ultimately decertifying the commission. Then the coordinator shall work with one or more of the regional commissions that are adjacent to the county or the geographic area within the county where the mental health services are inadequate to determine if one of those regional commissions is willing to provide those services in the county or geographic area, and if a regional commission is willing to do so, the coordinator shall take all necessary steps to facilitate the transfer of the responsibility of providing those services to that regional commission; or
(b)
If no regional commission adjacent to the county or the geographic area within the county where the mental health services are inadequate is willing to provide those services in the county or geographic area, then working with one or more of the regional commissions that are not adjacent to the county or geographic area to determine if one of those regional commissions is willing to provide those services in the county or geographic area.
(5)
If the coordinator determines that no regional commission in the state is willing to provide the necessary mental health services in the county or the geographic area within the county where the services are inadequate, the coordinator shall notify the State Board of Mental Health. Within a reasonable time after receiving such notice from the coordinator, the board shall issue a request for proposals to obtain public or private providers of mental health services to provide the necessary mental health services in the county or the geographic area within the county where the services are inadequate. The request for proposals process followed by the board to obtain those services shall not be subject to the rules, regulations or approval of the Public Procurement Review Board.
Added by Laws, 2020, ch. 479, SB 2610,§ 6, eff. 7/8/2020.