The proposed revisions to the 2020 Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) Operational Standards are now available for public comment. The DMH requires community mental health centers and other community non-profits (for example, Catholic Charities, Youth Villages, Choices, Canopy, Mississippi Behavioral Health and others) to follow these standards when they provide services such as counseling, MYPAC, and care coordination to children, families and adults in the community (this includes in-home, school-based and crisis response services).
The proposed standards are on the MS Secretary of State’s website. To access the proposed revisions through the Secretary of State’s website:
- Go to: https://www.sos.ms.gov/index.php/regulation-enforcement/administrative-procedures
- Click “Search Administrative Bulletin.”
- Use the drop-down menu under “Agency Search” to go to Title 24: Mental Health.
- Click on the “Search” button at the bottom of the box. The proposed revision to the 2020 DMH Operational Standards should be the first thing on the list and is system number 27554.
We created this shortcut to access the proposed standards. The DMH has included a mark-up copy (showing the proposed changes they made and what was originally there) and a clean copy (not showing what was there before the change) of the Operational Standards in one document for your review. The combined document begins with the clean standards, and the mark-up copy starts on page 435.
The public comment period will close on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. DMH must receive comments by 5:00 p.m. Submit comments in writing to certification@dmh.ms.gov. DMH asks that you include the rule and page numbers in your submission.
Making public comments is a meaningful way to help systems become more responsive to our children. We encourage you to give the Department of Mental Health feedback about how the services it certifies can be as helpful as possible.
It is sometimes overwhelming to wade through a state agency’s standards. The PDF search feature is one way to find topics in those standards documents you want to comment on. For example, if you decide to give feedback about parent/caregiver peer support, MYPAC, wraparound, MAP Teams, or other important supports for your family, search the standards for those words to find the standards related to the feedback you want to give.
If you would like assistance finding a specific service or standard in the document, call the DMH helpline at 1-877-210-8513. Families as Allies is always happy to support you, too. You can contact us at 601-355-0915 or info@faams.org.
Families as Allies will likely submit public comments related to at least these areas:
- Implementation of high-fidelity wraparound care coordination for the intended children and families;
- consistency of peer support supervision standards with the Substances Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) national model standards;
- how families will receive support during the pre-affidavit screening process;
- jailing people without charges at any point during the commitment process;
- certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics; and
- age limits on some services.
We will share any public comments we make with you.
