Fewer people in Mississippi who need mental health services are being held in county jails, the state’s Department of Mental Health (DMH) reported, crediting a 2024 law aimed at reducing jail placements for those in crisis.
The department shared the findings from its fiscal year 2025 annual report during a board meeting Thursday. Executive Director Wendy Bailey said state hospital admissions from jails fell by 31% since House Bill 1640 became law in July 2024.
Before the law, individuals undergoing civil commitment could be jailed if counties had no alternative placement. Now, staff at local community mental health centers screen individuals reported as potentially dangerous to themselves or others before they enter state custody. People can only be jailed if all other care options are exhausted, they are “actively violent,” and for no more than 48 hours.
The department also found that wait times in jail for people awaiting state hospital treatment dropped from about two days to roughly one day after the law took effect. Bailey credited this to the law’s requirement that a qualified provider screen anyone being committed for severe mental illness before they are sent to jail.
In 2023, reporting by Mississippi Today and ProPublica revealed that Mississippi routinely jailed people in need of severe mental health care who had not been charged with a crime—a practice that endangered lives and was unique among U.S. states.
DMH’s data represents one measure of how many people with mental health needs end up in jail without criminal charges. Chancery clerks and community mental health centers also track these cases, including individuals released to settings other than state hospitals. Earlier this year, Mississippi Today found inconsistencies among these record keepers, making it difficult to fully assess the law’s impact.
Adam Moore, a DMH spokesperson, said while the report doesn’t capture every case, the data shows a positive trend.
“We think it’s a correlation, and we think it’s a positive correlation,” Moore said.
House Public Health and Human Services Chairman Sam Creekmore, R-New Albany, who led the 2024 bill, said investigative reporting by Mississippi Today and ProPublica influenced his decision to sponsor the legislation.
After the board meeting, Creekmore said the law marked a step forward but acknowledged more work is needed to fully protect Mississippians with severe mental health needs.
“It’s not perfect by any means,” he said.
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