Legal battle over state’s mental health care system takes another turn

MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – The legal battle over Mississippi’s mental health care system took another turn.

A three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court ruling that found Mississippi relies too much on institutionalizing people with mental health conditions rather than providing care in local communities.

The judges ruled that the Federal government failed to prove that the state discriminated against people with mental health issues or that the state was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The legal battles began in 2011 when the federal government issued a letter saying Mississippi had done too little to provide mental health services outside mental hospitals.

The U.S. Justice Department sued Mississippi in 2016.

Federal Judge Carlton Reeves ruled in 2019 that Mississippi had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by having inadequate resources in communities to treat people with mental illnesses.

State attorneys said Mississippi has put programs in place to help people get treatment in their communities to avoid hospitalizations.

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