The Mississippi Legislature created the Coordinator of Mental Health Accessibility position in 2020, tasked with these duties:
- To perform a comprehensive review of Mississippi’s mental health system.
- To analyze and review the structure of the mental health system.
- To review the adequacy and quality of the individualized supports and services provided to people discharged from the state hospitals.
- To review the quarterly financial statements and status reports of the individual community mental health centers.
- To consult with any monitor or other person appointed by the court, the State Department of Mental Health, the Division of Medicaid, the State Department of Rehabilitation Services, the State Department of Health, county boards of supervisors, regional commissions, community mental health centers, mental health advocates, community leaders and any other necessary parties or entities, both private and governmental, regarding the status of the services offered by Mississippi’s mental health system.
- To determine where the delivery or availability of mental health services is inadequate in any county or geographic area within a county.
- To determine whether each community mental health center has sufficient funds to provide the required mental health services.
- To report on the status of the mental health system quarterly.
Bill Rosamond was appointed to the Coordinator position on October 15, 2020. His office recently released its monitoring report for October – December 2025.
The report focuses on the service system for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It reviews residential and community services and highlights some current challenges along with recommendations to address them. Two of the challenges the report cites are families having to make multiple calls to find IDD services due to a lack of a central access point. The report also discusses how the current waiver services and eligibility criteria do not consistently align with the needs of people with autism.
We encourage you to read the report in more depth, especially if your family has experienced any of the challenges described in the report.
If you have questions or feedback for Mr. Rosamond, you can reach him at bill.rosamond@dfa.ms.gov or 601-359-3402.
You can read past reports and look for future reports by going to the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration’s website and hovering over Quick Links at the top. Click on DFA Legislative Updates and then choose Office of the Coordinator of Mental Health Accessibility Reports and choose the report you wish to read.
