2015 Mississippi Code
Title 41 - PUBLIC HEALTH
Chapter 21 - INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS OR AN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAMS
§ 41-21-135 - Oversight of Crisis Intervention Teams by community mental health centers; collaborative agreements among community health center, law enforcement agency and hospital that will serve as single point of entry

(1) Community mental health centers shall have oversight of Crisis Intervention Teams operating within their service areas. Proposals for Crisis Intervention Teams shall include the necessary collaborative agreements among the community mental health center, a law enforcement agency and a hospital that will serve as the single point of entry for the Crisis Intervention Team catchment area.

(2) The collaborative agreements shall specify that the hospital acting as the single point of entry shall accept all persons who are in custody of a CIT officer operating within the catchment area, when custody has been taken because of substantial likelihood of bodily harm, and shall accept all persons with mental illness and persons with impairment caused by drugs or alcohol who are referred by the community mental health center serving the catchment area, when a qualified staff member of the community mental health center has evaluated the person and determined that the person needs acute psychiatric emergency services that are beyond the capability of the community mental health center.

(3) The director of the community mental health center shall determine if all collaborative agreements address the needs of the proposed Crisis Intervention Team, including generally accepted standards of law enforcement training, before authorizing operation of the plan. Those generally accepted standards for law enforcement training shall be verified by the State Department of Mental Health.

(4) If the director of the community mental health center has reason to believe that an authorized Crisis Intervention Team is not operating in accordance with the collaborative agreements and within general acceptable guidelines and standards, the director has the authority to review the operation of the Crisis Intervention Team and, if necessary, suspend operation until corrective measures are taken.

(5) The director of the community mental health center shall establish a process by which complaints from the public regarding the operation of a Crisis Intervention Team may be evaluated and addressed and provide for the inclusion of consumer representatives in that process.