Bill Text: MS HB807 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Mental health; establish Division of Autism Services within Department of Mental Health.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-21 - Title Suff Do Pass [HB807 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2025-HB807-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2025 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Felsher
House Bill 807
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE DIVISION OF AUTISM SERVICES WITHIN THE BUREAU OF INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH TO DEVELOP AND COORDINATE AUTISM SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AND THEIR FAMILIES; TO SPECIFY THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE DIVISION; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 41-4-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH SPECIFIES THE DIVISIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT, FOR POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, the following terms shall be defined as provided in this subsection:
(a) "Autism spectrum disorder" or "ASD" shall be defined by the current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association.
(b) "Autism services" means services designed to meet the needs of individuals with ASD across their lifespan, including services selected in collaboration with the parents or guardians of children with ASD or adults with ASD and services delivered in inclusive environments, to the extent practical, and services that are part of a coordinated system of care.
(c) "Coordinated system of care" means the total statewide effort, inclusive of case management, that is directed at meeting the needs of individuals with ASD and their families.
(2) There is an urgent and substantial need to develop and implement a statewide comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system of care for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. To help address that need, there is established the Division of Autism Services within the Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities of the State Department of Mental Health to develop and coordinate autism services for individuals with ASD and their families.
(3) The Division of Autism Services, under the supervision of the Director of the Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, shall provide leadership in program development for children and adults with ASD, including establishment of program standards and coordination of program capacity. The Division of Autism Services shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) To define the roles and responsibilities of the division;
(b) To develop a long-term plan, reviewed annually, for a comprehensive statewide coordinated system of care for individuals with ASD, which, to the extent practicable, is derived from scientific-based research and nationally recognized best practices; and
(c) To ensure interagency collaboration, public participation, and mutual sharing of information to facilitate policy decisions and the implementation of a plan for a comprehensive statewide system of care to individuals with ASD.
SECTION 2. Section 41-4-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
41-4-5. There is created the State Department of Mental Health, herein referred to as "department," which shall consist of four (4) or more divisions, among them the Division of Intellectual Disabilities, the Division of Alcohol and Drug Misuse, the Division of Mental Health, and the Division of Administration, Planning and Coordination, and such other divisions as the board deems appropriate.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.
