Federal Grant Award Summary

The Mississippi Department of Human Services received a $110,463.00 formula grant award (CFDA 93.597) from the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. This award supports the Grants to States for Access and Visitation Programs, which enables Mississippi to establish and administer programs facilitating non-custodial parents' access to and visitation with their children. The funded activities include mediation (both voluntary and mandatory), counseling, parenting education, development of parenting plans, visitation enforcement (including monitoring, supervision, and neutral dropoff and pickup services), and development of guidelines for visitation and alternative custody arrangements.

As the administering state agency, MDHS Family and Children's Services delivers these access and visitation support services to non-custodial parents throughout Mississippi. The formula grant allocation is determined based on the ratio of children in Mississippi living with only one biological parent relative to the total number of such children across all states, with a minimum allotment floor of $100,000 annually. MDHS may sub-award portions of this grant to local governments, non-profit organizations, and community action agencies to implement services at the local level and ensure statewide program accessibility.