Protection & advocacy for individuals with mntl illness

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded Disability Rights Mississippi $632,033 in Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) program funding on October 1, 2025. Under this formula grant, Disability Rights Mississippi pursues administrative, legal, and other appropriate remedies to address complaints of abuse, neglect, and rights violations affecting adults with significant mental illness and children with significant emotional disturbance. The organization serves as Mississippi's designated protection and advocacy system for individuals with disabilities and delivers legal advocacy and rights protection services statewide. The award covers the 24-month period from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2027, with place of performance in Jackson, Mississippi. PAIMI grants are distributed through formula allocation to eligible state systems under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act; service priority attaches to individuals with serious mental illness or severe emotional impairment at risk for abuse, neglect, or civil rights violations in care or treatment facilities, though the program also serves such individuals in community settings, including during facility admission, transport, or involuntary confinement in detention facilities, jails, or prisons.