Updated 1/15/26: DMH Receives Notice of Federal Grant Terminations

Update: 1/15/26

On January 15, 2026, DMH received notice from SAMHSA that the termination of DMH’s grants discussed below has been rescinded.

Original Post:

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) received notifications the evening of January 13 and early morning hours of January 14 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for the termination of certain federal discretionary grants.

As of the afternoon of January 14, DMH had received termination notices for two grants for a total of $440,783 per year. 

  • Mississippi Department of Mental Health
    • Total grant loss: $440,783 (per year)
    • Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) – $125,000 per year – This is for MHFA training for adults and youth.
    • Crisis Intervention Team Training – $315,783 per year – This is for CIT training for law enforcement statewide.
    • DMH does receive $500,000 from HB 1222 for MHFA and CIT for law enforcement. However, with the loss of the federal grants, DMH does not have funding for MHFA for any other population other than law enforcement.

Based on information DMH received from the Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs), Regions 2, 4, 7, and 9 received funding terminations totaling $8,690,000. Below is the breakdown DMH received from the CMHCs as of the afternoon of January 14. 

  • Region 2 Communicare
    • Total grant loss: $3,665,000
    • System of Care (SOC) – This grant is to treat children up to age 21 in the schools and community to include full care coordination and family treatment.
    • FR-CARA – This grant provides opioid overdose training and Narcan to CMHC Regions 2, 3, and 4, including fentanyl resistant gloves and other supplies for law enforcement.
    • SBIRT – This grant is to implement screening and brief intervention and referral treatment for youth ages 25 and younger to screen for substance use and mental health disorders to provide access to treatment in a timely manner. Part of this grant is to train local physicians and agencies on how to screen and provide referral information for the patients they serve.
    • TREE – This grant provides specific substance abuse treatment for adolescents with SUD issues ages 25 and under. Region 2 recently received this grant, and the plan was to create a Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program that only has staff that does MAT as well as virtual adolescent IOP program.
    • MHFA – This grant is used to provide MHFA training, including training law enforcement and providing the materials for law enforcement to come into compliance with the law.
    • TIEH – This grant is used to connect people who are at risk of homelessness with the appropriate resources to help them from becoming homeless.
  • Region 4
    • Total grant loss: $1,400,000
    • SOC – Same as above
    • Drug Court – Provide clinical services and recovery support services to people who are enrolled in drug court and their families.
  • Region 7
    • Total grant loss: $1,000,000
    • SOC – Same as above
  • Region 9
    • Total grant loss: $2,625,000 
    • SOC – Same as above
    • GBHI – This is a grant to help with homelessness and risk of homelessness.
    • MHFA – Same as above

DMH was notified by Mississippi State University that they received three grant funding terminations.

    • $750,000 plus an additional $187,500 in carryover for the Healthy Transitions grant. MSU developed the MSU Behavioral Health, a mental health clinic providing services, including free therapy for 16-25 year olds living in Mississippi to prevent the development of serious mental health and substance use issues and ensure youth and young adults stay connected with work or school. MSU offered psychological assessments at flat rate prices.  Another grant activity was Trust Based Relational Interventions which was offered to youth referred by Oktibbeha County Youth Court judge.
    • $635,000 for the CHR-P, Clinical High Risk for Psychosis, which includes screenings for early psychosis and providing evidence-based care.
    • $125,000 for MHFA for first responders.

DMH was notified by the University of Southern Mississippi that they received one grant funding termination.

  • $1,699,133 over four years for the CBH-SOAR Program – A community program for outreach and intervention with youth and young adults at clinical high risk for psychosis.

DMH was notified by the Mississippi Public Health Institute (MSPHI) that they received two grant funding terminations.

  • $1,095,517 for the Prescription Drug Overdose – ARIES grant – This grant provides training and naloxone for first responders at the MS Department of Transportation; for law enforcement officers and EMS; and naloxone supplies for vending machines.
  • $384,000 for the SPF-Rx grant – This grant provides training for hospitals and other medical entities.

This is the most updated and accurate information DMH has to share as of the evening of January 14, 2026. We have been in contact with NASMHPD, NASADAD and state leaders regarding the termination of these grants. If there are any changes, we will share updates as soon as possible.