Overview: Mississippi Opioid Settlement Funds Information

Senate Bill 3072, 2026 Regular Session (Fiscal Year 2027)

 

Senate Bill 3072 directs money from the Mississippi Opioid Settlement Fund to the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. These funds come from legal settlements with companies involved in the opioid epidemic and are set aside to treat, prevent and reduce the harm caused by opioid use.

The bill provides this money in two parts. Section 29 sets aside $500,000 in nonabatement funds for the Mississippi Dementia Care Program under the Jimmy Kaigler Alzheimer’s Support Act; this is not an opioid grant.

Section 30 provides $11,995,000 in abatement funds – money required to be spent specifically on addressing the opioid epidemic – divided among the six recipients described below. DMH administers each grant, releasing funds as reimbursement and requiring recipients to submit regular reports on how the money is spent and what it accomplishes.

Oceans Healthcare — $4,000,000

This is the largest single award. The funding supports a program run by Oceans Healthcare to improve maternal mental health and to reduce opioid-related illness and death among pregnant and postpartum women. Pregnant and new mothers are among the people most vulnerable to the harms of opioid use, and reaching them early can protect both the mother and the child.

Community Mental Health Centers (TRACE CMHCs) —  $4,500,000

This is the largest allocation in the section overall. Rather than going to a single site, the funds will be distributed to Mississippi’s network of 12 Community Mental Health Centers. The goal is to directly expand access to lifesaving care across the state, so that abatement resources reach communities statewide rather than being concentrated in one location.

· Region II, Communicare — $298,803

Communicare will use its TRACE Grant to establish medically managed intensive inpatient services, including medically supervised withdrawal management for individuals beginning treatment. The funding supports the hiring of six full-time registered nurses and a full-time intake therapist to deliver these services.

· Region III, LIFECORE Health Group — $363,104

LIFECORE Health Group will use its TRACE Grant to reduce barriers that keep individuals from entering and completing treatment. The funding supports recovery services such as sober living assistance, transportation and residential treatment beds, along with medication support for eligible clients after treatment.

· Region IV, Region 4 Mental Health Services — $354,293

Region 4 Mental Health Services will use its TRACE Grant to expand outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment services. The funding adds a full-time therapist and a peer recovery support specialist, provides staff training in evidence-based practices and modernizes treatment facilities and equipment.

· Region VI, Life Help — $643,823

Life Help will use its TRACE Grant to develop an intensive outpatient program for adolescents and add three clinical staff, including two therapists and a registered nurse. The funding also supports medication-assisted treatment, expanded residential beds for pregnant and parenting individuals and recovery support services after discharge.

· Region VII, Community Counseling Services — $325,398.50

Community Counseling Services will use its TRACE Grant to expand its residential treatment services, with most of the funding dedicated to serving more individuals in its existing residential programs. The funding also adds a community support specialist and helps the region serve uninsured and underinsured individuals.

· Region VIII, Region 8 Mental Health Services — $407,231

Region 8 Mental Health Services will use its TRACE Grant to bring treatment services to rural communities in Copiah, Lincoln, Madison and Simpson counties by hiring five new staff, including a peer recovery support specialist and four co-occurring disorders specialists. The funding also supports adolescent intensive outpatient services, staff training, and medication-assisted treatment.

· Region IX, Hinds Behavioral Health Services — $200,479.50

Hinds Behavioral Health Services will use its TRACE Grant to expand outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment, including both day and evening options, and to strengthen partnerships with community providers for residential referrals. The region expects to serve approximately 75 additional clients through the grant.

· Region X, Weems Community Mental Health Center — $420,038

Weems Community Mental Health Center will use its TRACE Grant to expand treatment across its full continuum of care, including adolescent intensive outpatient services, high-intensity residential treatment, and withdrawal management. The funding increases residential capacity from 14 to 18 beds for individuals unable to pay for treatment.

· Region XII, Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Services — $1,044,246.50

Pine Belt Mental Health Services will use its TRACE Grant to expand its intensive outpatient program by adding six clinical positions and implementing evidence-based treatment practices and technologies. The funding also supports transportation assistance, medication support, and additional residential treatment beds.

· Region XIV, Singing River Services — $260,361

Singing River Services will use its TRACE Grant to launch new residential treatment services, an intensive outpatient program, and community-based recovery supports for individuals completing residential care. The funding provides start-up support, including program staff, a leased facility and essential operating costs.

· Region XV, River Ridge Behavioral Health Services — $136,281.50

River Ridge Behavioral Health Services will use its TRACE Grant to grow its treatment workforce by hiring a substance use disorder services coordinator and additional substance use disorder specialists. These staff will expand service delivery across the region’s southern counties, Warren County and Yazoo County.

· Region XVI, South Mississippi Mental Health Center — $45,940.50

South Mississippi Mental Health Center will use its TRACE Grant to improve integrated care for individuals with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders by hiring a substance use disorder therapist and a community support specialist. The funding supports targeted outreach to veterans, pregnant and parenting individuals, justice-involved individuals, and other rural and underserved populations.

Open Doors Homeless Coalition — $1,500,000

This grant funds a housing voucher program for adults who are leaving residential substance use disorder treatment. It is designed to give people safe, stable housing at the moment their recovery is most fragile. Because unstable housing is a common cause of relapse, this program addresses one of the practical barriers that can undermine successful treatment, with a particular focus on the Gulf Coast.

South Central Regional Medical Center — $1,000,000

This grant supports South Central Regional Medical Center, based in Laurel, in creating modern, trauma-informed and more accessible facilities. The improvements are intended to allow the center to admit more patients and to provide a safe and welcoming environment for individuals and their families seeking care.

East Mississippi State Hospital — $895,000

This grant funds 15 additional substance use disorder treatment beds at East Mississippi State Hospital in Meridian, a facility operated directly by the Department of Mental Health. By adding capacity within a state-run hospital, the funding directly increases the number of people who can receive inpatient treatment. This is the only grant that provides funding to a DMH program.

Mississippi State University — $100,000

This award supports a partnership with Mississippi State University to conduct a statewide Comprehensive Needs Assessment. Instead of providing direct treatment, this project gathers the information needed to understand where the greatest needs are, helping guide how future settlement resources should be directed.