Mississippi

Facilities in Mississippi

Residential facilities providing religious, behavioral, and mental health treatment to children exist in all 50 states. Some of these facilities are known to be part of the Troubled Teen Industry, while others have not yet been verified. Any facility where children live and receive care requires additional oversight. This directory helps communities monitor local programs and advocate for accountability.

Reporting abuse in Mississippi

Mississippi sets the highest bar of any state here for complaining about a clinician: the complaint must be written, signed under oath and notarised, on the Board's own form, and it must name the specific statute or rule you say was broken and the dates of what happened. Anonymous complaints are not investigated at all. Worth preparing properly rather than sending something that will be returned.

Time limits in Mississippi: a general guide

This was correct as far as we could tell when we checked it on 28 September 2026. Laws on time limits change often, sometimes every legislative session, so some of what follows may have been updated since. It is a starting point, not legal advice: please check with a lawyer before relying on any date here. A time limit on a lawsuit or a criminal charge is also not a time limit on telling someone, and most of the places listed below will still take a report.

Time limits for abuse of a child often run from the survivor's 18th birthday, or from when they came to understand what happened, rather than from the day the program closed. Many states have lengthened them, removed them for child sexual abuse, or reopened claims that had already expired. A criminal charge, a lawsuit and a licence complaint each have their own time limit, so one having passed does not necessarily mean the others have.

Lawsuits

Physical abuse or injury: Only one year from the injury for assault, battery or false imprisonment. Negligence and other personal injury claims have three years. Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-35; Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49
If it happened before you turned 18: Less certain The clock does not start until the injured person is no longer a minor, and in Mississippi a minor is anyone under 21 for this purpose. So an assault or battery claim can be brought until the 22nd birthday, and a negligence claim until the 24th. There is no longer deadline for non-sexual physical abuse of a child. Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-59; Miss. Code Ann. § 1-3-27
If the program was run by or for the government: Under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, suit must be filed within one year of the conduct, and a written notice of claim must be served on the government's chief executive officer at least 90 days before suing; minors get the year after their disability ends. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-11
Child sexual abuse: The civil SOL for CSA, trafficking, and CSAM claims is age 24 against all defendants, with a discovery rule. CHILD USA's summary

Criminal charges

Physical child abuse: No time limit for felonious abuse or battery of a child. Misdemeanor child abuse or neglect must be charged within two years. Miss. Code Ann. § 99-1-5(1)(a); Miss. Code Ann. § 97-5-39(2)
Assault: No time limit for aggravated assault. Simple assault and other offenses not listed: two years. Miss. Code Ann. § 99-1-5
Child sexual abuse: CSA: In Mississippi, there is no SOL for many CSA felonies and an SOL of 5 years for sexual battery or fondling of a vulnerable person. For the remaining felonies and misdemeanors, the SOL is 2 years after the offense. Trafficking: There is no SOL for trafficking. CSAM: There is no SOL for CSAM offenses. CHILD USA's summary

The injury, assault and physical abuse lines are our reading of the statutes linked, as they stood on 28 September 2026. The child sexual abuse lines are CHILD USA's summary as it stood on 28 September 2026; their page may be more current than ours. In them SOL means statute of limitations, CSA child sexual abuse, and CSAM child sexual abuse material. "Less certain" marks a line where the law is unclear or where our reading has not been confirmed, so please treat it with extra care. Exceptions, court rulings and the details of what happened can all change which time limit applies, and some of these may be longer or shorter for you than they look here. CHILD USA's statute of limitations tracker, updated as each state changes its law. A lawyer can tell you which time limit applies to you, and many offer a free first consultation.

The therapist's licensing board

Holds the individual clinician's licence and can suspend or revoke it.

The agency that licenses the program

Inspects the facility itself and can cite, fine, suspend or close it.

Mississippi State Department of Health, Child Care Facilities Licensure

Licenses child care facilities in Mississippi and runs a dedicated licensure complaint line, separate from the child abuse hotline.

Use this whenA licensed facility, where the issue is a licensing breach rather than abuse.

HowCall the licensure complaint hotline.

1-866-489-8734 Child Care Facilities Licensure complaint line, toll free.

Law enforcement and legal channels

Child protection, the Attorney General, and the criminal side.

Mississippi Child Abuse Hotline

The statewide 24-hour report line run by the Department of Child Protection Services, for abuse, neglect, exploitation and human trafficking. Staff of residential care facilities and group homes licensed by the Department count as persons responsible for the care of children, so their conduct falls squarely within what this line takes.

Use this whenA child at a Mississippi program.

HowCall the hotline, or report online through the Department's site.

1-800-222-8000 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
File a complaint
More about this body

Oversight and advocacy

Bodies with a right to investigate, and advocates who can act for you.

Disability Rights Mississippi

Mississippi's Protection and Advocacy agency, with federal authority to investigate abuse and neglect of people with disabilities in facilities, a right of access to them, and free legal advocacy.

Use this whenA Mississippi program where the young person has a disability or a mental health diagnosis.

HowContact the intake line.

1-800-772-4057 Main line 601-968-0600 voice/TDD.
More about this body

National reporting channels, and the same list for other states