Diana Mikula, former director of Mississippi Department of Mental Health, announced her resignation last week. She took over as the agency’s chief in 2014. Wendy Bailey, former communications director and deputy director of administration at the agency, was appointed by the board to replace her. In a Wednesday interview with Mississippi Today, Rep. Becky Currie (R-Brookhaven), a registered nurse, stated that she feels like this was a missed chance. “It was unacceptable for the board of mental healthcare to not place an interim until they could find someone who is professionally, educationally and has treated mentally ill people. You know what? I’m in shock.” Bailey will take over the responsibility of implementing reforms ordered by a federal court in a U.S. Department of Justice case regarding Mississippi’s mental healthcare delivery system. Bailey said Wednesday that he understood there was always room for improvement, and would not settle for the status quo. I hope that people who want to see the state’s mental system improve and grow will evaluate me on how I perform and what my vision is. The state was accused of putting people with mental illnesses in restrictive environments, such as keeping them in state hospitals instead of providing community-based services. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves stated in his Sept. 4, 2019, order that “there is a lot talk, there are a lot planning, but there’s also a lot people being hurt in this process.” He cited testimony from a Mississippi resident with mental illness. Recent leadership has seen the department divert more money from state institutions’ budgets to community services. Bailey, who earned her bachelor’s degree from Belhaven College and her master’s from Webster University in communication management in 2010, has been working for the agency for almost 16 years. She was first its public relations director. The department also licenses her as a mental health administrator. She has been the agency’s spokesperson and worked on creating public messaging, outreach campaigns, and strategic plans. Currie expressed concern about Bailey’s experiences and said that “this is appalling.” A board statement stated that Bailey was “intimately involved” in the executive leadership of the agency, which employs 5,700 people and serves 110,000. Her critical role in the ongoing litigation as well as the fight against COVID-19 is credited by the board. Stewart Rutledge (an Oxford real estate developer, citizen representative on the mental board) said that Wendy has more institutional knowledge and executive experience than anyone else. It is crucial that there be a smooth transition in light of two extremely difficult situations: ongoing federal litigation and COVID. However, there is no guarantee we will achieve that. You need the right person to do that and they must be open to taking the job. Rutledge stated that it was more important to find a leader who is familiar with the state agency’s complex structure than to advertise the job and conduct a national search. Currie stated that the reason they would make such a move is because they don’t want anyone else to find the graves. “…They don’t want anybody coming in and seeing how bad things are.” Bailey said that she was committed to providing technical assistance to Mississippi Today, particularly to improve state data tracking systems to pinpoint the state’s outcomes and determine how effective the services are. “I don’t think that I will shy away from providing assistance to others. Bailey stated that Bailey believes this is how you can grow stronger. According to the board, Mikula had been discussing her retirement more than a year ago. She stated that she wanted to spend more time with her family and she was willing to work with the agency during the federal trial. The board stated that although it could appear as if the hiring process was rushed or predetermined prior to the statement, it has actually been a deliberate process that has taken more than a year of our efforts. The board wrote that they were aware that, prior to this statement, the hiring process could have appeared rushed or predetermined. However, in reality, the process has taken over a year of our work. Rutledge highlighted two main challenges facing the agency today: Navigating the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit and finding ways to pay competitive salaries to ensure it can retain and hire quality mental health professionals. Many advocates believe that the Department of Mental Health should focus on expanding community care. However, the agency does not actually manage the primary provider of these public services, the Community Mental Health Centers. Bryan stated that the Community Mental Health Centers would tell you they are struggling to stay afloat due to ongoing funding problems and the coronavirus. Bailey stated that she will strengthen the department’s relationship to the centers by providing them with more state grant funding. Long-time experts agree that it is important to look at the succession of state department leaders in order to understand how Mississippi’s mental health services are delivered. Albert R. Hendrix was Mikula’s predecessor and was still in charge of the agency when Bailey joined. All of the people in these positions were Randy Hendrix employees and holdovers. Jackie Edwards, a retired director of Region 7 Community Mental Health Center, said that he managed it with an iron fist. Edwards stated that “after he left, none knew what to do.” Edwards added that the new top-level hire shows that “there’s just not any change in their direction.”