- Mississippi Youth Court is asking lawmakers for millions for a new case management system to limit delays and inefficiencies, while the AG’s office wants to see improvements to the state’s Safe Haven Baby Box law, among other recommendations.
Mississippi is making strides in improving the outcomes of the most vulnerable children in the judicial system, but improvements and increased staffing are still needed.
That was the message members of the Senate Women, Children, and Families Study Committee heard on Tuesday.
Mississippi Youth Courts
Consultants for the Mississippi Youth Court have offered recommendations to continue to improve the juvenile justice system, with more than half of the 12 recommendations offered centered around upgrades in technology, staff training, and hiring.
Officials with the state’s Youth Court said their data systems date back to 1999, the era of the flip phone and dial-up internet, leading one court leader to compare their “Frankenstein” system to “the water system in Jackson.”
“We’re springing some leaks, the pipes don’t fix, we got some real problems,” Senators were told.
The consultants said the Court should have a system that allows for sharing between parties, creates an accurate record of procedures, limits delays and inefficiencies, and ensures privacy. The Youth Court is seeking $8 million this legislative session to replace part of its current data system with a new case management system.
Lawmakers were told that the antiquated system makes it difficult for members to prepare monthly reports, as required under state law. The law requires the Court to report several metrics to the Legislature, including the number of days the court is in session, the number of children adjudicated as neglected or abused, the number of cases disposed of, and the number of delinquent youths in the system. The law also requires standardizing the court’s intake process and annual training for intake officers.
Senators were informed that the law “has not been warmly received by Youth court staff,” said Vicki Lowery, Youth Court Program Director.
She informed the committee that the Court has hired an attorney to audit, investigate, and monitor Youth Court operations to ensure compliance.
Lowery said the fix will be expensive, but Mississippi is already spending millions on the issues facing the juvenile court.
“I ask that you keep in mind the price tag we are already paying. We’re paying penalties right now,” she said.
Overall, Lowery said Mississippi does not have enough diversion services or programming, meaning the state is opting for the “lengthy, more costly alternative.”
AG playing a role in women, children services
Mississippi Deputy Attorney General Doug Miracle outlined what the AG’s Office is doing to help women, children, and families in the Magnolia State. He said following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, the AG’s office initiated several initiatives to help families, including the Empowerment Program.
The five prongs of the program include:
- Making quality childcare more accessible and affordable
- Promoting workplace flexibilities
- Improving child support enforcement
- Streamlining and improving adoption and foster care systems
- Supporting pregnant women, mothers, and their children and families with resources and opportunities to upskill, educate, and grow.
However, Miracle said, the AG will bring additional initiatives to the legislature.
“In the coming year, we intend to bring additional proposals to the Legislature, including a proposal we have worked closely with the Mississippi Department of Human Services to develop that would require past due child support to be paid from casino winnings,” he said.
The AG’s Office will work with legislators to ensure casino winnings can be withheld for back child support, similar to lottery winnings. Miracle said nearly 160,000 children were owed child support in Mississippi, totaling $1.7 billion.
“For many families, this is the difference between healthy meals and going to bed hungry. These children deserve our best efforts, and we look forward to working with the Legislature on this proposal again in the 2026 Session,” said Miracle.
Also on the legislative agenda are improvements to Mississippi’s 2023 Safe Haven Baby Box law. Since becoming law, eight of these life-saving options have been installed across the state, and several more are in the process of being established, Miracle said, adding that three babies have been recovered.
“Our experience with the Baby Boxes has helped to inform legislative changes that can make them work even better, and we hope the Legislature will help us make these improvements,” he said.
Miracle also highlighted many cases the AG’s Office has prosecuted related to women and children. He said the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is experiencing an increase in cyber-tips reported to Mississippi. From January 1 to December 5, the tipline logged 5,615 tips.
The office now has cyber labs and forensic experts at three sites across the state, on the Gulf Coast, in Oxford, and in Jackson. These labs are established to assist law enforcement across Mississippi in a timely and cost-efficient manner. The AG’s office has also trained 264 law enforcement officers on ICAC-related issues and an additional 76 on forensic lab techniques, Miracle said.
The AG Office’s Human Trafficking Task Force has completed five multi-jurisdictional operations, resulting in 112 arrests and recovery of 49 human trafficking victims, including two minors.
“These operations included two that were part of interstate operations: Operation Game Over, conducted on the Gulf Coast with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office during Super Bowl weekend, and Operation Coast to Coast, spanning 15 states and involving over 150 law enforcement agencies,” Miracle said.
In addition, the AG’s Office is working with CPS to find Mississippi’s foster children new homes. Miracle said his understanding is that CPS currently has 18 counties in a foster care pilot program, and preliminary data indicate that this pilot program can provide a groundbreaking model for moving children through the foster care system.
“While CPS only assigned five of those 18 counties to the Attorney General’s Office, our experienced team of attorneys and paralegals also continued to pursue termination of parental rights (TPR) in the other 64 counties not included in the CPS pilot program,” he said.
As of last week, the AG’s Office legally freed 616 children for adoption in 2025, exceeding its 2024 total of 596 children.
“There is no question that children move along the pathway to their forever home more quickly when we have consistent legal representation starting at the shelter hearing and continuing throughout the custody process,” Miracle said.
