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JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Department of Mental Health is asking state lawmakers for a midyear budget adjustment to address a federal claim that it is unnecessarily institutionalizing thousands of adults with mental illness in nursing homes.

The agency, which has been under the microscope since federal officials launched a probe in 2022, is seeking $700,000 to help pay a law firm that was hired to help sort out the state’s response.

Washington, D.C.-based was hired in September and has already been paid $409,000 for its work, according to state payroll records.

Last year the U.S. Department of Justice determined that those suffering with mental illness are “subjected to unnecessary stays in nursing facilities, generally because of a series of systemic failures by the state.�

In the report, officials said as of March 2023, there were 3,289 adults with mental health disabilities who had spent at least 100 days in Missouri’s nursing homes.

“We found that almost none of the adults with mental health disabilities living in nursing facilities in Missouri need to be in these institutions, even for short-term stays,� the report found.

The use of nursing homes to warehouse mentally ill persons violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires states make reasonable modifications to allow adults with mental health disabilities to live in a community setting.

The investigation also reviewed the state’s use of guardianship, when courts appoint someone to be a legal guardian for someone, often giving them the power to make decisions about where the person lives.

“People with disabilities have too often been unlawfully isolated in institutions and stripped of their autonomy,� DOJ Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in the department’s announcement of the inquiry.

According to the investigative report, one provider called guardianship in Missouri a “sentence to be locked in a (nursing facility).�

The $700,000 request is among a number of midyear budget requests filed by state agencies as they head into the final six months of the fiscal year.

In all, the requests across state government total nearly $2.1 billion. Lawmakers typically consider the supplemental budget in the early months of their annual legislative session, which began last week.

The request to pay legal bills to outside firms, rather than rely on the Missouri attorney general’s office, is not unusual. Former Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft used a politically connected law firm in an unsuccessful attempt to defend an investment rule he introduced targeting climate change. The Kansas City-based Graves Garrett law firm was paid more than $1.1 million for its work.

In its request, the Department of Mental Health said it is working with the Department of Health and Senior Services and the Department of Social Services “to ensure a coordinated response.�

DMH spokeswoman Debra Walker said the talks are ongoing. It is not clear if a solution has been determined.

“The Department of Mental Health continues to have discussions with the DOJ about the findings,� she said in an email.

Brown & Peisch has worked for other states trying to address federal regulations in the healthcare arena.

The firm has worked for California on Medicaid issues and represented West Virginia is a case involving foster children being sent to unsafe homes. The bill for that work was over $6 million.