HHS awards 1-year, $1M community behavioral health grants to 15 states
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Key Takeaways:
- The program is an expansion of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics.
- The expansion intends to build on the Biden administration’s work in launching the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
HHS announced it has awarded $1 million 1-year Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic planning grants to 15 states through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
According to an HHS release, Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia were granted these awards.
Funding for the CCBHC state planning grants was authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, which was passed to address the country’s ongoing mental health crisis. CCBHCs are available to all who request help for mental health or substance use issues, regardless of finances, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, per the release.
“The expansion of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics is part of President Biden’s commitment to expand and strengthen equitable behavioral health for all Americans,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in the release. “These clinics serve anyone who requests care for mental health or substance use, regardless of their ability to pay, and connect people to the care they need.”
Expansion of the CCBHCs is intended to build on the Biden administration’s work in launching the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, HHS said in the release, and additional funding opportunities are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Ten of the 15 states that received this year’s planning grants will be able to join the CCBHC demonstration program in 2024 after a separate application process, per the release.
“Data shows in the first 6 months of receiving care, CCBHCs decrease homelessness, decrease the amount of time spent in correctional facilities, decrease the time spent in emergency rooms for behavioral health issues, decrease inpatient hospitalization for mental health treatment and decrease the use of illegal substances,” Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, PhD, HHS Assistant Secretary for mental Health and substance use and the leader of SAMHSA, said in the release.