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Fifteen States to Receive CCBHC Planning Grants
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced on Thursday that it is awarding 15 states with 1-year, $1 million Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic planning grants.
The following 15 states were selected to receive the planning grants, which were made available by HHS for the first time since the launch of the CCBHC program in 2015:
- Alabama
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maine
- Mississippi
- Montana
- North Carolina
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- Ohio
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- West Virginia
Up to 10 of the awarded states will participate in the CCBHC Medicaid demonstration program and receive enhanced Medicaid reimbursement in 2024. Ten states will join the CCBHC demonstration program in 2024, and the remaining states will have another chance to join in 2026. Currently, 8 states are participating in the demonstration.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act authorized funding for the state planning grants in 2022. SAMHSA said in a news release that the expansion is an extension of the Biden administration’s efforts to launch the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in July 2022, followed by SAMHSA awarding nearly $300 million in funding for new and existing CCBHCs, including 150 new clinics, in September.
“Today’s planning grants put us one step closer to ensuring equitable access to comprehensive mental health and substance use treatment services nationwide,” Chuck Ingoglia, president and CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, said in a statement. “Each state receiving a grant now has an opportunity to develop new models of mental health care that feature 24/7 crisis services, substance use care, and reduced wait times.
“CCBHCs lower barriers to accessing care by allowing clinics to grow their services, which translates to quicker access, increased care and treatment, and expanded partnerships with schools, hospitals, and law enforcement. CCBHCs also provide a blueprint to effectively address the behavioral health workforce shortage and provides communities the resources needed to meet increased demand for mental health and substance use services.”
In a report published by the US Government Accountability Office in 2021, use of CCBHC services was found to reduce client hospitalizations by nearly 90% from 2015 to 2019. Separate research from HHS found that individuals receiving services at CCBHCs had 63.2% fewer emergency department visits and 60.3% less time incarcerated, and saw a 40.7% reduction in homelessness.
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