HHS awards CCBHC planning grants to 15 states to help address ongoing mental health crisis

Key Takeaways

On March 16, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), awarded 15 states (Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia) with a one-year planning grant to assist with establishing a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). Funding for CCBHCs state planning grants was authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (P.L. 117-159) passed last July. Counties are crucial partners to states and localities in developing and administering the CCBHC program.  

The CCBHC model was launched in 2017 to transform how local communities delivered mental health and substance use treatment services and provide sustainable funding for robust community outpatient mental health treatment. CCBHCs offer a wide array of behavioral health services that eliminate the need to receive care from multiple providers and help individuals better navigate physical health services, social services and other systems of care in a more comprehensive manner.  

The clinics are funded through SAMHSA grants or through the Section 223 CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration program, which provides reimbursement through Medicaid for the full cost of services provided at CCBHC sites. The demonstration program provides a sustainable source of funding at higher, more competitive rates than community mental health centers, which allows for a more comprehensive range of services. Currently, eight states (Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Oregon) participate in the Medicaid demonstration, and ten of the 15 states receiving planning grants will be eligible to join the demonstration program in 2024 through separate application process. States that do not get approved to participate in the Medicaid demonstration program will have another opportunity to do so in 2026 when 10 more states are approved to participate, and every two years after that until 100 percent state participation is reached. 

The CCBHC planning phase assists states in certifying clinics as CCBHCs, establishing prospective payment systems for Medicaid reimbursable services, and preparing an application to participate in a four-year demonstration program. This announcement is the first of two rounds of awards, with another 15 states to be awarded planning grants through a notice of funding that is expected to be posted in Fiscal Year 2024. 

Annually, counties invest more than $100 billion in community health systems, including mental health and addiction services, and county-based behavioral health services exist in 23 states that represent 75 percent of the U.S. population. Through 750 behavioral health authorities and community providers, county governments plan and operate community-based services for people with mental illnesses and substance abuse conditions. Counties also help finance Medicaid, the largest source of funding for behavioral health services in the U.S., and serve as the local safety-net, administering wrap-around human services supports. Counties also finance schools, jails and hospitals, as well as many other local entities with which CCBHCs may partner. NACo stands ready to serve as a resource to counties and providers engaging with the CCHBC program. 

Additional Resources

• NACo Report: CCHBCs and Counties
• Behavioral Health Matters to Counties 
• Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP) Advocacy Toolkit 
• NACo Policy Brief: Fund Local Crisis Response Efforts  
• NACo Policy Brief: Enhance Counties' Ability to Prevent and Treat Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Disorders