SAMHSA Awards $250 Million to 100 Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers

To Improve Community Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Treatment Services

Funding includes $77 million made possible by the American Rescue Plan

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded 100 grants to increase access to facilities throughout the nation that provide community-based support for Americans in need of substance use disorder and mental health treatment services. Totaling $250 million, including $77 million from the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the grants support the Biden-Harris Administration’s priority of addressing the behavioral health needs of Americans—particularly those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) expansion grant program increases access to and improves the quality of community mental and substance use disorder treatment services. CCBHCs provide person- and family-centered integrated services, including 24/7 crisis intervention services for individuals with serious mental illness or substance use disorders, including opioid use disorders; children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances; and individuals with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders.

The $77 million added by the American Rescue Plan helps expand the CCBHC program in both breadth and depth. These funds – part of the $420 million appropriated for CCBHC expansion grants in the American Rescue Plan – will help the program establish services in new facilities and make services more robust at existing facilities at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has increased behavioral health needs throughout the country.

“As we continue to confront the impact of the pandemic, increased support for mental and substance use treatment can be a critical lifeline to communities across the country,” said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra. “These new resources reflect our commitment to expanding access to quality care for everyone in need.”

“The ability to provide coordinated and centralized care—including crisis intervention along with substance use disorder and mental health services—was crucial before the COVID-19 pandemic. The urgency to connect Americans to such easy-to-access treatment and services has increased exponentially since,” said Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA. “The addition of the American Rescue Plan and COVID-related funding will contribute significantly to increasing opportunities for recovery from mental health and substance use problems by improving access to certified community behavioral health clinics, as well the level of care they deliver.”

The Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics provide community-based mental and substance use disorder services, advance integration of behavioral health with physical health care, assimilate and utilize evidence-based practices on a more consistent basis, and promote improved access to high quality care. They coordinate and organize care activities among different services and providers, and across various facilities, a key aspect to providing improved treatment services in the community.

The 100 grants comprise $115 million in COVID relief funds, $77 million in American Rescue Plan funds and $58 million in annual appropriations. View recipients of the CCBHC Expansion Grants, and read more about the grant program.