The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced Friday that grants have been awarded to increase access to and to improve the quality of community mental and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services through the expansion of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC). The Fiscal Year 2020 CCBHC Expansion Grants include $200 million in annually appropriated funding and $250 million in emergency COVID-19 funding.

“New funding secured from Congress by President Trump will help certified community behavioral health clinics continue to treat Americans with substance use disorders and mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “The community clinics supported by SAMHSA have an established track record of connecting Americans with serious mental illness to the treatment they need. President Trump has made it a priority throughout his administration to help Americans with serious mental illness and substance use disorders get science- and evidence-based treatment, and that commitment continues during this crisis.”

“Expanding community-based hubs for behavioral health care could not be more crucial for the United States,” said Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Elinore F. McCance-Katz, MD, PhD, the head of SAMHSA. “CCBHCs already perform a vital role of addressing in one location the complex needs of people with mental and substance use disorders. The coronavirus pandemic substantially increases the need for these comprehensive services.”

CCBHCs provide person- and family-centered, integrated services. The CCBHC Expansion grant program must provide community access to services – including 24/7 crisis intervention services for people who have serious mental illness (SMI) or SUDs, including opioid use disorders; for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance (SED); and for people who have co-occurring mental and substance disorders (COD). SAMHSA expects that this program will provide comprehensive, 24/7 access to community-based mental and SUD services; treatment of COD; and physical health care in a single location.

The grant awards are listed at https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/awards/2020/SM-20-012.

In response to the COVID-19 emergency, SAMHSA has awarded $360 million in grant funding.

“The Trump administration is moving quickly to respond to the needs of America’s vulnerable populations during this time,” said Assistant Secretary McCance-Katz. “The nation’s behavioral health crises were not replaced by the pandemic. They persist and could worsen. We’re doing everything we can to meet our loved ones’ needs.”