Grants Provided for Certified Behavioral Health Clinics

Two funding opportunities for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) expansion, totaling $123.6 million, were made available by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The CCBHC Planning, Development and Implementation (CCBHC-PDI) grant aims to assist clinics to establish and implement new CCBHC programs, and the CCBHC Improvement and Advancement (CCBHC–IA) grant seeks to enhance and support existing CCBHCs that currently meet the CCBHC Certification Criteria.

Made possible through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, HHS awarded 15 states each with $1 million, one-year CCBHC planning grants, the first time these planning grants have been available since the program began in 2015. In 2024, up to 10 of those will participate in the CCBHC Medicaid demonstration program and receive enhanced Medicaid reimbursement. The full CCBHC demonstration program provides reimbursement through Medicaid for the full cost of services that CCBHCs provide, at higher, more competitive rates than community mental health centers previously received. This sustainable funding also ensures they can provide a more comprehensive range of services rather than fragmented services driven by billing codes.

CCBHCs were created to transform mental health and substance use treatment across the country and provide sustainable funding for robust community outpatient mental health treatment. CCBHCs are required to provide a range of services, including crisis services that are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.