The Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) applied for and received a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) planning grant in late 2022. The law requires CCBHCs to provide integrated and coordinated behavioral health care to anyone who requests services. You can read the DMH’s application here.
The DMH invited people to sign up for CCBHC planning committees in its July 31, 2023 newsletter. We urge our readers, especially parents, caregivers and youth, to sign up for a committee. Contact project director Amy Swanson with questions or feedback about the planning grant.
From the Mississippi Department of Mental Health (we’ve quoted all of the italicized print directly from the DMH):
CCBHC Project Director Requests Input for Committees and Workgroups
The Department of Mental Health’s new Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Project Director Amy Swanson held site visits during the past month with recipient pilot sites of a planning grant that will inform the development and implementation of a new community mental health service model in Mississippi.
She’s now requesting your input and involvement in convening committees and workgroups for the CCBHC Planning Grant. Mississippi is one of 15 states that has received a $1 million CCBHC Planning Grant that aims to transform mental health and substance use treatment across the country by providing sustainable funding for robust community treatment services.
“To ensure we develop the best approach for Mississippi, we need your input and involvement,” Swanson said. “This work will only be successful if we engage stakeholders to ensure that we implement CCBHCs in a way that meets the unique needs of Mississippi.”
CCBHCs will:
- Improve access to and delivery of community-based behavioral health services.
- Address gaps or barriers to care in Mississippi.
- Establish sustainable funding for additional investment in quality, evidence-based mental health, and substance use services.
- Offer more competitive wages because of the cost-based reimbursement that can aid in alleviating workforce shortages.
- Hold CMHCs accountable for quality outcomes.
- Engage stakeholders and consumers of mental health services, including youth, family members, and community leaders, to provide input on a customizable approach to care that increases responsiveness to the needs of Mississippians.
Mississippi’s goal in receiving this planning grant is to transition the statewide network of Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) to the CCBHC model of integrated care that provides people with care coordination and support in behavioral health care, physical health care, social services, and more. While five of Mississippi’s CMHCs are already recipients of other federal CCBHC Expansion Grants, DMH has selected two specific CMHCs to participate in this planning period, Life Help, the Region 6 CMHC, and Singing River Services, the Region 14 CMHC.
Get Involved in Mississippi’s Statewide CCBHC Planning Grant Efforts
DMH is convening the following committees and workgroups to assist in planning efforts. You’re encouraged to sign up and get involved, or refer others who should be involved as well. For descriptions of the committees and more information, download the document linked below.
- Steering Committee
- CCBHC Learning Collaborative
- Executive Standing Committee
- Finance Workgroup
- Governance Workgroup
- Infrastructure Standing Committee
- Cultural Competency Workgroup
- Family and Client Engagement Workgroup
- Staffing and Workforce DevelopmentTraining Workgroup
- CCBHC Certification Standing Committee
- Quality Standing Committee
- Data and Reporting Workgroup
- Evaluation Workgroup
- Quality Improvement Plan Workgroup
- Services and Supports Standing Committee
- Children and Youth Workgroup
- IDD Workgroup
- SUD Workgroup
- Other Needs Workgroup
- Stakeholder Engagement, Outreach, and Communications
To sign up and get involved, please download the document linked below, fill out your responses, and email to CCBHC Project Director Amy Swanson at amy.swanson@dmh.ms.gov. You are also welcome to call her at 330-472-4350 to discuss Mississippi’s CCBHC Planning Grant.
We look forward to your involvement in this important work!
Families as Allies has followed and participated in national efforts involving Certified CCBHCs since 2018. We believe this model for community behavioral health has tremendous potential if it is developed and implemented transparently and inclusively. These are some of our past blogs entries related to CCBHCs:
- Medical Care Advisory Committee Meeting This Friday To Discuss Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
- Medicaid Explores Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers
- Read Our Families as Allies Draft Public Comments on the National Strategic Plan for Mental Health and Substance Use Support and Services (Priority 4)
- Coordinator of Mental Health Accessibility Releases Second Quarterly Report
