In response to the COVID emergency, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), will take two approaches to expand capacity to services and treatment. The larger effort will be to expand capacity across Nebraska's public behavioral health system to increase access to medication management (including medication assisted treatment for substance abuse disorder), outpatient assessment and psychotherapy and peer support for individuals who experience serious mental illness, individuals with substance use disorders, and/or individuals with co-occurring serious mental illness and substance use disorders. The additional capacity will also be available to serve individuals with mental disorders that are less severe than serious mental illness, including those in the healthcare professions. The secondary approach will be to partner with medical associations to offer vouchers for the aforementioned services to expand capacity outside of the traditional public behavioral health system to include private providers.
Additionally, reaching individuals in the healthcare professions will require a different approach than has typically been employed by DBH. DBH is proposing to build on the existing communication channels utilized by various medical associations to communicate the availability of the behavioral health services vouchers to their members.
The DBH will also expand the contracts for capacity with the four family led organizations in the state to increase access to family peer support services to provide recovery support services, individual support services, childcare, vocational, educational, linkages to housing services, and transportation services which will improve access to, and retention in services.
The DBH is well positioned to manage the distribution of Emergency COVID-19 Response funds as well as ensure appropriate and effective use of those funds. The DBH already administers, oversees, and coordinates the state's public behavioral health system to address the prevention and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. The DBH is responsible for managing both the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (CMHSBG) and the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SAPTBG). DBH funds priority treatment and support services for individuals without Medicaid and individuals without insurance or who are underinsured, according to financial eligibility based on a sliding scale on income and family size.
DBH contracts with six Regional Behavioral Health Authorities (RBHA) which authorizes them to purchase services using state general funds, funds received under the CMHSBG and the SAPTBG, and other discretionary federal grants such as the Emergency COVID-19 Response funds.
The DBH also contracts directly with the four federally recognized tribes in Nebraska (Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, Santee Sioux Nation, and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) for behavioral health services, provides staff assistance to the tribes as needed, and works to promote cultural awareness and diversity in the workforce through leadership, training, and direct funding of continuing education classes for providers. The Emergency COVID-19 Response funds will also be available to the tribal communities.