Friday, May 9, 2025
5/9/2025
Rhode Island Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Expansion - The Rhode Island CCBHC Expansion Project expands evidence based practices to individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances (SED) and young adults with emerging SMI. Newport County Community Mental Health Center and its two direct contract organization partners, the Kent Center and Community Care Alliance, will provide expanded and enhanced CCBHC services to over 12,000 people across the State of Rhode Island in the first year of the project. A total of 24,500 people will be served over two years. The project will expand evidence based behavioral health practices to over 590 adults, children and families who currently do not have access to these services in the first year and over 1200 over the two year grant period. Rhode Island has a population of 1,059,639. Of this, 72.5% are white (not Hispanic or Latino), 15.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Black, and approximately 7.7% is Other. Rhode Island has the highest adult rate of mental illness nationally (24%) and 34% of Rhode Island children who needed mental health treatment or counseling in the past 12 months did not receive it. Psychiatric hospitalization rates for children and adults exceed those for other New England states and the needs assessment indicates a serious lack of availability of intensive in-home behavioral healthcare. Rates of attempted suicide and opioid overdose are above the national average. Young adults with first episode serious mental illness have had limited early access to research based treatment to increase recovery and reduce disability. The following evidenced practices will be expanded: Assertive Community Treatment, Individual Placement Services (Supportive Employment), Consolidated Specialty Care (young adult RAISE/Healthy Transitions), Multidimensional Family Therapy, and Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). Additional workforce development and infrastructure improvements (training in recovery/person-centered care, outreach and engagement, and infrastructure for telemedicine, expanded care management are targeted to improve both behavioral health and health outcomes of the people served. The Rhode Island CCBHC Project has three main goals: 1.) Newport County Community Mental Health Center (NCCMHC) will implement a fully operational Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic providing a complete scope of CCBHC services to individuals eligible for Medicaid as well as those who are uninsured or under insured within 4 months of funding; 2.) NCCMHC together with its contract partners will enhance existing CCBHC services by expanding/initiating five evidence based practice, ACT, CSC, SE/IPS, MDFT and Triple P. and 3.) NCCMHC will implement infrastructure enhancements to improve the overall quality and coordination of care that will reduce the total cost of care for clients served by 10.5% over the two years of the project, train 500 staff in person-centered care and implement telemedicine to improve targeted health outcomes.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).