Thursday, January 2, 2025
1/2/2025
The Harris County CCBHC Expansion will reduce the incidence and duration of psychiatric and medical hospitalization, emergency healthcare service usage, homelessness, incarceration, and other interactions with the criminal justice system by improving sustained treatment engagement, treatment adherence, improving health outcomes, and functional outcomes for patients with serious mental illness (SMI) and their families served in the city of Houston, Harris County, Texas at The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD (The Harris Center); thus, decreasing taxpayer burden and repeat emergency healthcare service usage. With one of the largest, most diverse and rapidly growing populations in the U.S., Harris County's mental healthcare services have been struggling to keep pace with the expanding demand for services, particularly for those who are high need/service consumers originating from historically underrepresented racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and underserved communities. During the course of this 2-year project, The Harris County CCBHC Expansion will serve a total of 2,800 (1300 in Year 1, 1500 in Year 2) unique uninsured/underinsured residents with SMI in Harris County, who have been assessed as requiring either integrated behavioral/medical care or substance use/abuse intervention. The Harris County CCBHC Expansion will leverage existing relationships between The Harris Center, University of Houston Medical School, West Oaks Hospital, The Council on Recovery, and the Santa Maria Hostel (residential substance abuse) to build a coalition relationships among behavioral health entities and other providers. Expanded relationships with substance abuse and primary care providers will support a coordinated and integrated system of care, holistically addressing the health and behavioral health needs of individuals with SMI. The Harris Center operates same-day, walk-in clinical and financial assessment services Monday through Saturday during normal business hours. Harris County CCBHC Expansion participants will receive individualized treatment planning based on assessment of substance misuse and trauma, in addition to mental health and medical issues. Furthermore, comprehensive health, behavioral health, and psychosocial services will be provided through evidence-based interventions, such as motivational interviewing (MI), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and trauma-informed Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) curriculum, as indicated. Harris County CCBHC Expansion will add to The Harris Center's current service array to include integrated primary medical care and medication assisted treatment. Potential candidates for the integrated care arm of intervention at The Harris County CCBHC Expansion will be identified using a risk stratification tool, developed in consultation with The National Council for Behavioral Health, applied to individuals diagnosed with SMI. Candidates for enhanced medication-assisted therapy services will be identified from individuals served in each of The Center's four major clinics and its ACT program. Harris County CCBHC Expansion will advance The Harris Center's ability to provide fully integrated services to patients served in all four of its major Harris County clinic locations. The Harris Center is currently accredited by both CARF (3-year certification, November 2019) and by CCBHC by Texas HHSC (3-year certification, June 2019). Implementation and outcomes of The Harris County CCBHC Expansion will be evaluated through formative and summative evaluation components to ensure its congruence with program participants' needs, state law, and program goals, and to inform continual program improvement and quality assurance efforts.
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).