North Dakota CCBHC Planning Grant - The purpose of North Dakota's Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Planning Grant (CCBHC) to support states in developing and implementing certification systems for CCBHCs; establish Prospective Payment Systems (PPS) for Medicaid reimbursable behavioral health services; and prepare an application to participate in a four-year CCBHC Demonstration program. The State has identified two public behavioral health clinics who are in the process of expanding service to meet CCBHC criteria: Southeast Human Service Center (SEHSC) and North Central Human Service Center (NcHSC). The public behavioral health clinic services offer a safety net for services where other private or community providers are unable or unwilling to meet the need. As CCBHC's, capacity, access, and availability of services will be expanded to individuals with behavioral health and crisis needs throughout the demonstration program catchment areas. These two clinics, the Southeast Human Service Center (SEHSC; Region V) and North Central Human Service Center (NCHSC; Region II), serve thirteen counties with 42% of the state’s population (329,499 individuals). NCHSC includes Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (Three Affiliated Tribes). Both clinics serve a multi-county area which includes rural and urban communities. The urban center for SEHSC is Fargo, ND with a population of 123,550 (the state’s most populous city) and the urban center for NCHSC is Minot, ND with a population of 47,373. SEHSC Region population consists of approximately 50% male and 50% female. The population is 89% are white, 4% Hispanic or Latino, 2.3% black or African American, 2.3% Asian, and 1.8% Native American or Multicultural. NCHSC Region population consists of approximately 51.1% female and 48.9% male. The population is 91% are white, 5.4% Native American or Multicultural, 2.2% Hispanic or Latino, 1.5% black or African American, 1.5% Asian. As of September 12, 2024, the state of North Dakota has not certified any CCBHCs. The Department has submitted several federal grant applications to support CCBHC development since 2022 and has not been awarded. During the 2023 ND legislative session, lawmakers appropriated funding and directed the Department to select at least one human service center clinic to begin the process of becoming a CCBHC. The Department has since created an internal Executive Steering Committee, contracted with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (who subcontracted with MTM for clinic-specific assessments and planning) for consulting to support the state’s CCBHC implementation. The Department’s Policy & Administration Team is currently reviewing and drafting state specific CCBHC criteria and is in the process of drafting proposed legislation for the 2025 ND legislative session to codify the authority for the Department to certify CCBHCs. The two identified clinics proposed to be certified and included in the CCBHC Demonstration have begun efforts to expand service to align to the CCBHC certification criteria. Through the CCBHC Planning Grant, the state will ensure the initial two clinics identified for participation in the demonstration, Southeast Human Service Center (SEHSC) and North Central Human Service Center (NCHSC), are certified using the Certification Criteria. The two clinics (SEHSC and NCHSC) identified for participation in the demonstration represent diverse geographic areas, including both rural and underserved areas.
