Mississippi is one of 15 states that has received a $1 million Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (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.

The newly announced funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides the Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) $1 million for a 12-month planning process. DMH has selected two specific Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) to participate in this planning period. Region 6 Life Help, located in the Delta region, and Region 14 Singing River Services, in the Gulf Coast region, both have experience providing comprehensive behavioral health services and have elevated levels of need in their service areas.

Singing River Services (Region 14 Community Mental Health Center) is excited to pilot this work in 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.

Singing River Services is one of five CMHCs that is already a recipient of CCBHC Expansion grants from SAMHSA, the federal agency that leads public health efforts regarding behavioral health in the nation. Mississippi’s participating CMHCs include: Region 2 Communicare; Region 3 LIFECORE Health Group; Region 8 Region 8 Mental Health Services; Region 9 Hinds Behavioral Health Services; and Region 14 Singing River Services.

To learn about Singing River Services CCBHC Program please contact Tiffany Baker at tbaker@singingriverservices.org

For more information on CCBHCs:

https://www.samhsa.gov/certified-community-behavioral-health-clinics
https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/program/ccbhc-success-center/ccbhc-overview/

National Council for Mental Wellbeing 2022 CCBHC Impact Report
https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-CCBHC-Impact-Report.pdf

Get Involved in Mississippi’s Statewide CCBHC Planning Grant Efforts
The Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) is overseeing the statewide CCBHC Planning Grant work. To ensure they develop the best approach for Mississippi, they need your input and involvement. This work will only be successful if we engage you and others to ensure that we implement CCBHCs in a way that meets the unique needs of Mississippi.

DMH is convening the following Committees and Workgroups.

Steering Committee: The Steering Committee will meet monthly to inform planning efforts. The Steering Committee will include representation from DMH and other state and local officials with understanding and commitment to the CCBHC. DMH representation will include those with decision-making authority. Importantly, the Steering Committee will also include four Project Coordinators who will represent both existing and pilot CCBHCs.

CCHBC Learning Collaborative: We will convene a Learning Collaborative workgroup among representatives from the state’s CCBHC grantees and non-CCBHC CMHCs to inform the process and engage all Mississippi CMHCs in the CCBHC transformation process.

Executive Standing Committee: The Executive Standing Committee will establish CCBHC leadership, goals, and project management processes to ensure a shared vision and strategic partners are included in planning. It will oversee any finance or staffing decisions related to the Planning Grant and coordinate efforts to apply for Demonstration. The Finance Workgroup will establish CCBHC prospective payment methodology that covers the anticipated costs of delivery of mental health and substance use services and identify a mechanism for quality bonus payments for high-performing clinics.

    Executive Standing Committee Workgroups

• Finance
• Governance

Infrastructure Standing Committee: The Infrastructure Standing Committee will discuss and identify elements needed to ensure Mississippi’s CMHCs have the infrastructure to meet the CCBHC criteria. It will determine resources needed to collect, analyze, and report on CCBHC outcome measures. The workgroups of this Standing Committee will develop workplans and strategies to remediate any gaps to meeting the CCBHC criteria, including identifying the technical assistance needs for providers.

     Infrastructure Standing Committee Workgroups

• Cultural Competency
• Family & Client Engagement
• Staffing and Workforce Development
• Training Workgroup

CCBHC Certification Standing Committee: This committee will craft CCBHC certification criteria to meet the state’s goals for strengthening its care delivery system. Quality Standing Committee: The Quality Standing Committee will develop data collection and reporting capacity at the clinic and state levels that are supported through strengthened health information technologies between and within different community based and community systems for CCBHCs. It will create a framework to information Quality Improvement efforts for CCBHCs.

     Quality Standing Committee Workgroups

• Data and Reporting Workgroup
• Evaluation Workgroup
• Quality Improvement Plan

Services and Supports Standing Committee: This committee will conduct community needs assessments and environmental scan to support the establishment of program goals and customization of the CCBHC model in the state. The working groups of this Standing Committee will identify and recommend remediation efforts to ensure all CMHCs can successfully deliver all nine required CCBHC services.

     Services and Supports Standing Committee Workgroups

• Children and Youth
• IDD
• SUD
• Other Needs

Stakeholder Engagement, Outreach and Communications: This committee will engage people with lived/living experience, peers, and peer organizations, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and other healthcare providers, community stakeholders, tribal organizations, behavioral health providers, schools, corrections stakeholders, and other impacted communities.

To sign up and get involved, please download this document, fill out and email to our CCBHC Project Director Amy Swanson at amy.swanson@dmh.ms.gov. You can also call Ms. Swanson at 330-472-4350 to discuss Mississippi’s CCBHC Planning Grant.

We look forward to your involvement in this important work!