The Role of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics in Early Diversion: A Group Discussion

The Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Expansion Act established Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) to provide a comprehensive collection of services that expand access to treatment, stabilize people in crisis, and provide needed treatment and recovery support services to those with the most serious and complex mental and substance use disorders.

Notably, CCBHCs have proven to expand timely access to treatment for individuals who are justice involved, by preventing entrance into the criminal justice system, minimizing penetration into the criminal justice system, or promptly engaging individuals into treatment upon reentry. They have also been shown to expand referral and support options for law enforcement responding to mental health crisis calls.

Expanding from just 66 clinics in 2017 to almost 400 in 2021, CCBHCs are proving to be an important component of the crisis care continuum.

This panel discussion and question and answer session will provide an overview of CCBHC funding mechanisms, program components, and outcomes. In addition, two CCBHC sites, The Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES) in New York, New York, and Grand Lake Mental Health Center in Nowata, Oklahoma, will describe their approach to enhancing access to crisis care and early diversion.

Presenters

• Billy Green, MPA, Director, Practice Operations and Clinic Programs; Director, CCBHC Project, CASES, New York, New York
• Perdella Jean Baptiste, Senior Peer, CASES, New York, New York
• Brett Beckerson, MSW, Director, Policy & Advocacy, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Washington, District of Columbia 
• Larry Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Grand Lake Mental Health Center, Claremore, Oklahoma
• Jerry E. Bohannon, Sergeant, City of Grove Police Department, Grove, Oklahoma