The past two years have seen many changes at KBH as a result of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) grant awarded by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
This two-year grant, which started in September, 2021, has supported new staff positions, the provision of 24/7 crisis care, expansion of peer support services, enhanced screening and intake programs, and other key work in KBH’s service programs to provide a new standard of integrated, whole-person behavioral healthcare.
Concurrently, KBH is working with the Maine Department of Health & Human Services as it establishes a state certification process for CCBHCs and create rules for CCBHCs to be reimbursed within MaineCare for the expanded services they provide. MaineCare reimbursement is expected to start in July, 2024.
As KBH continues this process, a newly announced grant award will help support this transformative work going forward. In September, 2023, KBH was awarded a SAMHSA CCBHC Improvement & Advancement (IA) grant that will provide up to $4 million in additional funding over the next 4 years to expand KBH’s CCBHC services.
The new IA grant will allow KBH to undertake a number of initiatives in the Somerset County area to address important community needs. Specific areas of focus will include enhanced access to care, new staffing and program expansion to improve mental health outcomes for children ages 0-18 with serious emotional disturbance or who are experiencing trauma or living in poverty, veterans and military-connected individuals, and individuals with justice system involvement.
