Mental Health Block Grant

Plan for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019

On behalf of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services, we are pleased to offer for comment North Carolina’s Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) application for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Each year the Division submits an application to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for funds that will provide prevention, early intervention, treatment and resiliency and/or recovery supports to children and youth at risk for or experiencing serious emotional disturbance (SED) and adults living with a serious mental illness (SMI). These funds, which typically amount to more than $14 million per year, are integral to the development, maintenance and expansion of services in North Carolina. They are intended to provide states with the flexibility to design and implement activities and services to address the complex needs of children, youth, adults, families and communities impacted by mental illness. Specifically, the funds are directed toward four purposes:

• Fund priority treatment and support services for individuals without insurance or for whom coverage is terminated for short periods of time.
• Fund those priority treatment and support services not covered by Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance for low-income individuals and that demonstrate success in improving outcomes and/or supporting recovery. 
• Fund prevention and early intervention activities and services for persons living with a mental illness or children and youth at risk for or experiencing a serious emotional disturbance and/or co-occurring disorders and their families and community supports.
• Collect performance and outcome data to determine the ongoing effectiveness of behavioral health promotion, treatment and recovery support services and plan the implementation of new services on a statewide and national basis.

The MHBG program provides funds and technical assistance to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and six Pacific jurisdictions. Grantees use the funds to provide comprehensive, community-based mental health services to children and youth with serious emotional disturbances and to adults with serious mental illnesses and to monitor progress in implementing a comprehensive, community-based mental health system.

States are required to submit a comprehensive plan every two years, and a “mini” application alternating years. The initial two-year plan was submitted on September 1, 2019. The mini-application for fiscal year 2021 will be submitted to SAMHSA on September 1, 2020. Interested persons and agencies are invited to provide comments and thoughts to improve the comprehensive plan, which can be used to inform designing and sustaining regional and local coordinated, person-centered effective community-based services and supports for eligible children, youth and adults and their families. 

Anyone interested may review and provide input on this plan, which can be accessed here.* Comments are welcome. Written comments may be mailed to the Division's office at the location listed below or may be submitted electronically as indicated.

Please mail or fax comments to:
Attention: MHBG Comments
Community Mental Health Section
Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services
3004 Mail Service Center, Suite 203B
Raleigh, NC 27699-3004

Fax: 919.508.0962
Please email comments to: mhbg.comments@dhhs.nc.gov