What is the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant Program?

What is the Community Mental Health Servicesagencies.
Block Grant Program?• The Community Mental Health Services
The Community Mental Health Services BlockBlock Grant supports grassroots involvement of
Grant is authorized by Part B of Title XIX of thethe major stakeholders in mental health services
Public Health Service Act and is the single largestat both the State and the Federal levels. Each
Federal contribution dedicated to improving mentalState or Territory is required to have a mental
health service systems across the country.health planning council to review the State Mental
The Center for Mental Health Services'Health Plan. Each council must include consumers
Community Mental Health Services Block Grantof mental health services and family members, as
awards grants to the States to provide mentalwell as service providers and State officials. The
health services to people with mental disorders.State also is required to seek comments from
Through the Community Mental Health Servicesthe public on its plan.
Block Grant, a joint Federal-State partnership,• At the Federal level, mental health
CMHS supports existing public services andplanning council members-including family
encourages the development of creative andmembers, consumers, State officials, and service
cost-effective systems of community-based careproviders-serve as CMHS reviewers of State
for people with serious mental disorders.Mental Health Plans and Implementation Reports.
With the current changes in the health careThey often share their expertise at regional and
delivery system, improving access tonational technical assistance meetings.
community-based systems is especially important.What types of technical assistance does CMHS
CMHS is the Federal agency that oversees Stateprovide?
Mental Health Plans and Implementation Reports,Five percent of funding is set aside for the
using mental health experts for the regionalCenter for Mental Health Services to provide
consultative application review process.technical assistance, data collection, and evaluation
Who does the Community Mental Health Servicesactivities to States and territories and their
Block Grant Program serve?representatives, as well as mental health planning
• In communities throughout the Unitedcouncil members, consumers, and family
States, mental disorders affect people of all agesmembers. Technical assistance activities include:
and in all walks of life. Almost 54 million adults in• The Mental Health Statistics
the United States are affected by mentalImprovement Program, designed to develop
disorders in any given year.minimum data standards that provide a basis for
• Preliminary studies indicate that moreuniform, comparable, high-quality statistics on
than 12 million children (20 percent of all children) inmental health services;
the United States experience mental and• The National Reporting Program, the
emotional disturbances while growing up.only national source of information on mental
• Each year in the United States, morehealth organizations, services, and service
than 5 million adults and children are diagnosedrecipients; and
with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe• National Technical Assistance Centers:
depression, and other serious mental disorders.one of which evaluates systems that serve
People with these disorders have extensive andchildren, another of which evaluates systems that
complex needs, and most individuals quicklyserve adults, and the third of which provides
exhaust available insurance benefits. At that point,technical assistance to the States for mental
they and their families often turn to their Stateshealth planning.
and the public system of mental health care.CMHS conducts national and regional technical
What does the Community Mental Health Servicesassistance meetings dealing with the Community
Block Grant Program do?Mental Health Services Block Grant application
• Because what is effective in one Stateprocess, the enhancement of existing systems of
may not be effective in another, the Communitycommunity mental health services, strategies for
Mental Health Services Block Grant works in closetransitioning into a managed care environment,
collaboration with each State or Territory todevelopment of a national set of mental health
develop and implement its own State Mentalobjectives, and use of consumer outcome
Health Plan for improving community-basedobjectives.
services and reducing reliance on hospitalization.• Community Mental Health Services
The program stipulates that case management beBlock Grant Funding
provided to individuals with the most seriousFor free information about the Mental Health Block
mental disorders and encourages appropriateGrant Program and other CMHS programs -
partnerships among a wide range of health, dental,including publications, references, and referrals to
mental health, vocational, housing, and educationallocal and national resources and organizations - call
services. The program also promotes partnerships1.800.789.2647; (TDD) 1.866.889.2647.
among Federal, State, and local government