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Federal program could help expand mental health services in Montana

Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics or CCBHCs are supposed to be a one-stop shop for mental and behavioral health care.

Sierra Riesburg with the Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana says these clinics will be required to offer a range of services under one roof.

“24-hour mobile team, or outpatient mental health, or substance use services, psychiatric rehabilitation, peer support services.”

Those services are currently available in Montana, but the health facilities providing them often don’t get enough money back from Medicaid or Medicare to make them financially sustainable. Providers don’t always offer every service someone might need.

"So someone in crisis might get stabilized but then they might fall through the gap before they can get into outpatient treatment,”Riesburg says.

CCBHCs will be able to provide that care in one place, preventing more people from falling through the cracks of the mental health system. Extra federal dollars will also help financially stabilize these services.

According to the state’s application, four mental health providers across the state will participate in the program, expected to be up and running by October.

Aaron is Montana Public Radio's Flathead reporter.
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