Senator Stabenow Announces New Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics in St. Clair and Washtenaw Counties

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow today announced that two new Michigan community mental health centers have been selected as Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics. St. Clair County Community Mental Health Authority will receive $4 million and Washtenaw County will receive $3,426,420. Each clinic will receive this funding over the next two years to provide comprehensive behavioral health and addiction treatment services.

Last year, Senator Stabenow announced the selection of the first four Michigan community mental health centers in Kalamazoo, Ludington, Muskegon and Auburn Hills followed by an additional three in Lansing, Novi and Southgate. With today’s announcement, these nine centers will receive $34,523,352 million in funding.

Today’s announcement is a direct result of the passage of the Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Act by Senator Stabenow and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) in 2014. This law is transforming the way behavioral health and addiction treatment services are delivered across the country with the establishment of new Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics. These clinics are required to provide a comprehensive set of services including 24/7/365 crisis services; outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment services; immediate screenings, risk assessments, and diagnoses; and care coordination including partnerships with emergency rooms, law enforcement, and veterans groups.

“One in five Americans lives with some type of mental illness yet fewer than half of those individuals get the treatment they need,” said Senator Stabenow. “That’s why I’ve been committed to making sure we fund mental health treatment the same way we fund other health care. Now these Michigan clinics will have the resources they need to expand community mental health and addiction services.”

“We are extremely excited about the opportunity this brings to our community to serve those in need of mental health services,” said Trish Cortes, the Executive Director of Washtenaw County Community Mental. “We are very appreciative of the commitment and leadership Senator Stabenow has provided.”

“We’re going to be able to do so much more with this grant including more care for people in the military, active duty and veterans, as well as individuals with substance use disorders and others who have had difficulty getting the help they need within our community,” said Deb Johnson, Executive Director of St. Clair County Community Mental Health. “We are so thankful to Senator Stabenow for her help in promoting community mental health services and look forward to all we will accomplish with this expansion.”

This funding comes from the Community Behavioral Health Clinic Expansion Grants program administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Senator Stabenow recently secured $150 million to fund this grant program. Michigan has the most clinics of any state to receive funding through this grant program.