On August 31, coinciding with Overdose Awareness Week and the start of National Recovery Month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced that it is awarding $57.6 million in seven grant programs to connect Americans who misuse substances to recovery and treatment supports.
“Overdose Awareness Week and National Recovery Month are moments to affirm our commitment to ensuring that all people facing behavioral health challenges are connected to effective, evidence-based and culturally responsive supports and treatments,” said Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., the HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, and the leader of SAMHSA. “We want Americans who grapple with addiction to know that recovery is real and that, with treatment and supports, they can have fulfilling lives.”
The seven grant programs are:
- Promoting the Integration of Primary and Behavioral Health Care – 15 awards totaling $29.6 million – This program:
- promotes full integration and collaboration in clinical practice between behavioral health care and primary physical health care, including for special populations;
- supports the improvement of integrated care models for behavioral health care and primary/physical health care to improve the overall wellness and physical health status of adults who have a serious mental illness (SMI); adults who have co-occurring mental illness and physical health conditions or chronic disease; children and adolescents with SED who have co-occurring physical health conditions or chronic disease; individuals who have SUD; or individuals who have COD;
- and promotes the implementation and improvement of bidirectional integrated care services, including evidence-based or evidence-informed screening, assessment, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and recovery services for mental disorder and SUD, and co-occurring physical health conditions and chronic diseases.
- Treatment for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness, Serious Emotional Disturbance, or Co-Occurring Disorders Experiencing Homelessness – 31 awards totaling $15.8 million – This program provides comprehensive, coordinated and evidenced-based services for individuals, youth, and families with SMI, serious emotional disturbance (SED) or COD who are experiencing homelessness or are at imminent risk of homelessness (e.g., people exiting jail or prison without a place to live). With this program, SAMHSA aims to further expand opportunities to improve access to and delivery of coordinated, comprehensive services mental health services and improve housing stability.
- Rural Emergency Medical Services Training Grant – 36 awards up to $6.6 million – This program recruits and trains EMS personnel in rural areas with a particular focus on addressing SUD and COD. Recipients will be expected to train EMS personnel on SUD and COD, trauma-informed, recovery-based care for people with such disorders in emergency situations and, as appropriate, to maintain licenses and certifications relevant to serve in an EMS agency.
- Treatment, Recovery, and Workforce Support Grant – Four awards totaling $2 million – This program implements evidence-based programs to support individuals in SUD treatment and recovery to live independently and participate in the workforce. Award recipients will be expected to ascertain gaps in the workforce and coordinate statewide employment and training activities for participants enrolled in their program with SUD in treatment and recovery.
- Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers – Two awards totaling $1.7 million – This program establishes or implements comprehensive treatment and recovery centers – which provide a full spectrum of treatment, harm reduction and recovery support services to address the opioid epidemic and to ensure access to all three Food and Drug Administration-approved Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD).
- Recovery Community Services – Four awards totaling $1.2 million – This program provides peer recovery support services to individuals who have SUD or COD, including those in recovery from these disorders. The program’s foundation is the value of lived experience of peers to assist others in achieving and maintaining recovery. These services, in conjunction with clinical treatment services, are an integral component of the recovery process for many people.
- Recovery Community Services Program-Statewide Network – Three awards totaling $735,000 – This program strengthens community-based recovery organizations, their statewide networks of recovery stakeholders and specialty and general health care systems as key partners in the delivery of state and local recovery support services through collaboration, systems improvement, public health messaging and training conducted for or with key recovery groups.