Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced a federal grant of $982,400 to Virginia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Wednesday.
The grant, from the U.S Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is meant to establish certified community behavioral health clinics throughout the state of Virginia. These centers are intended to provide mental health care with easier and more consistent access.
The grant process will be broken down into an initial planning phase and a subsequent trial phase. The department has selected eight locally-run Virginia community service boards to participate in the initial planning stage.
These eight boards represent a wide spectrum of size, demographics, and services in urban and rural communities, according to a press release from the Office of the Governor.
The clinics will provide nine core services, including crisis services, substance abuse services and patient-centered treatment planning.
The DBHDS will contribute another $2 million, ensuring that these centers will be able to provide a new means of reliable care, Interim DBHDS Commissioner Dr. Jack Barber said in the release.
“These federal dollars, coupled with DBHDS’s additional contribution of $2 million, will help move us away from an inconsistent system towards a model that allows for consistent services, greater ease of access and customized care in patients’ communities,” he said.
The DBHDS and the Office of the Governor did not respond to request for comment.