As you are probably aware, beginning with its FY 2014 appropriation, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) was directed to require that states set aside 5 percent of their Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG) allocation to support “evidence-based programs that address the needs of individuals with early serious mental illness, including psychotic disorders.”
SAMHSA subsequently issued a guidance letter to the State Commissioners/Directors about this set-aside which included information about Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) for First Episode Psychosis, along with a paper developed by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) on this topic. The NIMH document is attached for your reference.
Because of the important role that the Planning Councils play in conjunction with the MHBG, NIMH in partnership with SAMHSA is sponsoring a webinar specifically for council members that provides an overview of the core components of CSC and a discussion of the ways in which this recovery-oriented model can have a positive impact in the lives of individuals experiencing a first episode, as well as their families.