Block grants for community mental health services

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded $33.393 million to the Alabama Department of Mental Health on October 1, 2025, under the Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services program (CFDA 93.958). The award supports comprehensive community mental health services to adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance across Alabama through September 30, 2027, with administrative oversight at Montgomery, Alabama.

The program enables Alabama to carry out its state plan for community-based mental health services, technical assistance, and monitoring of comprehensive system implementation. Services are delivered through appropriate qualified community programs including community mental health centers, child mental health programs, psychosocial rehabilitation programs, mental health peer-support programs, and mental health primary consumer-directed programs. Up to 5 percent of grant funds may be used for administration. Funds may not support inpatient services, cash payments to service recipients, land or facility purchases, or major medical equipment acquisition. Alabama must expend no less than the amount obligated in fiscal year 1994 and set aside 10 percent of its allocation for evidence-based programs targeting early serious mental illness, including psychotic disorders. The state maintains records consistent with state law and requirements. This is a block grant assistance type, issued directly to the designated state agency.