Block grants for community mental health services

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded the Utah Department of Health and Human Services $21.996 million on October 1, 2025, under the Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services program (CFDA 93.958). The funding supports comprehensive community mental health services to adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance across Utah through September 30, 2027, with performance centered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The state agency distributes these funds through sub-awards to ten regional Area Agencies on Aging, county governments including Salt Lake County, Davis County, Tooele County, and San Juan County, councils of government, and specialized nonprofit mental health authorities and treatment organizations. Services are delivered through community mental health centers, psychosocial rehabilitation programs, mental health peer-support programs, and consumer-directed programs that meet prescribed criteria. Up to 5 percent of grant funds may be used for administrative costs. Statutory requirements include maintaining integrated service systems for children with serious emotional disturbance, expending no less than the amount obligated in fiscal year 1994, and setting aside 10 percent of the allocation for programs with strong evidence of effectiveness targeting individuals with early serious mental illness including psychotic disorders.