Block grants for community mental health services

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) seventy million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred sixty-three dollars on October 1, 2025, under the Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services program (CFDA 93.958). The award funds comprehensive community mental health services to adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance across Georgia through September 30, 2027, with administrative oversight and performance centered in Atlanta, Georgia.

The funding supports implementation of Georgia's state mental health plan, including crisis counseling, mental health treatment, substance abuse prevention, and support for vulnerable populations including individuals experiencing homelessness. Up to five percent of grant funds may support administrative expenses. Services are delivered through community mental health centers, psychosocial rehabilitation programs, mental health peer-support programs, and mental health primary consumer-directed programs, all meeting prescribed state criteria.

DBHDD passes funding to sub-recipients implementing specific service components. Georgia Parent Support Network, Inc., a sub-grantee receiving funds as of June 12, 2026, delivers peer workforce services supporting families of children with mental health needs. The state must maintain minimum expenditure levels for children's services and set aside ten percent of the allocation for evidence-based programs targeting individuals with early serious mental illness, including psychotic disorders.