Block grants for community mental health services

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services $35.288 million on October 1, 2025, under the Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services program (CFDA 93.958), with performance through September 30, 2027.

The funding supports comprehensive community mental health services to adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance across Wisconsin. Up to 5 percent of grant funds may be used for administering the award. Funds support services through qualified community programs, including community mental health centers, child mental-health programs, psychosocial rehabilitation programs, mental health peer-support programs, and mental-health consumer-directed programs. States are required to set aside 10 percent of allocations for programs showing strong evidence of effectiveness targeting individuals with early serious mental illness, including psychotic disorders. Funds may not be used for inpatient services, cash payments to beneficiaries, land or facility purchases, or to satisfy nonfederal expenditure requirements.

The recipient passed funding to 47 sub-recipients delivering crisis intervention, peer support, coordinated specialty care, mental health prevention and quality improvement, protection and advocacy, and crisis call center services. Sub-recipients include county governments and county departments across all 72 Wisconsin counties, nonprofit mental health advocacy organizations (NAMI Wisconsin, Disability Rights Wisconsin, Mental Health America of Wisconsin), the University of Wisconsin System (UW-Green Bay and UW-Madison), federally recognized Indian tribes (Oneida Nation, Ho-Chunk Nation, Forest County Potawatomi Community, Bad River Band, Sokaogan Chippewa Community, Lac Du Flambeau Band, Red Cliff Band, Menominee Indian Tribe, St. Croix Tribal Economic Development Corporation), and community-based service providers including Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin and Outreach Community Health Centers. Sub-awards also fund training on peer specialist certification, community mental health systems block grant training, and mental health evaluation services.

Work is performed statewide in Wisconsin.