Project Grant H79SM091694

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded $750,000 to Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board on September 30, 2026, under the Center for Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance program (CFDA 93.532).

The recipient is expanding and formalizing Hamilton County's 24/7 mobile crisis team to serve 838,418 residents across 405.5 square miles in Ohio. The grant funds increased staffing, formalized partnerships with 911, 988, emergency first responders, and community services, and builds quality infrastructure to divert mental health and substance use disorder crises from law enforcement to community care. The mobile crisis team currently serves adults and youth experiencing mental health and substance use crises, with 2025 encounter data showing 59% ages 18–54, 23% ages 55 and older, and primary diagnoses including schizophrenia spectrum disorders (26%) and bipolar disorder. Key capacity gaps the grant addresses include unequal geographic response (only 29% of responses to residents outside Cincinnati despite comprising 63% of the population), no peer coverage during evening and weekend hours, undocumented substance use disorder status in 30% of encounters, and absent continuous quality improvement infrastructure.

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board partners with Central Clinic Behavioral Health and University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The grant period runs through September 30, 2030, with place of performance in Cincinnati, Ohio.