Mental health service and family support expansion project in benton county arkansas - the benton county mental health court (bcmhc) will implement the mental health service and family support…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) awarded Benton County $400,000 on September 30, 2026, under the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Projects of Regional and National Significance program (CFDA 93.490) to implement a Mental Health Service and Family Support Expansion Project in Benton County, Arkansas.

The project delivers residential treatment, intensive outpatient services, and expanded psychological testing to adults aged 18 and older with co-occurring disorders who are involved in the criminal justice system. Over the five-year funding period through September 29, 2031, the Benton County Mental Health Court (BCMHC) anticipates serving 225 unduplicated clients at a rate of 45 per year, with 60 receiving residential treatment, 20 receiving intensive outpatient services, and 25 receiving expanded psychological testing. The program targets high-risk, high-need individuals with severe and persistent mental health diagnoses, trauma histories, or repeat criminal justice involvement, prioritizing those unlikely to succeed with traditional treatment approaches due to personal vulnerabilities, problem complexity, housing instability, and limited natural supports.

BCMHC collaborates with eight statewide providers to expand acute care service access. Place of performance is Bentonville, Arkansas. The award is classified as a Project Grant, an assistance type supporting regional and national significance projects that improve access, quality, and equity in substance use disorder treatment and recovery-oriented systems of care.

Mental health service and family support expansion project in benton county arkansas - the benton county mental health court (bcmhc) will implement the mental health service and family support expansion project in benton county, AR, collaborating with eight providers statewide to increase access to acute care services for the CO-occurring clients most in need of intensive support. The project will serve the entire geographic area of benton county, which has a population of 343,107. Over the five-year funding period, bcmhc anticipates serving 45 clients per year for a total of 225 unduplicated clients. Of these, the program expects to provide residential treatment to 60 clients, intensive outpatient services to 20 clients, and expanded psychological testing to 25 clients. The population of focus for bcmhc is male and female adults aged 18 and older who have CO-occurring disorders (COD), are involved in the criminal justice system, and have a significant need for enhanced services; those with high risk/high need, who, without intervention, are most at risk for relapse and RE-offense. Participants will present with clinically significant disturbances in cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior, along with a severe and persistent mental health diagnosis. Most will be low-income and either uninsured or medicaid-eligible, unemployed or underemployed, and facing barriers such as housing instability and limited transportation. The program will prioritize those in the high risk/high need category-the participants least likely to succeed with traditional treatment approaches because of their greater personal vulnerabilities; problem severity, complexity, and chronicity; and fewest natural supports. Given the characteristics of the CO-occurring population being targeted, this group is expected to include individuals with trauma histories, repeat offenders (legal complications), and those with serious mental illness (high problem complexity). This service enhancement project is designed primarily to improve the quality, quantity, and intensity of treatment and recovery support services available to bcmhc clients with the most complex needs. By enabling the program to deliver services at the level required, the project will improve outcomes for those with the most severe and complex CO-occurring disorders. This will be accomplished through added residential treatment, expanded intensive outpatient services, trauma-informed care, increased mental health assessment and services, peer support services, STI education and testing, overdose prevention, and family support and education. Clinical and recovery services will draw on motivational interviewing, MRT, seeking safety, living in balance, hazelden living skills, wellness self-management, mat, and trauma-informed care. Project goals include: 1) increase access to evidence based treatment and recovery support services for individuals with CO occurring disorders, objectives: 50% increase in admissions, regular drug testing, expand treatment access, provide oorm training, implement trauma informed care. 2) reduce recidivism and improve mental health treatment court completion rates, objectives increase completion rates and reduce recidivism, 3) implement infectious disease screening, provide monthly testing and education, 4) integrate parenting education, family engagement, and family-centered care, objective: deliver parenting psychoeducation, train staff; 5) ensure comprehensive access to bcmhc services for all eligible individuals, improve screening, collect data for admissions and rejections; 6) strengthen evaluation and data capacity to support continuous quality improvement and long term sustainability, objectives: implement data collection, conduct self-assessment, conduct recidivism study; 7) training for mental health court team, objectives: attend state and national training. The project will be closely integrated with broader state-level systems of care to ensure sustainability for the system. Plans for quality improvement, replication and sustainability WI