Highland Rivers Community Service Board

Highland Rivers Community Service Board, doing business as Highland Rivers Center, is a U.S. state government entity based in Dalton, Georgia that receives federal grants to deliver community behavioral health services, crisis intervention, homelessness prevention, and suicide prevention programs as a grant recipient (36% of awards) and as a sub-recipient under state and local prime grants (64% of awards). The organization operates as a primary community behavioral health center serving uninsured, underinsured, Medicaid, Medicare, and VA benefits populations in Northwest Georgia who experience mental health and substance use disorders.

Highland Rivers Center's federal footprint centers on three core service areas. The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development funds nine awards under the Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267), including a $489,777 award effective May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027 for permanent housing, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive services only, and Homeless Management Information Systems across five program components. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services funds grant programs for criminal justice diversion and mental health awareness training: a five-year Project Redirect grant (September 2023–September 2028) pairs licensed mental health clinicians with law enforcement in Cobb County to divert adults, children, and youth experiencing mental health crises from jail and unnecessary inpatient care; a concurrent five-year Cherokee PATH co-response program (September 2022–September 2026) deploys similar crisis diversion teams in Cherokee County in partnership with the Cherokee Sheriff's Office. The Highland Rivers Training Institute, also SAMHSA-funded through September 2026, delivers mental health awareness training to elected officials, first responders, and city workers across Georgia using Mental Health First Aid and QPR suicide prevention curricula. The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration funds suicide prevention services through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (CFDA 64.055); a closed-out grant year two returned $111,316.46 to Treasury. The Appalachian Regional Commission funds community capacity work through August 2025.

Customer concentration is mixed between volume and dollars. SAMHSA accounts for 37 awards across three separate grant lines; HUD's Community Planning and Development office represents nine awards; and the Veterans Health Administration's Veterans Integrated Service Network 7 carries eight awards worth $4.9 million in combined potential value—the entirety of the organization's measured potential-value footprint. Recent obligated federal dollars across all awards total $55.2 million, substantially exceeding the combined potential-value ceiling, indicating substantial draw-down of prior-year grants. Highland Rivers Center acts as sub-recipient on 38 awards (64% of the footprint), primarily receiving pass-through funding from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Georgia Housing & Finance Authority for behavioral health services, mental health treatment courts, early treatment programs, adolescent clubhouse services, and permanent supportive housing. Two awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, presenting modest recompete exposure. Parent vehicle work includes a Department of Veterans Affairs Basic Ordering Agreement (VA24715A0023) carrying four task orders worth $1.4 million combined potential value and a Veterans Affairs Indefinite Delivery Contract (VA24713D0083) with one task order worth $381 thousand.