Region 8 Mental Health

Region 8 Mental Health, a county-level local government entity and qualified behavioral health authority headquartered in Brandon, Mississippi, operates as a prime recipient of federal grants for community mental health services delivery and as a sub-recipient under state pass-through grants. The organization acts exclusively in the grant space (no federal contracts) and holds no position on contract vehicles or IDIQs.

Region 8 Mental Health's customer base is entirely concentrated within the Department of Health and Human Services. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services funds all 11 awards in the source data, representing 100% of recent activity with a combined obligated value of $12.5 million. The funding split is 18% prime grants (2 awards) and 82% sub-awards passed through the Mississippi Department of Mental Health (9 awards).

As a prime recipient, Region 8 Mental Health holds two SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services grants. The first, the ELEV8 OUR YOUTH System of Care project under CFDA 93.104 (Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances), was awarded one million dollars on September 30, 2026, and runs through September 29, 2030. The project delivers coordinated behavioral health services for children, youth, and young adults from birth through age 21 with or at risk for serious emotional disturbance across a five-county Mississippi region, targeting care coordination for 350 participants and mental health services for 700 individuals through family-driven, youth-guided wraparound, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment. The second prime grant, GREATER8 CCBHC-PDI (Certified Community Behavioral Health Center Planning, Development, and Implementation), was awarded September 30, 2022, and completed September 29, 2026. This award was structured to transform community behavioral health systems in Rankin County by advancing trauma-informed, culturally relevant integrated care for adults with mental or substance use disorder, children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance, and individuals experiencing behavioral health crises, including veterans and active-duty service members. The program deployed evidence-based practices including motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, and peer support services with a recovery-oriented care-coordination model.

As a sub-recipient, Region 8 Mental Health receives nine sub-awards from the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, all dated August 5, 2026. These sub-awards fund programs including Assertive Community Treatment for individuals with severe persistent mental illness, youth substance abuse prevention and community awareness, substance use disorder treatment for uninsured and underserved adults, children's and adults' point-of-service mental health delivery, intensive community support services for adults at risk of higher-level care, supported employment programs for individuals with serious mental illness, juvenile detention center mental health services, and evidence-based supported employment expansion. All sub-awards flow from SAMHSA pass-through funding. Activity is concentrated in the past year — one award in 2022, ten awards in 2026.