We invest funding and expertise to support a complete continuum of behavioral health services, from effective prevention to prompt access to treatment for mental health and substance use issues.

Much of our work on behavioral health occurs through our other initiatives and through organizations we incubated to take on leadership roles. For example, the Integrated Behavioral Health and Meadowlark initiatives support a robust primary care system that provides screening and treatment for behavioral health conditions as part of a whole-person approach; the Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana provides advocacy and policy support; and the Montana Public Health Institute works with public health departments to implement programs that address mental health and substance use.

Despite the progress Montana has made, there is still much work to be done. Through this initiative, we work with partners to identify gaps in the continuum of care and strategies to address them.

Visit our Grant Library to learn more about initiative projects.

Grant Library

INITIATIVE PROGRESS

Since our first behavioral health grants in 2015, we have made substantial contributions to helping Montana build a more effective behavioral health system.

We produced an analysis of Medicaid reimbursement that guided the state’s decision to implement policies that improved access to substance use treatment, for example, contributing to a doubling in the number of state-approved substance use treatment programs.
We supported the formation of the Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana, which leads advocacy that has resulted in multiple large-scale funding and system improvement efforts.
In partnership with state, county, and tribal agencies, we led Montana’s adoption of the Crisis Now framework and, with the Montana Public Health Institute, supported systematic adoption in 39 counties.
We advanced evidence-based mental health promotion models that are now formally integrated into state health and educational department programs.

SPOTLIGHT: CRISIS NOW

We are working to align Montana’s behavioral health crisis response system with the national best-practice model “Crisis Now.” This approach provides people in crisis with effective, appropriate care, avoiding unnecessary use of emergency medical services and law enforcement.