USI the only Connecticut Agency to Receive Funding in Competitive Application

Dayville, Conn. – Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Congressman Joe Courtney (D-Conn. 2^nd District) joined United Services today in announcing a $4 million award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to northeastern Connecticut.

United Services was the only agency in Connecticut awarded funding under the competitive Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic – Planning, Development and Implementation Grant. United Services will receive $1 million per year for four years through the grant program, which will assist the agency in meeting the certification criteria by September 2023 and implementing a continuous quality improvement program to maintain the high caliber of services thereafter.

“This tremendous and transformative funding will allow United Services, Inc. to expand vital mental health and behavioral health resources that serve thousands of people across Northeastern Connecticut,” said Blumenthal. “The need for mental health, substance abuse and domestic violence services has never been higher as we emerge from years of isolation, anxiety and loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. I am thrilled United Services will be able to increase this critical care and I will continue to fight for more funding to address the mental health crisis facing our communities.”

“United Services provides essential behavioral health care for thousands of people in northeastern Connecticut,” said Murphy. “This $4 million federal grant will allow them to continue to expand their services and improve health outcomes for their patients.”

“Diane Manning and the entire team at United Services deserve a huge amount of recognition for earning this highly sought-after federal support from SAMHSA,” said Courtney. “It’s extremely competitive to become recognized as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic—doing so opens the door to a long list of other federal funding opportunities, and this investment is going put United Services on the glide path towards that certification. We’re still seeing high levels of need for mental health and substance abuse services following COVID, including among kids and students, and that’s the sort of work that the professionals at United Services are focused on every day in our Windham County and north central Connecticut communities—they’ve helped us respond to the uptick in demand for behavioral health services, and these new federal resources will make sure they’re even better prepared to help people and families in our region moving forward. Congratulations to United Services for earning this support, and thank you to all of them for the invaluable service they provide to eastern Connecticut.”

The purpose of these grants, provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is to “transform community behavioral health systems and provide comprehensive, coordinated behavioral health care.”

United Services is the non-profit Community Behavioral Health Center for 21 towns in northeastern Connecticut. The agency has clinical centers in Dayville, Mansfield Center and Wauregan and provides more than 30 programs, including outpatient mental health for adults, children and families, substance abuse treatment, family programs, crisis services and the region’s only domestic violence program. Last year the agency served more than 3,700 people with nearly 85,000 units of service.

The Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model is designed to ensure access to coordinated comprehensive behavioral health care. CCBHCs are required to provide a comprehensive array of behavioral health services, and meet stringent federal standards for these services, so that people who need care are not caught trying to piece together the behavioral health support they need across multiple providers. In addition, CCBHCs must provide care coordination to help people navigate behavioral health care, physical health care, social services, and the other systems they are involved in.

As part of the application process, United Services submitted letters of commitment from 27 local direct service providers, including Federally Qualified Health Centers, community and regional services such as schools and police departments, other social and human service agencies, hospitals and Department of Veterans Affairs centers.

United Services will hire six new staff in the first year of the four-year grant to increase its care coordination services and has plans to hire additional staff in subsequent years to meet the demands of the federal certification criteria.

“United Services is thrilled to bring these additional resources and services to northeastern Connecticut,” said Diane L. Manning, President/CEO of United Services. “Our staff work incredibly hard every day to provide the best care possible to everyone who walks through our doors. These resources will enhance our services, especially with additional care coordination, to treat the whole person and work in concert with the entire system of care in our region.”

About United Services, Inc.

United Services, Inc. is a private, non-profit and comprehensive behavioral health center, creating healthy communities throughout northeast Connecticut for more than 55 years by providing psychosocial, behavioral health, chemical abuse, primary care, care coordination, wellness and prevention services to the community, and employee assistance program services for business and industry.  With 12 locations and a staff of over 250, United Services operates more than 30 separate behavioral health programs, including the only domestic violence shelter for women and children in the region.  United Services, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.  To learn more, visit  www.UnitedServicesCT.org.