Congressionally Directed Spending Project Co-Sponsored by Senators Murphy and Blumenthal

Dayville, Conn. – Today, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) announced the inclusion of $461,000 for United Services in the fiscal year 2022 Omnibus Appropriations bill.

Murphy and Blumenthal co-sponsored a congressionally directed spending project for United Services to integrate Primary Care with the agency’s suite of Behavioral Health Services at its Dayville and Mansfield Center outpatient clinics.

“It just makes sense to have health providers who can do both primary care and mental health care. These new wraparound services will allow United Services to expand access to physical health care and improve outcomes for the thousands of people they serve,” said Murphy.

“After the deep anxiety, loss and isolation of these past two pandemic years, the need for mental health services has never been higher. This federal funding enables United Services Inc. to expand critical – often vital — mental health and behavioral health resources across Northeastern Connecticut to serve our most vulnerable residents,” said Blumenthal. “I will continue to fight for more funding for to address the mental health crisis facing our communities.”

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 3,500 people with more than 101,000 units of service.

“United Services is extremely excited to add primary care to our suite of services,” said United Services President/CEO Diane L. Manning. “Individuals will greatly benefit from a team of physical and behavioral health providers working together at one location to help them meet their health and wellness goals. We are so grateful for the support from Senators Murphy and Blumenthal.”

Through Integrated Primary Care, United Services clients would receive wraparound healthcare that addresses both their physical and mental health in one location. All of their providers, as well as their case managers and peer support staff, would work as a collaborative team with the client to improve their health and meet their wellness goals.

Congressionally Directed Spending requests are requests to fund a specific project or organization that Senators, through an application process, submit to the Appropriations Committee.