Data must be trustworthy
Required fields, workflows, extracts, calculations, and submitted results need to align and remain reproducible.
CCBHC 101
What is a CCBHC?
A Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic is a federally defined model designed to expand access to comprehensive, coordinated mental health and substance use care. The model pairs broad service expectations with standards for access, staffing, care coordination, quality reporting, governance, and financing.
The model
More than a clinic designation.
CCBHCs are expected to serve people who need behavioral health care regardless of age, ability to pay, or place of residence. They are built around rapid access, coordinated care, evidence-based treatment, crisis response, integration with physical health, and relationships across the broader community.
The model is implemented through multiple pathways, including Medicaid demonstration programs, SAMHSA expansion grants, and state-led Medicaid approaches. The exact financing and certification pathway can vary, but the federal CCBHC criteria establish the core model.
Required scope
Nine service categories define the clinical backbone.
CCBHCs provide these services directly or, for selected services, through formal relationships with designated collaborating organizations.
01Crisis services
02Outpatient mental health & substance use services
03Person- & family-centered treatment planning
04Community-based mental health care for veterans
05Peer, family support & counselor services
06Targeted care management
07Primary care screening & monitoring
08Psychiatric rehabilitation services
09Screening, diagnosis & risk assessment
How we got here
A decade of CCBHC expansion.
The model began as a federal demonstration and has expanded through grants, Medicaid pathways, and state implementation.
2014
Federal foundation
Congress establishes the CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration through Section 223 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act.
2015
Criteria & planning
SAMHSA and CMS release the original certification criteria and payment guidance; 24 states receive planning grants.
2017
Demonstration launches
Eight states begin the original Medicaid demonstration.
2018
Expansion grants begin
SAMHSA launches the CCBHC Expansion Grant Program, directly funding behavioral health providers to implement the model.
2022
Path to nationwide expansion
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act authorizes adding up to 10 states to the Medicaid Demonstration every two years and restructures expansion grants into PDI and IA tracks.
2023–24
Updated criteria & new states
SAMHSA releases updated certification criteria in 2023. In 2024, 10 additional states are accepted into the Medicaid Demonstration and federal policy establishes a permanent Medicaid state option for CCBHC services.
Why EvalUit exists
The CCBHC model creates a measurement challenge, not just a reporting obligation.
The clinic has to connect frontline workflows, EHR data, measure specifications, reporting timelines, quality review, evaluation, and improvement into one functioning system.
Performance needs context
Targets and percentages are more useful when teams understand denominator, volume, trend, data quality, and operational conditions.
Findings should lead to action
Evaluation and quality measurement are most valuable when findings move through governance, CQI, and follow-through.
Authoritative sources