National Council for Mental Wellbeing, NASMHPD Announce Major Investment in Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 20, 2025) — The National Council for Mental Wellbeing and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) today announced a multistate pilot project to improve access to behavioral health care services provided by Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs).
 
Ballmer Group Philanthropy, founded by Connie and Steve Ballmer, is making its first-ever investment in CCBHCs to improve access to care for residents in Illinois, Kansas and Michigan. It is one of the organization’s largest investments to date in behavioral health services, with a commitment of more than $72 million over three years.

The project will provide critical technical assistance support to states and clinics to advance the vision and impact of the CCBHC model. CCBHCs provide mental health and substance use services to anyone who walks through the door, regardless of a person’s ability to pay. Through their documented ability to improve access to mental health care, lifesaving substance use treatment, recovery supports, crisis services, integrated care and other services, CCBHCs are eliminating barriers to care for people in hundreds of communities.
 
“This grant will give more families in more communities access to the coordinated, whole-person care they need,” National Council President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia said. “Not only will we serve more people across our pilot states, but this approach will also establish a model for other states to follow in meeting their communities’ behavioral health needs. The lasting impact of this investment cannot be overstated.”
 
“We are witnessing a time of great momentum around CCBHC implementation, both among states and the federal government, because leaders in our systems recognize that the CCBHC model works to improve access and outcomes,” NASMHPD Executive Director Brian Hepburn said. “We feel fortunate to be involved in this project with Ballmer Group to move this work forward.” 

Ballmer Group’s funding will support CCBHCs through improved technical assistance aimed at sustaining access to a range of services and supports, including: 

• Crisis services  
• Outpatient mental health and substance use services  
• Primary care screening and monitoring 
• Community-based mental health care for veterans  
• Integrated care and care coordination with providers throughout the health care continuum 
• Partnerships with law enforcement, schools, homeless shelters and other community-based organizations 

The funding comes at a crucial time. Many people who need mental health care are not receiving that treatment, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. This research found that: 

• Of the 1.5 million adolescents (ages 12 to 17) in 2024 who had an episode of major depression over the past year and did not receive mental health treatment, 42.4% perceived an unmet need for treatment. 
• Of the 29.5 million adults age 18 or older in 2024 who had any mental illness in the past year and did not receive mental health treatment, 21% perceived an unmet need for treatment. 

“CCBHCs have had an incredible success rate in helping address the behavioral health needs of a community, especially kids and families,” said Connie Ballmer, co-founder of Ballmer Group Philanthropy. “Access to comprehensive, high-quality care provides people with the opportunity to achieve stability. We are proud to partner with the National Council to make this investment, which will strengthen families and the communities where they live.” 

CCBHCs are widely acknowledged as an integrated and financially sustainable care delivery model. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, CCBHCs have accounted for a: 

• 74% reduction in mental health hospitalizations 
• 68% decrease in emergency room visits 
• 33% decrease in homelessness 

“Few other programs have been as impactful as CCBHCs,” said former U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who is credited with leading efforts in Congress to create CCBHCs. “This unique model of care helps people with a mental health or substance use challenge because CCBHCs open avenues to comprehensive mental health and substance use treatment and care. They provide care that is coordinated and integrated with primary care. Most importantly, CCBHCs make mental wellbeing, including recovery from substance use challenges, a reality for everyone.” 
 
“CCBHCs have become such an important part of the health care delivery system in our country,” said former U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, who introduced the bipartisan Excellence in Mental Health Act with Sen. Stabenow in 2013. “Passage of the Excellence in Mental Health Act put mental health on a level playing field with primary care. Thanks to CCBHCs, more people in more communities have access to quality mental health care near where they live. Senator Stabenow and I spent a decade adding to our 2013 plan, and I’m honored that Ballmer Group is investing in CCBHCs. This truly feels like a milestone.” 

The initiative will also help support the behavioral health workforce. As of August 2024, more than one-third (122 million) of the U.S. population lived in  a mental health professional shortage area. This grant will help address that problem, supporting CCBHCs in hiring, elevating or retaining 30,000 providers.

CCBHCs began as a federally funded demonstration project in 2017 with 66 clinics in eight states. Today, there are 500 clinics serving an estimated 3 million people in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. 

About NASMHPD
Founded in 1959 and based in Alexandria, Va., the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) represents the public mental health service delivery system in all states, territories, Pacific Jurisdictions and the District of Columbia. NASMHPD (pronounced “NASH-bid”) is the only national association to represent state mental health commissioners/directors and their agencies. NASMHPD is a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) membership organization. 
 
About Ballmer Group
Ballmer Group is committed to improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States, funding leaders and organizations that have demonstrated the ability to reshape opportunity. We focus on multiple impact areas and systems that can impact economic mobility, such as early learning, K-12 education, college and career pathways, housing, behavioral health and criminal justice. Ballmer Group is both a national and regional funder — we have a presence and invest deeply in southeast Michigan, Washington state and Los Angeles County. Ballmer Group was co-founded by philanthropist Connie Ballmer and her husband Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, founder of USAFacts and chairman of the Los Angeles Clippers. Learn more at ballmergroup.org. 
 
More resources: 
What Is a CCBHC? 
2024 CCBHC Impact Report  

What people are saying about CCBHCs: 
“Certified community behavioral health clinics have become a cornerstone of bipartisan strategies to increase access to and improve the quality of behavioral health care in the United States.”  

— Amanda Mauri, an assistant professor/faculty fellow at the NYU School of Global Public Health and the lead author of two new studies on CC