Navigating Accreditation for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics

Accreditation can strengthen your clinic’s capacity, elevate service quality and drive lasting community impact. But understanding how CCBHC-specific accreditation differs from SAMHSA attestation and state certification can be a complex undertaking.

Navigating Accreditation for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics is a practical toolkit developed by Third Horizon in partnership with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s CCBHC-E NTTAC. Reflecting SAMHSA’s updated CCBHC Certification Criteria, this resource gives clinics a clear, confident path through the accreditation landscape.

Inside, you’ll find an in-depth look at current accreditation options across four national accreditation bodies, strategic considerations for choosing the right path and best practices drawn from CCBHCs that have successfully completed the process.

Whether you’re just exploring accreditation or ready to move forward, this guide equips you with the insight and tools to make informed decisions for your organization and the communities you serve.

This publication was made possible by Grant No. 1H79SM085856. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views, opinions or policies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.