Christine Emond

This document is the FY 2026 Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Report for Rhode Island, outlining strategic priorities, goals, objectives, and strategies for the period of July 2024 to June 2025. Key focus areas include reducing substance use among youth, decreasing overdose deaths for persons who inject drugs, ensuring housing stability for individuals experiencing homelessness, increasing access to behavioral healthcare for youth and young adults with early serious mental illness, reducing unnecessary hospitalizations for adults with serious mental illness, connecting pregnant women and women with dependent children to substance use disorder services, increasing referrals from first responders to triage centers, enhancing behavioral healthcare access for children with serious emotional disturbance, and reducing the incidence of tuberculosis.

This Mental Health Block Grant Report for FY 2026 outlines the state's priorities and strategies for behavioral healthcare services. Key focus areas include reducing youth substance use, decreasing overdose deaths among persons who inject drugs, ensuring housing stability for individuals experiencing homelessness, and increasing access to behavioral healthcare for youth and young adults with early serious mental illness/first episode psychosis. Additionally, the plan aims to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations for adults with serious mental illness, connect pregnant women and women with dependent children to substance use disorder services, divert behavioral health clients from emergency rooms to triage centers, and expand services for children with serious emotional disturbance through Mobile Response and Stabilization Services. Finally, it addresses the reduction of tuberculosis incidence within the state.

The 2025-2029 Strategic Plan for the State of Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH) focuses on substance misuse prevention. The plan prioritizes the use of high-quality data to demonstrate the effectiveness of prevention programs and secure dedicated state funding. It aims to improve coordination among prevention funders and community providers, expand the use of prevention science and evidence-based practices, and address health disparities by tailoring services to meet the needs of diverse populations. The plan also emphasizes collaboration with various state agencies and non-governmental organizations to maximize the reach and impact of prevention efforts.

The meeting included a presentation and discussion on the new RI BH Open Beds project and website, along with Committee and Departmental Updates.

The meeting included a behavioral health system review, featuring presentations by Faulkner Consulting Group and Health Management Associates, along with committee and departmental updates.