RALEIGH - North Carolina is directing more than $17 million to expand mental-health and substance-use services in rural communities, Gov. Josh Stein and the state Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday.
The money comes from North Carolina’s Rural Health Transformation Program, which is supported by a federal award to the state. Officials said the new round will fund six areas of behavioral-health care, including crisis response, opioid treatment and services for people experiencing psychosis.
The largest allocations are $4 million each for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics and the state’s MORES teams. The clinics are designed to provide coordinated mental-health and substance-use treatment, while MORES teams provide mobile response and stabilization services.
Another $3 million will support access to medications for opioid use disorder. A separate $3 million allocation will expand services for people experiencing a first episode of psychosis.
The announcement includes $2.9 million for regional Rural Crisis Partnerships and $800,000 for NC MATTERS. The six listed amounts total at least $17.7 million.
Stein said the investment is intended to help rural residents receive care closer to home. The administration’s announcement framed the grants as part of a broader effort to build a stronger behavioral-health system in parts of the state that face limited access to services.
The announcement describes funding commitments and awards by NCDHHS, not a proposal awaiting legislative approval. It did not identify every local recipient or set out separate enrollment instructions for residents. NCDHHS will administer the money through the named programs.
The new funding is distinct from a Sept. 14 allocation of $1.25 million for school-based health centers and a spring allocation of $10 million to 39 local EMS agencies. It also differs from broader Rural Health Transformation Program initiatives covering other rural-care priorities.
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Photo Credit: George Pagan III via Unsplash. File photo of a public mental-health awareness sign. Used under the Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license); proportionally cropped.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.