AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday the State of Maine will receive more than $8.5 million in federal funds to improve behavioral health services for children in their homes and communities, particularly in underserved areas of the state.

“Access to high-quality behavioral health services is key to building healthy families and communities,” said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “This grant will bolster our work to ensure that prevention and treatment services grounded in science are available in all corners of Maine.”

The DHHS Office of Child and Family Services will use the funding to accelerate its ongoing work to improve services for children and youth facing mental health challenges, per a news release. 

“Children are more likely to be successful when services are available in their homes and communities,” said Todd Landry, Director of the Office of Child and Family Services. “We look forward to working with our partners to invest this grant for the benefit of children and families throughout Maine.”

The grant from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will provide $8,584,058 over four years.

DHHS will use a portion of the first year of funding, totaling $1,477,750, to focus investment in Piscataquis, Penobscot, and Aroostook counties, which are historically underserved for children's behavioral health care. That includes hiring a Youth Peer Specialist and a Parent Peer Specialist in each of the three counties to provide direct support to children and families as they navigate the children's behavioral health system.

More broadly, the grant will support implementation of a roadmap developed by the Office of Child and Family Services to improve access to high-quality children's behavioral health services, which is based on a comprehensive evaluation of community-based services statewide. The evaluation identified systemic issues related to access in rural communities.

The SAMHSA System of Care grant will support implementation of some of the roadmap’s strategies, including expanding and bolstering services, coordinating children's clinical care across providers, engaging families in services, data-informed decision making, evidence-based practices, improving quality, and developing the workforce serving children and families.

These strategies are designed to support the long-term availability of high-quality prevention and treatment services for children in their home communities.