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Tennessee expands Behavioral Health Safety Net to children
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
mental health weekly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7583
pISSN - 1058-1103
DOI - 10.1002/mhw.32513
Subject(s) - safety net , mental health , poverty , pharmacy , fiscal year , substance abuse , business , investment (military) , case management , state (computer science) , medicine , family medicine , environmental health , nursing , economic growth , political science , psychiatry , finance , economics , law , algorithm , politics , computer science
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) and its community mental health provider partners are expanding the state's Behavioral Health Safety Net (BHSN) to uninsured children, a department news release stated Sept. 10. The program offers an array of essential mental health services for uninsured Tennessee children ages 3 to 17. Services are available for family incomes at or below 138% federal poverty level. Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly appropriated $7.6 million in new state funding in the current fiscal year to create the Children's BHSN. Services available through the Children's BHSN include assessment and evaluation, individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, case management, transportation, family support services, medication management, and pharmacy assistance and coordination. A total of 14 community mental health centers with 136 locations statewide are participating in the program. The creation of the Children's BHSN complements the state's investment in the TDMHSAS School‐Based Behavioral Health Liaison program. Gov. Lee and the General Assembly appropriated more than $3 million in new state funding to expand the program to cover all 95 Tennessee counties.