Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic

A CCBHC since 2026

RiverValley Behavioral Health became a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in early 2026. In practice that means more crisis capacity, shorter waits, closer coordination with primary care, and services for anyone who needs them regardless of ability to pay.

Staff member and child smiling and high-fiving across a table in a classroom or therapy room.

What is a CCBHC?

CCBHCs are a provider type created by the federal Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Act. A CCBHC agrees to provide a defined set of mental health and substance use services to anyone who needs them, and in return is paid a Medicaid rate based on the actual cost of doing so.

CCBHCs are nonprofits or local government behavioral health authorities. Each must provide, directly or through partners, nine required service types, including 24-hour crisis care and care coordination with local primary care providers and hospitals.

What a CCBHC has to provide

The requirements are aimed at the people hardest to serve: those in crisis, and those with the most serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders, who have often waited longest for care. They include:

Diagram showing the six pillars of the CCBHC whole-person care model: Coordination of Services Across Sectors, Target Population, Patient-Centered Care, Collaborative Leadership, Shared Data, and Financial Flexibility.

Crisis services around the clock, every day of the year, in the least restrictive setting that is safe.
Immediate screening and risk assessment for mental health, addiction and basic physical health needs.
Standards for how quickly people are seen, regardless of ability to pay or where they live.
Care designed for active-duty military and veterans.
Care coordination with primary care providers, hospitals, social service agencies and law enforcement.
Peer support and family involvement built into treatment.

Who is Served by CCBHCs?

Anyone who needs care: people with serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbance, long-term addiction, milder conditions, or complicated health histories. CCBHCs serve people whether they are insured, uninsured or on Medicaid, and regardless of ability to pay, including active-duty military and veterans.

How it is funded

Behavioral health has been underfunded for decades. The CCBHC model pays clinics a Medicaid rate that covers the cost of the expanded services, through a prospective payment system like the one other safety-net providers use. That funding pays for:

Electronic health record systems that can share information with other providers for care coordination and quality reporting.
Crisis services around the clock, every day of the year, in the least restrictive setting that is safe.
Hiring and training staff, including licensed counselors and peer support specialists, at competitive local wages.
Addiction care throughout: screening, detox, outpatient treatment, peer support and, in most participating states, medication-assisted treatment.
Outreach, education and engagement work that Medicaid has not traditionally paid for.
Services outside the clinic: mobile crisis teams, home visits, outreach workers, and emergency room and jail diversion programs.

RiverValley Behavioral Health is proud to be the first thought

RiverValley Behavioral Health is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), demonstrating that our organization is committed to providing the best possible quality of care for our clients and communities.