Through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration funding, the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities received emergency funding develop a multipronged plan to provide evidence-based mental and substance use disorder services for Georgians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will enable state safety net providers, Medicaid providers; specialty network providers; and substance use disorder, crisis, and mobile crisis response providers maintain access and continuity of treatment and recovery services, including assessment and screening for mental health and substance use disorders, identification of and linkage to appropriate treatment approaches, and the delivery of evidence-based treatment. Additionally, the funds will help providers retain employees and expand telehealth capabilities, expand a COVID-19 emotional support line, and deliver critical stress management support for frontline health care professionals.

The Center of Excellence at the Georgia Health Policy Center is leading the evaluation of this emergency funding grant. The evaluation will include both assessment of the implementation process as well as programmatic outcomes. Analyses will also explore what individual, programmatic, and contextual factors are associated with these outcomes. A process evaluation will leverage key informant interviews and/or focus group interviews to address questions of implementation, policy changes, and facilitators and barriers to improving access to needed behavioral health services.

Behavioral Health

Research & Evaluation