Community- and Program-Level Predictors of Funding Streams Used by Coordinated Specialty Care Programs

Area of Science:

• Mental Health Services Research
• Health Services Administration
• Psychiatric Epidemiology

Background:

• Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) is an evidence-based model for treating first-episode psychosis.
• Widespread implementation of CSC in the U.S. is hindered by accessibility issues and funding challenges.
• Understanding funding streams is critical for the sustainability and scalability of CSC programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate community- and program-level factors influencing the utilization of public and private funding streams for CSC programs.
• To identify predictors of funding source reliance in a national sample of CSC programs.

Main Methods:

• A national sample of 34 CSC programs across 22 U.S. states and territories participated.
• Program leaders completed questionnaires on funding sources as part of a mixed-methods study.
• Statistical modeling was employed to analyze program- and community-level predictors of funding utilization.

Main Results:

• The majority of CSC programs (59%) reported Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG) set-aside funds as their primary revenue source (>50%).
• Younger programs (≤5 years) were more reliant on MHBG funds.
• Medicaid expansion states showed increased reliance on Medicaid funding, while higher-income areas utilized more state funds.

Conclusions:

• CSC programs exhibit a significant dependency on MHBG set-aside funding.
• Diversification into Medicaid and other state funding sources is occurring but requires further development.
• A comprehensive funding strategy is necessary to decrease reliance on MHBG funds and ensure program viability.