Connected Families New Hampshire, a county-run social services organization, faces uncertainty following the abrupt termination of a $4 million federal grant that supports a pilot program for children with severe mental health issues. The grant funds a four-year care coordination program designed to create best practices for managing care for children with complex mental health needs.
The termination was part of roughly $2 billion in grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that were abruptly ended across the country. On January 13, Cheshire County received notification of the termination, effective immediately. The grant was reinstated that evening following nationwide backlash, but the experience has left county officials worried about the program’s stability. Without the grant, county officials said the organization would have to turn to its general fund to prevent care disruption. The $4 million grant represents roughly 15 percent of Connected Families’ budget.
The brief enhanced care coordination program serves Cheshire County, Sullivan County, western Hillsborough County, and lower Grafton County. It takes an individualized approach to helping young people with complex mental health needs, which may involve connecting them with therapists, addressing housing or food insecurity, or other support. The majority of grant funding covers wages and benefits for employees who meet with families and develop support plans over two to six months. The program is 17 months into the grant and has helped 24 families so far.
Dennis Calcutt, Connected Families director, expressed concern about the program’s long-term future, noting that SAMHSA reapproves the grant annually. “You can’t grant people the resources to develop innovative programming and then say to them ‘no, it’s terminated,’” he said. A case example shows the program’s impact: a 7-year-old boy with trauma who was struggling in school received individualized care coordination, leading to placement with a paraeducator and therapist. His mother reported immediate results and a “more hopeful future” for her child. If the program’s approach proves successful, it could eventually be incorporated into the state’s Medicaid program, similar to Connected Families’ previous wraparound services.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.keenesentinel.com/healthlab/nh-care-coordination-program-faces-federal-instablity/article_f82be30b-cfb9-4e0e-af90-bf0aacbc4f96.html