Keystone Today

More than $9 million in state grant funding is now available to help people struggling with both mental health and substance use disorders (SUD).

According to a release Monday by Gov. Wolf, the state grant funding is for Single County Authorities (SCA) to create or expand crisis stabilization services. There will be grants up to $3 million awarded to SCAs for aspects such as construction, building infrastructure, staffing and programming.

“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for enhanced and coordinated behavioral health services in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Wolf said. “This funding opportunity will make use of Pennsylvania’s share of the federal Opioid Distributor Settlement to build on our existing programs and initiatives.”

The announcement by Wolf said that the SUD crisis stabilization services need to be able to manage people with a wide variety of symptoms, mental health disorders and developmental disabilities. Services also include medical management and behavioral interventions, as well as induction on medication-assisted treatment. There are also short term stays and level of care assessments involved. The services also must connect individuals to the proper support services.

“These grants will help expand or establish services to provide a much-needed component to the continuum of care; reduce the burden on first responders, law enforcement, and emergency departments; and provide timely care to individuals in need,” state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) Secretary Jen Smith said.

Grant applications must be submitted to RA-DAGrantsMgmt@pa.gov">RA-DAGrantsMgmt@pa.gov by 12 p.m. on Dec. 18.