LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Department of Human Services announced on Tuesday that Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has now approved a plan for additional funding that will go to the state's four Crisis Stabilization Units (CSUs).
The funding will come in the form of a direct one-time federal grant and is meant to enhance services and help CSUs achieve financial sustainability.
“I am confident the CSUs will implement changes that best reflect the communities they serve, and each plan will be unique in its scope and approach,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Putnam. “We are looking forward to working with them as they optimize behavioral health services by maximizing resources and positioning themselves to succeed as critical community partners in the long term.”
For the 2023 fiscal year, the legislature approved, and Gov. Sanders also signed a $3 million annual CSU funding into law. Though the goal for CSUs is to achieve financial self-sufficiency, Gov. Sanders had previously agreed to supplement extra funding to CSUs for the first three months of this fiscal year.
That plan consists of continuing the $90,000 a month funding through the end of this fiscal year. They hope to achieve this by directing about one million dollars worth of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant money to these programs.
Governor Sanders and the department have both asked the CSUs receiving the funding to find ways to expand the reimbursable services that would allow them to continue their operations once the temporary grant money ends on June 30, 2024.
The CSUs have also been asked to submit a plan to the state's Department of Human Services that enhances their services and shows the ways that they align with their already existing crisis stabilization mission, emphasizing community collaboration, and increased admissions, so that they can be financially solvent past July 2024.