With the help of two federal grants, Care Plus NJ will enhance its behavioral health services in Bergen County and expand its programming to Essex County.

The Paramus-based integrated primary and behavioral health services provider announced Nov. 8 it received two awards, covering four years, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration totaling $8 million for its Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic services.

According to the organization, the funding will allow CarePlus NJ to address disparities in access to behavioral health services, and to better integrate the offerings with primary care services while focusing on underserved populations.

“As one of State of New Jersey’s first CCBHCs established in 2017, we are acutely aware of the critical need to enhance and expand access to integrated primary and behavioral health care, especially for historically underserved populations including communities of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,” said Brigitte Johnson, president and CEO, CarePlus NJ. “The funding will allow us to build on our agency’s goals of improving health equity and embedding DEIB [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging] in all areas of the organization to ensure we are continuing to enhance access to integrated care for the populations who need it most.”

The 2022 Essex County New Jersey Community Health Needs Assessment identified mental health as the top health issue from all respondents. In fact, it was the No. 1 issue from participating residents of all of the county’s municipalities with the exception of Essex Falls, the report found. In Bergen County, last year’s Community Health Needs Assessment also saw mental health labeled as the top concern, identifying the area as one of opportunity and adding that there was difficulty in obtaining such services.

CarePlus NJ offers person- and family-centered services to support recovery from mental illness and/or substance use disorders with access to high-quality services though its more than 80 programs, regardless of a person’s ability to pay.

In Bergen County, CarePlus NJ said it will use the funding to improve diagnostic and treatment planning, care coordination and case consultation. In addition to promoting integration of primary and behavioral health care, the funding will help to build better pathways to urgent and emergent care.

In the region, the provider offers services to individuals with serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, SUD and co-occurring disorders. Its patient base is focused on adults who are not connected to primary care, children ages 5-17 with SED and/or SUD, low-income individuals, LGBTQ+ people and others, including the general population and active military and veterans.

In Essex County, CCBHC services will be established to address disparities in care among historically underserved populations, including Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ+ individuals. To take on the divide in accessing care quickly, CarePlus NJ said it will conduct a community needs assessment to establish a walk-in rapid access behavioral health center as well as to increase community outreach, training, screening, assessment and linkages to care.

“Our Bergen County CCBHC has made substantial progress over the past several years yet there is still significant unmet need this funding will enable us to address,” Johnson added. “The expansion of our CCBHC services to Essex County will also be vital in addressing the lack of behavioral and mental health services in the county, which ranks 17 out of 21 in the state in both health outcomes and health factors.”