Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) Requirements and Resources

Relias serves over 120 CCBHCs. Explore training and hiring resources to help you achieve your CCBHC designation.

Why Become a CCBHC?

Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) make it possible for people to receive timely and high-quality behavioral health treatment. While they also provide primary care screening and monitoring, they’re able to address mental health, substance use disorder, and other behavioral health issues that might otherwise be missed in acute care settings.

The CCBHC model of delivery is becoming popular as it improves access to care, gives the community access to a greater scope of services, and improves staff satisfaction and retention.

This page is dedicated to helping you learn more about CCBHC training requirements, including resources for certain components of the certification criteria.

What is a CCBHC?

The EMHA defines Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics as facilities specifically designed to provide a community with an all-inclusive range of substance use and mental health disorder services, especially for individuals who have the most complex needs. Read more

How Relias Helps CCBHCs

Relias serves over 120 CCBHCs. We’ve helped organizations not only train and develop their staff, but hire and onboard new staff members quickly and effectively.

Relias CCBHC Training Stats

Sample CCBHC Training Crosswalk

The Sample CCBHC Training Crosswalk is based on certification criteria developed by SAMHSA found in the Request for Application (RFA) Appendix II-Criteria for the Demonstration Program to Improve Community Mental Health Centers and to Establish Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics. This course list is just a sample of courses available in the Relias libraries.

View Crosswalk

Free Board Member Training

Educating your board on the community you serve is not just a key component of a successful board, but it also may be required by funding sources. We are proud to offer access to nine free board member training courses to all Relias health and human services clients.

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CCBHC Certification Criteria

In order to become a CCBHC, organizations must meet certain service and training requirements:

CCBHC Service Requirements

CCBHCs must offer the following services:

  • Crisis services
  • Screening, assessment, and diagnosis; includes risk assessment
  • Person-centered treatment planning
  • Outpatient mental health and substance use services
  • Primary care screening and monitoring of key indicators/health risk
  • Targeted case management
  • Psychiatric rehabilitation services
  • Peer support and family supports
  • Community-based mental health care for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and veterans

CCBHC Training Requirements

Training must address:

  • Cultural competence
  • Person-centered and family-centered, recovery-oriented, evidence-based, and trauma-informed care
  • Primary health/behavioral health integration
  • Risk assessment, suicide prevention, and suicide response
  • The roles of families and peers
  • Other trainings required by the state

Training for staff may be provided online. If you’re interested in learning more about online training for your organization, contact Relias here.

Below you’ll find training resources for substance use disorders, suicide prevention, trauma-informed care, and more:

Guidelines on Becoming a CCBHC

Your Questions on Getting CCBHC Certified Answered

In January we partnered with The National Council to discuss the future of CCBHCs and how clinics can leverage CCBHC status to further staff training and combat workforce shortages and development. Read the highlights of our webinar.

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Webinar Recap: CCHBC Certification Criteria

If you missed our recent webinar on CCHBC certification criteria, this blog recaps the key insights our experts shared, along with links to watch the webinar on demand.

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Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC): What It Means For Behavioral Health Providers

The CCBHC Demonstration Program may very well outline the future of community behavioral health services. Which providers can become a CCBHC?

Learn More

CCBHC Service Requirement Training Resources

addressing substance use disorders graphicSubstance Use Disorder Training

A key CCBHC requirement is the ability to provide substance use disorder services to anyone in your community. To help your staff treat SUDs, we’ve put together a resource page dedicated to training and resources on peer support, evidence-based treatment practices, and more.
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distraught man talking with counselorSuicide Prevention

Addressing suicide requires a multi-pronged approach that encompasses staff training as well as effective communication of an organization’s policies and procedures. Take a look at this page dedicated to suicide prevention resources, including stories of hope and advocacy.
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Trauma-Informed Care

The impact of trauma is far reaching and affects every aspect of health. By implementing a trauma-informed care approach, both staff and clients work together in a framework of wellness that produces improved outcomes. Review these resources to help transform your organizational culture and practice.
Learn More

Integrated Care

There are many models of integrated care, each with strengths and challenges in terms of client care, funding, and business models. Regardless of your approach, success depends on leveraging the right set of tools. Check out these strategies and solutions to implement integrated care at your facility.
Learn More

Resources to Improve Your Hiring & Onboarding

The resources below can help you hire, interview, onboard, and continually develop staff members at your organization. As you implement the CCBHC model of delivery, you may need to hire new employees to meet the needs of your community and ongoing CCBHC requirements.

How to Become and Employer of Choice e-book

Learn step-by-step how to update your hiring, interviewing, and onboarding strategies to improve staff retention. This guide will walk you through four actionable steps, complete with worksheets and practical steps to help along the way.

Download e-book

Hiring Strategy Checklist

Use this checklist to make sure you’re not missing any key steps as your hire, onboard, and train your staff for the long-term.

Download Checklist

How to Become an Employer of Choice Workbook

Leverage these worksheets to help you identify opportunities to improve the way you attract, hire, onboard and retain high skilled healthcare staff at your organization.

Download Workbook

Pinpoint Knowledge Gaps and Increase Engagement Among Staff

Watch this webinar to learn how to evaluate job-related competencies and measure soft skills, identify knowledge gaps in your staff training, and how to create a training plan to grow and develop your staff.

Watch the Webinar

CCBHC FAQs

  • How do you become CCBHC certified? What are the steps and who provides certification?

    Clinics must demonstrate through completion of the checklist in Appendix M of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that they are ready or will be ready within four months to meet all certification criteria. Formal certification by the state is not required.

  • Are FQHCs eligible to become CCBHCs?

    Yes, FQHCs are eligible to become CCBHCs if they can meet all the criteria.

  • Does Relias currently provide training that satisfies CCBHC certification criteria?

    Relias offers training topics covering the CCBHC “required services.” We also offer staff training topics such as person-centered care, trauma-informed care, substance use treatment and recovery, and culturally and linguistically competent care.

  • How can we use the Relias CCBHC Crosswalk?

    The CCBHC crosswalk provides a guide for provider organizations to identify how Relias training modules might be incorporated into a provider-specific staff training plan that meets CCBHC criteria. The courses listed are a representative sample of courses available in Relias libraries.

    It may not be necessary to choose all courses listed for a specific training standard; it is recommended that courses are chosen that closely align with the mission and services offered and the specific needs of the persons served.

  • What is the relationship between Relias and SAMHSA?

    Relias does not have a relationship with SAMHSA other than aligning our content with the CCBHC criteria outlined by SAMHSA.

  • How can Relias help with staff training and workforce development?

    Relias provides online compliance and CE training across the health service continuum of care.

    Additionally, Relias offers personnel assessments for job roles within healthcare. These assessments help ensure the person has the technical knowledge to complete required job tasks. We also have assessments that explore critical success factors for one’s job such as empathy, compassion, judgment, and reliability.

    Finally, we offer a population health management solution that helps organizations effectively manage defined populations with data insights, risk stratification, and targeted interventions. The solution helps organizations prove clinical outcomes, measure quality and improve care.

Learn More About Relias CCBHC Training

Let Relias be your partner in achieving your CCBHC designation. We’ve served over 120 CCBHCs, helping them implement staff training plans that not only align with certification requirements but improve care delivery and financial outcomes. Reach out to our team to learn how Relias can help your organization today.

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