Behavioral Health Mobile Crisis Team Partnerships

The Behavioral Health Mobile Crisis Team Partnerships program is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA is the federal agency responsible for improving the quality and availability of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitative services for mental health and substance use conditions. This funding opportunity is part of the agency’s broader effort to strengthen crisis response systems across the United States and reduce unnecessary involvement of law enforcement and emergency departments in behavioral health situations. The primary purpose of this program is to establish new or enhance existing mobile crisis teams that serve children, youth, and adults experiencing mental health or substance use crises. The initiative emphasizes expanding behavioral health crisis response capacity and developing structured partnerships among service providers, community organizations, and public systems. These partnerships are intended to improve coordination and ensure individuals in crisis receive timely, appropriate, and community-based care. Funding under this opportunity is expected to support activities that increase the availability and effectiveness of mobile crisis services. This may include staffing, training, coordination with emergency response systems, and the development of protocols that enable rapid, on-site intervention. The program also prioritizes approaches that divert individuals from law enforcement and emergency department settings when appropriate, thereby promoting more humane and clinically appropriate responses to behavioral health crises. Eligibility for this opportunity is statutorily limited to governmental and tribal entities. Specifically, eligible applicants include states, political subdivisions of states, U.S. territories, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations. This limitation reflects the program’s focus on system-level coordination and public infrastructure development. The opportunity does not require cost sharing or matching funds, which may lower barriers to participation for eligible entities. The funding mechanism for this program is a cooperative agreement, indicating that SAMHSA will have substantial involvement in the implementation and oversight of funded projects. The total estimated program funding is $12,760,633, with approximately 17 awards expected to be made. While specific award ceilings and floors are not provided in the forecast, applicants can anticipate competitive distribution of funds across selected projects. At the time of this forecast, key application timeline details have not yet been finalized. The opportunity is expected to be officially posted on May 29, 2026, at which point full application instructions, deadlines, and requirements will be released. Interested applicants are encouraged to monitor Grants.gov for updates and prepare in advance by assessing organizational readiness and partnership structures. For additional information, prospective applicants may contact Justin Powlison at SAMHSA via email or phone as provided in the announcement.