This column was originally featured on Newportri.com.
Just as Rhode Island’s transformative work through its participation in the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) program is gaining momentum, the State’s Federal Compliance Advisory Group is recommending a 15% cut to CCBHC in the 2027 state budget. It’s important to recognize that investing in CCBHCs not only leverages significant federal Medicaid matching funds for Rhode Island but also leads to proven cost savings by reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalizations. By supporting CCBHCs, the state creates more effective and sustainable pathways for individuals to access behavioral health care—helping people get the support they need earlier and in the right setting, while decreasing avoidable spending on emergency and crisis care.
Such a reduction would jeopardize this momentum. Most importantly, it would threaten our ability to continue and expand the work of our staff who deliver essential, often life-saving services, and who have become a critical part of a coordinated, community-wide response to mental health needs across Newport County. These are the professionals who work hand-in-hand with law enforcement, first responders, and local agencies every day. A loss of funding would weaken this partnership just as it is proving its value.
That’s why we need you to speak up in support of CCBHC funding. At the end of this article, we’ll share how you can help. First, it’s important to understand why this funding matters so deeply to the health and safety of our community.
What Local Law Enforcement Says About Our Impact
Newport Mental Health works closely with first responders throughout Newport County, who are often the first to encounter individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. Our Emergency Services and Rhode Island Outreach (RIO) teams regularly co-respond to calls at the request of police departments. We also collaborate through the cross-agency “Situation Table,” where first responders and service providers coordinate care for individuals with known and ongoing needs.
According to Newport Police Department Community Police Officer Brittany Ripke, this partnership has fundamentally changed how officers are able to do their jobs.
“Our department is very fortunate to have the relationship of Newport Mental Health,” Ripke says. “We’re seeing a decline in our responses to mental health calls because people are being treated and more mental health resources are available.”
That shift allows officers to focus on other critical public safety responsibilities while ensuring residents get the care they need. Ripke explains that when officers know they can rely on trained mental health professionals, outcomes improve for everyone involved.
“For example, on a cold night when we locate an individual who needs the warming center, we can just call RIO instead of trying to figure out where that person could go, how to get them transportation, or whether they’ll be accepted anywhere,” she says. “We know RIO will handle that.”
Beyond logistics, Ripke emphasizes the trust that has developed between officers and Newport Mental Health staff, which comes from consistent collaboration and shared goals.
“It’s great that I’m able to reach out to a resource that I know and who knows me,” she says. “We have that respect toward each other, and we’re trying to do what’s best for the individual. If someone is having a mental health crisis, the answer is not arrest or jail. It’s getting their mental health taken care of so they can function safely and respectfully in the community.”
That same theme of partnership and prevention is echoed by Lt. Joanne Alboum, Community Police Officer with the Middletown Police Department. She notes that when mental health professionals and law enforcement work together, they can often prevent crises before they escalate.
“With Newport Mental Health and the police working in a partnership, we can proactively prevent some of the other things that are going to happen,” Alboum says. “We try to fill little gaps, because those gaps are what cause bigger problems later on.”
She explains that connecting people to services early, often through a caseworker, reduces the need for repeated emergency responses.
“Newport Mental Health is a better way,” she says. “People get connected to services. They don’t need police and fire for most situations; they just need a little bit of help, and they’ll be OK.”
Alboum also points to the Situation Table as a critical tool that makes this coordination possible. “Meeting at the Situation Table makes all the difference,” she says. “We track people together. We talk about who needs what, who’s engaged in services, and who hasn’t yet taken us up on help.”
She stresses that Newport Mental Health is part of a broader network of community partners, including PACE, The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community, Center, No Wrong Door, and Child & Family Services, that work together to meet a wide range of needs.
“The Situation Table is making a difference because of the extraordinary coordination among local agencies,” Alboum says. “Together, we provide supports ranging from food, laundry, and showers to shelter and mental health services.”
For individuals who struggle to keep themselves safe, this coordinated approach can be life changing.
“Together, we can keep tabs on people,” Alboum says. “Sometimes they will take us up on the offer to go to the warming center instead of staying in their car. That makes all the difference. And of course, it all comes down to funding.”
She adds plainly, “If you don’t have funding, what’s going to happen to these people?”
The Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act Will Prevent Funding Cuts
The Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act is a proposed federal bill designed to strengthen and secure funding for CCBHCs like Newport Mental Health and the five other CCBHCs serving Rhode Island. The bill would:
- Extend federal support with stable, predictable reimbursement for the full range of behavioral health services
- Provide incentives for states to maintain and expand CCBHC programs
- Ensure continued federal funding over multiple years to promote long-term sustainability
In Newport County, more than 12% of residents live below the poverty line. In the City of Newport, that number rises above 15%, reflecting real economic strain for many families and individuals (U.S. Census data). CCBHCs provide care on a sliding fee scale, down to $0 for those who qualify, ensuring that income, insurance status, or housing instability never stand in the way of care.
If this bill passes, states will receive higher Medicaid reimbursement rates and enhanced federal funding for CCBHCs. That stability will allow clinics like Newport Mental Health to retain skilled staff, strengthen partnerships with first responders, and continue delivering coordinated, compassionate care. Most importantly, it will eliminate the looming threat of a 15% state funding cut.
The Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act has bipartisan sponsorship in both the House and the Senate and is endorsed by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
Your Voice Matters — Act Now
To protect the progress we’ve made and the health of our community, we need your voice now more than ever.
The Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health act was introduced in December 2025 must move through a lengthy legislative process before it can be signed into law. Early outreach is critical to influence the committee process and upcoming votes.
You can urge your senators to support this legislation by participating in the National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s campaign at this link: https://thenationalcouncil.quorum.us/campaign/143777/. After providing your contact information, you’ll see either a letter template urging senators to support and cosponsor the Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act or a script to call senators’ offices in Washington. Both approaches invite you to share personal experiences, highlighting the widespread impact of these issues and the vital role these support systems play.
Please express your support by contacting your elected officials now. Encourage your family, friends, and neighbors, especially those in other states, to do the same. Together, we can ensure that behavioral healthcare in Newport County, and across the nation, remains accessible, effective, and a vital link in the community for years to come.