ORS 430.389: Grants to implement Behavioral Health Resource Networks and increase access to and awareness of treatment and services.

(1) The Oregon Health Authority shall administer, in consultation with the Oversight and Accountability Council, a grant program to implement Behavioral Health Resource Networks and increase statewide access to and awareness of the services described in subsection (2)(e) of this section. A Behavioral Health Resource Network is an entity or collection of entities that individually or jointly provide some or all of the services described in subsection (2)(e) of this section. (2)(a) The authority shall establish an equitable: (A) Process for applying for grants and funding by agencies or organizations, whether government or community based, to establish Behavioral Health Resource Networks for the purposes of immediately screening the acute needs of individuals with substance use, including those who also have a mental illness, and assessing and addressing any ongoing needs through ongoing case management, harm reduction, treatment, housing and linkage to other care and services. (B) Evaluation process to assess the effectiveness of Behavioral Health Resource Networks that receive grants or funding. (b) Recipients of grants or funding must be licensed, certified or credentialed by the state, including certification under ORS 743A.168 (9), or meet criteria prescribed by rule by the authority under ORS 430.390. A recipient of a grant or funding under this subsection may not use the grant or funding to supplant the recipient’s existing funding. (c) The authority shall ensure that residents of each county have access to all of the services described in paragraph (e) of this subsection. (d) Applicants for grants and funding may apply individually or jointly with other network participants to provide services in one or more counties. (e) A network must have the capacity to provide the following services and any other services specified by the authority by rule but no individual participant in a network is required to provide all of the services: (A) Screening by certified addiction peer support or wellness specialists or other qualified persons designated by the authority to determine a client’s need for immediate medical or other treatment to determine what acute care is needed and where it can be best provided, identify other needs and link the client to other appropriate local or statewide services, including treatment for substance use and coexisting health problems, housing, employment, training and child care. A network shall provide a screening within 48 hours of initial client contact. Notwithstanding paragraph (c) of this subsection, only one grantee in each network within each county is required to provide the screenings described in this subparagraph. (B) Comprehensive behavioral health needs assessment, including a substance use screening by a certified alcohol and drug counselor or other credentialed addiction treatment professional. The assessment shall prioritize the self-identified needs of a client. (C) Individual intervention planning, case management and connection to services. If, after the completion of a screening, a client indicates a desire to address some or all of the identified needs, a case manager shall work with the client to design an individual intervention plan. The plan must address the client’s need for substance use treatment, coexisting health problems, housing, employment and training, child care and other services. (D) Ongoing peer counseling and support from screening and assessment through implementation of individual intervention plans as well as peer outreach workers to engage directly with marginalized community members who could potentially benefit from the network’s services. (E) Assessment of the need for, and provision of, mobile or virtual outreach services to: (i) Reach clients who are unable to access the network; and (ii) Increase public awareness of network services. (F) Harm reduction services and information and education about harm reduction services. (G) Low-barrier substance use treatment. (H) Transitional and supportive housing for individuals with substance use. (f) If an applicant for a grant or funding under this subsection is unable to provide all of the services described in paragraph (e) of this subsection, the applicant may identify how the applicant intends to partner with other entities to provide the services, and the authority may facilitate collaboration among applicants. (g) All services provided through the networks must be evidence-informed, trauma-informed, culturally specific, linguistically responsive, person-centered and nonjudgmental. The goal shall be to address effectively the client’s substance use and any other social determinants of health. (h) The networks must be adequately staffed to address the needs of people with substance use within their regions as prescribed by the authority by rule, including, at a minimum, at least one person in each of the following categories: (A) Alcohol and drug counselor certified by the authority or other credentialed addiction treatment professional; (B) Case manager; (C) Addiction peer support specialist certified by the authority; (D) Addiction peer wellness specialist certified by the authority; (E) Recovery mentor, certified by the Mental Health and Addiction Certification Board of Oregon or its successor organization; and (F) Youth support specialist certified by the authority. (i) Verification of a screening by a certified addiction peer support specialist, wellness specialist or other person in accordance with paragraph (e)(A) of this subsection shall promptly be provided to the client by the entity conducting the screening. If the client executes a valid release of information, the entity shall provide verification of the screening to the authority or a contractor of the authority and the authority or the authority’s contractor shall forward the verification to any entity the client has authorized to receive the verification. (3) In awarding grants and funding under this section, the authority shall: (a) Distribute grants and funding to ensure access to: (A) Historically underserved populations; and (B) Culturally specific and linguistically responsive services. (b) Consider any inventories or surveys of currently available behavioral health services. (c) Consider available regional data related to the substance use treatment needs and the access to culturally specific and linguistically responsive services in communities in this state. (d) Consider the needs of residents of this state for services, supports and treatment at all ages. (4) The authority shall require any government entity that applies for a grant to specify in the application details regarding subgrantees and how the government entity will fund culturally specific organizations and culturally specific services. A government entity receiving a grant must make an explicit commitment not to supplant or decrease any existing funding used to provide services funded by the grant. (5) In determining grants and funding to be awarded, the authority may consult the comprehensive substance use prevention, substance use disorder treatment and recovery support services plan established by the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission under ORS 430.223 and the advice of any other group, agency, organization or individual that desires to provide advice to the authority that is consistent with the terms of this section. (6) Services provided by grantees funded under this section, including services provided by a Behavioral Health Resource Network, shall be free of charge to the clients receiving the services. Grantees in each network shall seek reimbursement from insurance issuers, the medical assistance program or any other third party responsible for the cost of services provided to a client and grants and funding provided by the authority under this section may be used for copayments, deductibles or other out-of-pocket costs incurred by the client for the services. (7) Subsection (6) of this section does not require the medical assistance program to reimburse the cost of services for which another third party is responsible in violation of 42 U.S.C. 1396a(25). [2021 c.2 §2; 2021 c.10 §16; 2021 c.591 §2; 2023 c.248 §7; 2023 c.593 §24; 2024 c.70 §68; 2025 c.292 §3; 2025 c.495 §8]