Behavioral Health Collaborative

The Behavioral Health Collaborative was created during the 2004 Legislative Session. The enabling statute allows several state agencies and multiple resources across state government involved in behavioral health prevention, treatment, and recovery to work as one in an effort to improve mental health and substance abuse services in New Mexico. This cabinet-level group represents 15 state agencies and the Governor’s office.

New Mexico is undertaking a transformational process with regards to improving behavioral health services to adult, children, youth, and families, driven by a focus on recovery and resiliency.

The vision of the Collaborative is to be a single, statewide behavioral health delivery system in which funds are managed effectively and efficiently and to create an environment in which the support of recovery and development of resiliency is expected, mental health is promoted, the adverse affects of substance abuse and mental illness are prevented or reduced, and behavioral health recipients are assisted in participating fully in the lives of their communities.

The Collaborative is charged with a number of responsibilities, including:

• Inventorying all expenditures for mental health and substance abuse services;
• Creating a single behavioral health care and services delivery system that promotes mental health, emphasizes prevention, early intervention, resiliency, recovery and rehabilitation, while managing funds efficiently, and ensuring availability of services throughout the state;
• Paying special attention to regional, cultural, rural, frontier, urban and border issues, and seeking suggestions from Native Americans.
• Contracting with a single, statewide services purchasing entity (SE);
• Monitoring service capacities and utilization in order to achieve desired performance measures and outcomes;
• Making decisions regarding funds, interdepartmental staff, grant writing, and grant management;
• Comprehensive planning and meeting state and federal requirements;
• Overseeing systems of care, data management, performance and outcome indicators, rate setting, service definitions, considering consumer, family, and citizen input, monitoring training, assuring that evidence-based practices receive priority, and providing oversight for fraud & abuse and licensing & certification.

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