Dates: December 4, 2025 – March 18, 2026

Looking to understand the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model?  Is your health center interested in partnering with a local CCBHC to support and expand your services? Apply to NACHC’s Community of Practice to learn some tools to help you do that!

From the National Council of Mental Wellbeing 2024 CCBHC Impact report:

CCBHCs work closely with primary care partners, using multiple strategies to coordinate and integrate care — with the result that access to primary care is increasing among individuals served.

• Half of CCBHCs exceed minimum requirements by making comprehensive primary care available on-site.
• 76% of CCBHCs reported that referrals to primary care have increased since becoming a CCBHC, including 30% reporting that referrals have increased by 20% or more.

NACHC is hosting an exciting Community of Practice for CHC staff on partnerships between CHCs and CCBHCs. This virtual offering provides a unique opportunity to learn about the various pathways to partnering with a CCBHC and understanding the scope of services to coordinate care and develop referral workflows.

Overview

This Community of Practice is designed for CHC and CCBHC staff focused on integrating primary care and behavioral health services, including leadership, administrative, medical, and mental health care providers. The Community of Practice will engage participants in designing a personal project to support creating a partnership between local CCBHC and CHC providers. Each participating organization will walk away with a care coordination agreement ready to be implemented!

The goals of this Community of Practice are to:

• Identify the different opportunities for CHCs and CCBHCs to partner to support the integration of primary care and behavioral health.
• Outline ways CHCs and CCBHCs can create collaborative partnerships.
• Discover and implement changes that assist with building care coordination and referral pathways between CHCs and CCBHCs.
• Have Fun!

The Community of Practice will consist of six virtual sessions between December 4, 2025 and March 18, 2026. Session may also include policy updates from NACHC staff on relevant mental health topics as they arise.

Participant Expectations

• Have a general understanding of CHC and CCBHC models,
• Attend and participate in all six virtual sessions,
• Complete all pre-work and homework assignments, and
• Have the support of their supervisor/leadership.

As an added benefit for participation, there will be an optional office hour to support work and additional questions.

Workshop Dates

Welcome Session

Thursday, December 4, 2025, 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET (60 minutes)
This kick-off session will introduce the Community of Practice’s goals, format, and expectations. Participants will be provided with a brief overview of the CCBHC program and provided time to meet other participating CHCs.

Session #1: Care Coordination Relationship-Building, Pathways, and Referrals

• Jeff Capobianco, Senior Advisor, Practice Improvement & Consulting National Council for Mental Wellbeing
• Amber Desgranges, MPH, CED, Key Partnerships and Initiatives Officer, Michigan Primary Care Association
• Cynthia Wagenhofer, MBA, Chief Financial Officer, Cherry Health

Thursday, December 11, 2025, 3:00 pm – 4:30 PM ET (90 minutes)
This session will review the foundation and SAMHSA levels of integrated care. Participants will learn about the CCBHC criteria for care coordination, primary care monitoring, screening requirements, and the core requirements needed to begin a CHC/CCBHC partnership. 

Session #2: Key Consideration for Partnerships or Dual Certification: Billing, Coding, Reimbursement and Policy

• CohnReznick
• Lauren Moyer, Executive Vice President, Clinical Innovation, Compass Health

Thursday, January 15, 2026, 3:00 pm – 4:30 PM ET (90 minutes)
This session will illustrate key considerations around the scope of services, administrative and financial needs, policy updates, and billing, coding, and cost reporting.

Office Hour (Optional)

Week of January 19th – Day and Time to be Determined
This session will allow participants to engage with speakers to better understand CCBHC care coordination and partnerships, which will further the development of each participant project or care agreement template.

Session #3: Operationalizing Culture Change (developing buy-in & trust), Workflows and Workforce

• Debbian Fletcher-Blake, President and CEO, VIP Community Services 

Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 3:00 pm – 4:30 PM ET (90 minutes)
This session will present case studies of co-located and dual-certified FQHCs and CCBHCs. It will also illustrate the workflows and impact of team-based care between primary care and behavioral health services, culture change of team-based care, as well as changing population and community needs when pursuing CCBHC partnerships, arrangements, or certification.

Session #4: Opportunities as a Designated Collaborating Organization (DCO)

Thursday, March 5, 2026, 3:00 pm – 4:30 PM ET (90 minutes)
This workshop will be used to understand how to create metrics to make sure the process is achieving the intended outcomes.  Participants will also learn how to perform continuous improvement using the insights gained from data collection and how to present their results to colleagues and leadership.

Project Showcase

Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 3:00 pm – 4:30 PM ET (90 minutes)
This final event will provide participants who complete all elements of the course with an opportunity to showcase their process improvement or care coordination agreements project summary, including results, lessons learned, and next steps. Participants can invite their supervisors, colleagues, Primary Care Association (PCA), and State Behavioral Health Associations (SBHAs) colleagues to listen to their presentations and celebrate the work they have accomplished.

Requirements

To apply, a participant must meet the following requirements:

• A general understanding of the CCBHC or health center model.
• Actively pursuing behavioral health partnerships.
• Commit to attending all six sessions and completing the relevant homework activities.
• Have the support of your supervisor/leadership.

The deadline to apply is Monday, November 10, 2025, midnight ET.

For more information, please contact Erin Prendergast at [email protected].