With a new federal designation that will allow access to more funding, Howard Center is preparing to expand its services for people struggling with mental health problems and substance-abuse disorders.
Vermont’s largest social services provider announced on Wednesday that it had been designated a Certified Community-Based Integrated Health Center by the Vermont Department of Mental Health. The new status will allow the organization to access more federal funding and expand its services in Chittenden County.
Howard Center plans to add at least 20 direct-care positions to work on the front line of its efforts to address the substance-use and mental health issues that have increased dramatically in Burlington and the surrounding area in recent years.
The CCBHC designation will allow Howard Center to access greater levels of reimbursement through the public insurance program Medicaid and increased federal funding to be more commensurate with demand.
In order to qualify for the designation, Howard Center had to meet a set of criteria that included operating a mobile crisis team and training providers to ask patients questions about their status as veterans or whether they have family members who are veterans. The program also provides funding to connect people seeking more holistic care.
“This is the result of years of work by our team, and it changes what’s possible for the people we serve with mental health and substance use treatment services,” Howard Center CEO Sandy McGuire said in a statement. “It means more Vermonters can get care faster, and it lets us keep building programs and services, like our Military and Veterans Program, and therapy on Saturdays, that meet real and critical needs in our community.”
Cheryle Wilcox, who manages community partnerships for the state Department of Mental Health, said the program will allow Howard Center to better manage patients suffering from both mental health and substance-abuse diagnoses and will simplify the bureaucratic process for patients seeking treatment.
Though some states have had access to this federal program since 2017, Vermont only began participating in it after the Department of Mental Health received a planning grant in 2023. Last year, Clara Martin Center in Randolph and Rutland Mental Health were the first clinics to receive the designation. This year, aside from Howard Center, three other organizations received the designation: Health Care and Rehabilitation Services, which serves Windsor and Windham counties; Northeast Kingdom Human Services in Newport and St. Johnsbury; and Northwestern Counseling & Support Services in St. Albans.
The state hopes that the continued expansion of the program will improve the retention and recruitment of health care providers at these organizations and raise the standard of care across the state.
“We’re really hopeful this is going to have a major impact for people that need mental health and substance-use services in Vermont,” Wilcox said.
The ability to tap into greater federal resources has come at a time when Howard Center has been forced to scale back while having to continue to provide a high level of health care services. Last summer, the center cut 30 positions and some services in an effort to address a $2.5 million budget hole. In the fall, the city announced the closure of its Burlington CARES outreach program, shifting some of its mental health services onto the center’s Street Outreach Team.
Howard Center also closed its needle exchange program on Clarke Street, citing “limited resources,” while the nonprofit Vermont CARES opened a new exchange on Bank Street in July. Its Jarrett House program — a six-bed program for short-term stabilization services for children experiencing mental health crises, also closed in June. Howard Center said it was unable to adequately staff the program.
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