Supporting Behavioral Health and Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities
- Opened eight new, fully operational Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHCs) in October 2024 through a $76.7 million investment in the FY 2025 enacted budget. CCBHCs are community-based clinics that provide a comprehensive range of mental health and substance use services, thereby reducing excessive hospitalization and criminalization of mental illness.
- Enhanced the Governor’s Overdose Task Force and its 11 workgroups, which continue to serve as the central location for all overdose prevention and intervention in the state.
- Invested over $80 million (Settlement, Stewardship, and McKinsey accounts), on the overdose crisis to fund efforts across the following core overdose prevention and intervention strategies (pillars): emerging issues, racial equity, data, prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and social determinants of health.
- In 2023, experienced a 7.3 percent reduction in fatal overdoses compared to 2022, marking the first decline in fatal overdoses since 2019. This trend continues, as preliminary data from RIDOH indicates Rhode Island saw a 9 percent decrease in drug overdose fatalities during the first quarter of 2024, compared to the first quarter of 2023.
- Became the first state to pass legislation to allow the licensing of an Overdose Prevention Center, also known as a harm reduction center, which is set to open to the public in 2025. This center’s primary focus is to provide people who use drugs a place to use safely, connecting them to clinical and peer services. This approach reduces negative consequences of drug use through needle exchange, HIV and HCV testing, wound care, and basic needs, including homelessness services and substance use disorder treatment referrals.
- Launched a more comprehensive version of the Opioid Overdose Integrated Surveillance System that monitors non-fatal overdoses combining data from emergency medical services and the emergency departments.
- Collaborated with Brown University and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to identify prescribing practices that can improve long- term treatment retention when people initiate treatment on buprenorphine (a treatment for opioid use disorder). This includes a 24/7 buprenorphine hotline that allows low-barrier, home inductions.
- Drafted and began implementation of a Statewide Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Strategic
Plan across state agencies to reduce suicides. - Received a four-year $900,000 CDC Comprehensive Suicide Prevention grant allowing the state to partner with private and public organizations to implement the Statewide Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan, utilize public health data to identify vulnerable populations to reduce the risk of suicide, and increase awareness of existing prevention activities and gaps in Rhode Island.
- Answered more than 16,500 calls on the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline between September 2024 and its launch in July 2022, significantly increasing connection to mental health resources. This service is also available through text messaging.
- Averaged 652 calls per month to the Rhode Island call center as of September 1, 2024. The Rhode Island call center has maintained one of the highest call answer rates (98 percent) and average speed
to answer (2 seconds) in the nation.
- Averaged 652 calls per month to the Rhode Island call center as of September 1, 2024. The Rhode Island call center has maintained one of the highest call answer rates (98 percent) and average speed
- Invested significantly in support for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities including:
- Increased the minimum wage for Direct Support Professionals.
- Awarded $10 million in Transition and Transformation grants to community providers to develop strategies to stabilize the workforce and increase access to employment and community activities.
- Allocated $2 million for technology grants to adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities to obtain general technology to assist them with daily activities.
- Included developmental disability Medicaid rates in the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner’s (OHIC) Rate Review process and will continue to review those rates in its biennial process in 2026.
- Engaged in a Statewide Workforce Initiative that includes developmental disability stakeholders and other state partners.
The Road to RI 2030: Goals for Behavioral Health and Individuals with Disabilities
- Continue initiatives that prevent and reduce opioid overdose and fatalities through public health overdose alerts and reduce fatal overdoses by 30 percent from the 2023 baseline (435) by 2030 (approximately 300).
- Implement new instrumentation at the State Health Laboratories that will allow for non- targeted analysis of non-fatal overdose specimens to enable the rapid identification of the emergent novel drugs in Rhode Island.
- Reduce the rate of suicide by 10 percent, from 11.3 to 10.1 deaths per 100,000 Rhode Islanders. This equates to an annual decrease from approximately 120 suicide deaths to 107 suicide deaths.
- Open a safe and quality substance-use-disorder residential program for women with a substance use diagnosis where they can bring their children.
- Continue to fund programs that address Substance Effective Newborns (SEN) and provide wrap-around services to support families.
- Improve systems of care coordination for children with special needs and their families, as evidenced in the National Survey of Children’s Health by an increased satisfaction reported by families from 43 percent in 2024 to 50 percent by 2030.
- Expand developmental disability outreach to all Rhode Island communities that are underrepresented and ensure that all adults with disabilities receive services that increase access to employment and the community.
- Continue to support and transition to CCBHCs for quality and efficient access to behavioral healthcare services to reduce the need for emergency room visits.
