Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability

Department of Children and Families

Community Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

For assistance, call 850-487-1111 or visit https://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/samh/

What is the purpose of the program?

The Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) is governed by Chs. 394397, and 916 Florida Statutes, and is the single state authority for substance abuse and mental health services. The Office of SAMH is statutorily responsible for the planning, evaluation, and implementation of a comprehensive statewide system of care for the prevention, treatment, and recovery of children and adults with serious mental illnesses or substance use disorders.

How is the program administered?

The Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health contracts with seven managing entities for the administration and management of regional behavioral health services throughout the state. The managing entities are private organizations responsible for the planning, implementation, administration, monitoring, data collection, reporting, and analysis for behavioral health care in their regions. Managing entities contract with local network service providers for the provision of prevention, treatment, and recovery support services.

What services does the program provide?

The programs provided services for 452,178 individuals in Fiscal Year 2021-22; 189,642 adults and 262,536 children. Though the overall number served remained consistent, there were significantly fewer adults and more children served in Fiscal Year 2021-22 compared to the previous fiscal year.

  • Mental Health Services for Adults
    • Assessment determines the services, supports, and level of care needed.
    • Crisis Support is outpatient services available 24-hours per day, seven days per week for crisis intervention or to provide emergency care.
    • Crisis Stabilization is an acute care service, offered 24-hours per day, seven days per week, which provides brief, intensive mental health residential treatment services. This service meets the needs of individuals who are experiencing an acute crisis and who, in the absence of a suitable alternative, would require hospitalization.
    • Florida Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) teams, in an effort to promote independent, integrated living for individuals with severe and persistent psychiatric disorders, provide a 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-per-week multidisciplinary approach to deliver comprehensive care to people where they live, work or go to school, and spend their leisure time.
    • In-Home and On-Site Services are therapeutic services and supports provided in non-mental health provider settings such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, residences, schools, detention centers, commitment settings, foster homes, and other community settings.
    • Intervention Services focus on reducing risk factors generally associated with the progression of substance abuse and mental health problems. 
    • Inpatient Services provide intensive treatment to individuals exhibiting violent behaviors, suicidal behaviors, and other severe disturbances due to substance abuse or mental illness. These services are provided in general hospitals or psychiatric specialty hospitals.
    • Residential Treatment provides supervision 24-hours per day, seven days per week and include structured rehabilitation-oriented group facilities that house persons who have significant deficits in independent living skills and need extensive support and supervision. Residential treatment includes short-term residential treatment and adult group homes for those requiring longer lengths of stay.
    • Outpatient Services provide a therapeutic environment that is designed to improve the functioning, or prevent further deterioration, of persons with mental health and/or substance abuse problems. Outpatient services are usually provided on a regularly scheduled basis by appointment, with arrangements made for non-scheduled visits during times of increased stress or crisis.
    • Medical Services are designed to improve functioning or prevent further deterioration of individuals with mental health or substance use issues by providing primary medical care, therapy, and medication administration. 
     
  • Mental Health Services for Children provides funding for in-home and community based outpatient services, crisis services, and residential treatment including services at psychiatric residential treatment facilities, therapeutic foster care homes, and therapeutic group homes provided through joint Medicaid and Mental Health Program contracts with behavioral health managed entities and providers.
  • Juvenile Incompetent to Proceed Program provides competency restoration services to juveniles who have been charged with a felony prior to their 18th birthday and do not have the ability to participate in legal proceedings due to their mental illness, mental retardation, or autism. The goal is to provide assessment, evaluation and intensive competency restoration services to allow the juvenile to return to court and proceed with their court proceedings. Competency restoration services are available in both the community and in a secure residential setting.  
  • Substance Abuse Services for Adults and Children
    • Prevention services are designed to preclude, forestall, or impede the development of substance abuse problems, primarily for youth, through increasing public awareness and education, community-based processes and evidence-based practices.
    • Detoxification services use medical and clinical procedures to assist individuals in their efforts to withdraw from the physiological and psychological effects of substance abuse and may occur in a residential or outpatient setting.
    • Treatment services include an array of assessment, counseling, case management, and support provided in residential and non-residential (outpatient) settings for individuals and their families who have lost their abilities to control the substance use on their own and require formal, structured intervention and support. Services include various levels of residential, outpatient, and recovery support based on the severity of the addiction.
    • Recovery Support services are offered during and following treatment to further assist individuals in their development of the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain their recovery. Services include transitional housing, life skills training, parenting skills, and peer-based individual and group counseling.

Who does the program serve?

The substance abuse program serves adolescents and adults affected by substance misuse, abuse, or dependence.

The mental health program services are focused on:

  • adults in crisis; people with serious, disabling, or potentially disabling mental illnesses who live in the community and who cannot otherwise access mental health care; and certain people with serious mental illnesses who get involved with the criminal justice system; and
  • children and adolescents who are experiencing an acute mental or emotional crisis; who have a serious emotional disturbance or mental illness; who have an emotional disturbance; who are at risk of emotional disturbance; and who are incompetent to proceed to a delinquency hearing due to their mental illness, intellectual disability, or autism.

How well does the program meet the mental health and substance abuse needs of Florida citizens?

Each of the program's client groups has performance measures and standards included in the department's Long Range Program Plan that provide an indication of the program's success in meeting needs. For example, 73% of children successfully completed substance abuse treatment services, above the legislative standard of 48% for Fiscal Year 2021-22. The following table shows selected performance measures for the program.  

Program Performance in Fiscal Year 2021-22
Measure Performance
Percentage of adults with serious mental illness who are competitively employed   40%
Percentage of school days seriously emotionally disturbed children attended   94%
Percentage of children with emotional disturbance with improved functioning   62%
Percentage of children with serious emotional disturbance with improved functioning  62%
Percentage of adults who successfully complete substance abuse treatment services   54%
Source: Long Range Program Plan, Department of Children and Families.

 

How are these activities funded?

Fifty-nine percent of funding for community substance abuse and mental health is general revenue funds.

Fiscal Year: 2023-24
Fund Dollars Positions
PROGRAM: COMMUNITY SERVICES
COMMUNITY SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
1,534,220,731
155.00
TOTAL
1,534,220,731
155.00

Updates

Mental Health Treatment. The 2023Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-270, Laws of Florida, which authorizes the Department of Children and Families to issue conditional designations for Baker Act receiving and treatment facilities as an alternative to the suspension or withdrawal of a standard facility designation as a result of licensure requirement violations. The law also modifies Ch. 916, Florida Statutes, regarding competency determination, treatment options, and restoration.

Operation and Administration of the Baker Act. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-198, Laws of Florida, which directs the Department of Children and Families to update and publish a Baker Act handbook annually and post the handbook on the agency's website by October 1 each year, as well as maintain a repository of frequently asked questions on the agency's website, which must be revised and expanded as necessary. The Department is also required to inform certain stakeholders of their role in the Baker Act process, support their effective implementation of the Act, and support and facilitate research conducted by public and private agencies, institutes of higher learning, and hospitals in the interest of the elimination and amelioration of mental illness.

Suicide Prevention. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-252, Laws of Florida, which allows certain first responder organizations to designate first responder peers, who may be active, volunteer, or retired first responders. The law allows diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder via telehealth for the purposes of obtaining worker's compensation benefits. The law renames the Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse to the Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder, and directs the Commission to conduct a study on certain services and programs relating to suicide prevention.

Substance Abuse Services. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-298, Laws of Florida, which modifies requirements for licensed substance abuse services providers offering treatment to individuals living in recovery residences. The law prohibits alcohol, marijuana (including marijuana certified by a qualified physician for medical use), illegal drugs, and prescription drugs when used by persons other than for whom the medication is prescribed from being used on the premises of providers licensed by the Department of Children and Families. The law requires service providers to provide proof of a prohibition on the use of these substances in applications for licensure and prohibits referrals from licensed service providers to recovery residences that allow the use of these substances on the premises. Additionally, patients referred to recovery residences must also be referred into licensed community housing as part of treatment.

Certified Peer Specialist Gateway Pilot Program. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-286, Laws of Florida, which creates the Certified Peer Specialist Gateway Pilot Program within the Department of Corrections, the purpose of which is to recruit and enroll qualified graduates of the program into approved certified peer specialist training programs. The program will provide training and on-the-job experience for peer specialist certification, assist in completion of exams required to become a certified peer specialist, and will assist participants in obtaining employment upon release from incarceration.

Opioid Abatement. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-184, Laws of Florida, which creates the Statewide Council on Opioid Abatement within the Department of Children and Families to enhance the development and coordination of state and local efforts to abate the opioid epidemic and to support the victims of the opioid crisis and their families. The law allows pharmacists to prescribe and dispense emergency opioid antagonists, including those that are delivered through a prefilled injection device delivery system. The law also requires each Florida College System institution and state university to store a supply of emergency opioid antagonists in each residence hall or dormitory residence owned or operated by the institution, which must be easily accessible to campus law enforcement officers who are trained in their administration.

State Opioid Settlement Trust Fund. The 2023 Florida Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-265, Laws of Florida, which creates the State Opioid Settlement Trust Fund within the Department of Children and Families to abate the opioid epidemic in accordance with the settlement agreements reached by the state in opioid-related litigation or bankruptcy proceedings.

Where can I find related OPPAGA reports?

The Acute Care Services Utilization Database Meets Statutory Requirements; Limitations Exist for Certain Types of Analyses, Report 19-12, November 2019

Where can I get more information?

Other Reports
The Auditor General reports on department operations are located on its website

Websites of Interest
Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Department of Children and Families, Get Help 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institutes of Mental Health

Performance Information
Performance measures and standards for the department may be found in its Long Range Program Plan.
Planning and Performance Measures report the department's performance on external and internal measures for its various programs. The measures allow the user to view performance at both a statewide and geographic region level.

What are the applicable statutes?

Chapters 394397,  916, and s. 20.19, Florida Statutes

Whom do I contact for help?

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program, DCF Headquarters, 850-487-1111
Website

Find your local mental health agency on the DCF website

For emergencies, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988

Disaster Distress Helpline, call 1-800-985-5990, or text "TalkWithUs" to 66746