Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) are well positioned to strengthen behavioral health services for children, youth, and their families by aligning their work with the System of Care (SOC) approach. The SOC framework — built on family‑ and youth‑driven, community‑based, and individualized care — supports coordinated home- and community‑based services across systems. When policymakers and providers align CCBHC requirements with SOC principles, they can expand access, reduce reliance on high‑intensity interventions, and improve outcomes.

This brief, developed by the Center for Health Care Strategies in partnership with the National Training & Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, & Family Mental Health (NTTAC) and the Center for Applied Research Solutions, outlines how CCBHCs can support children’s behavioral health services within an SOC framework and provides recommendations for policymakers and community providers on aligning CCBHC certification criteria with SOC values and principles.

This brief was prepared for NTTAC under a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). All material appearing in this brief, except that taken directly from copyrighted sources, is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from HHS or the authors. Citation of the source is appreciated. Do not reproduce or distribute this brief for a fee without specific, written authorization from NTTAC. The brief is supported by HHS as part of financial assistance award SM-20-008 over five years (2020-2025) with 100 percent funded by HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HHS or the U.S. Government.