Oklahoma receives 5-year federal grant to implement Collaborative Care Model

October 3, 2024

The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) has received a five-year federal grant to implement an evidence-based model for integrating mental health and substance use services in primary care settings across the state.

The award from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will total $4.5 million, distributed as $900,000 each year for five years.  

Healthy Minds Policy Initiative assisted the department in applying for the grant. Throughout the grant term, Healthy Minds will work with the department to convene stakeholders for an advisory council and support sites’ implementation of the Collaborative Care Model, which greatly expands access to behavioral health care by offering services in primary care settings.

“One of the greatest opportunities that exist within the behavioral health landscape is the balance of fulfilling immediate access needs and preventative upstream interventions that allow for early intervention and treatment. This is an enormous step forward for our state as we seek to normalize screening, education, and access to care for citizens across Oklahoma,” said ODMHSAS Commissioner Allie Friesen. “Not only does integrated care challenge the traditional mindset of what behavioral health care looks and feels like, but also will better serve our colleagues in primary care settings who have long been without the appropriate resources to manage the behavioral health needs of their patients.”

Learn more: Understanding integrated care and the Collaborative Care Model


Through the grant, ODMHSAS will initially partner with Warren Clinic locations in North Tulsa, East Tulsa, and Broken Arrow, all part of the Saint Francis Health System. The department will work with each clinic to establish sustainable integrated behavioral health and substance use treatment by implementing the Collaborative Care Model.

"Saint Francis Health System is enthusiastic to be part of this project that brings together our care teams from Warren Clinic and Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital," said Ken Moore, LCSW, President of Laureate. "A collaborative, holistic approach to mental health care can provide broader access and is in the best interest of patients, their families, and our community.”  

Under the model, patients receive care from a primary care team and mental health professionals, including a behavioral health care manager and a consulting psychiatrist. By serving as “consultants” to primary care providers, psychiatrists who work in the Collaborative Care Model can serve a far greater number of patients than they could in traditional one-on-one psychiatry visits.

“We are excited to elevate Oklahoma as a leader in integrating mental health and substance use care into primary care settings,” said Tequia Sier, project director for behavioral health workforce at Healthy Minds. “Having more clinicians working in the Collaborative Care Model not only will make it easier for patients to access care in a familiar setting, but also helps extend the reach of our often-overstretched mental health workforce.”  

In future phases of the grant, the department will add additional partner sites to reach primary care clinics and providers in Oklahoma City and rural parts of the state.

In 2023, Healthy Minds championed a bill that activated medical billing codes for the Collaborative Care Model in Oklahoma, paving the way for this innovative model’s use across the state.