The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has pledged $27.5 million worth of funding opportunities to research programs aimed at improving women’s behavioral health across the United States. This significant investment underscores the Biden Administration’s commitment to addressing the unique mental health and substance use treatment needs of women. It also represents important progress in the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, which has committed to prioritizing investments in women’s health research, integrating women’s health across the federal research portfolio, and galvanizing new research on women’s health.
The funding opportunities will expand access to women’s behavioral health services and enhance the capacity of providers to identify and address mental health conditions, substance use, and gender-based violence.
Available funding opportunities:
- Community-Based Maternal Behavioral Health Services Program: This $15 million program will improve access to timely, culturally relevant, evidence-based maternal mental health and substance use treatment. Specifically, the program will strengthen community referral pathways and provide seamless transitions in care for pregnant women who are at risk for or have a behavioral health condition in the perinatal and postpartum periods.
- Women’s Behavioral Health Technical Assistance Center: This $12.5 million program will enhance the capacity of women’s behavioral health providers, general health care providers, and others involved in the holistic care of women to address the diverse needs of women with or at risk for mental health and substance use conditions.