This SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services report, prepared by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), provides a comprehensive overview of State Mental Health Agencies (SMHA), including their organization and structure, the mental health services they provide or fund, and how they finance these services.

From the report:

SMHAs vary widely in the responsibilities they assume for different types of mental disorders and service populations. While all SMHAs serve adults with mental health issues, there are three states where all children’s mental health services are provided by a separate state agency. This agency is usually integrated into a department of children and their families that provides mental health, child substance abuse, developmental disability, child welfare, and juvenile justice services. In most states (47), the SMHA is responsible for providing forensic mental health services to persons sent by the courts because of their criminal justice system involvement. In 20 states, services for brain impairment (traumatic brain injury) are part of SMHA responsibilities or a responsibility the SMHA shares with other state agencies. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are responsibilities the SMHA shares with other state agencies in 17 states.

Full report: Funding and Characteristics of State Mental Health Agencies, 2007 (PDF | 33.89 KB)

US Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Center for Mental Health Services. (2007). Funding and characteristics of State Mental Health Agencies, 2007. Lutterman, Theodore C., Phelan, Bernadette E., Berhane, Azeb, Shaw, Robert and Rana, Verda .