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Behavioral Health Resources

National and State Resources:

Mental Health Parity

OIFA Behavioral Health Advocacy

The DDD Office of Individual and Family Affairs (OIFA) includes a Behavioral Health Advocacy Unit with advocates who work closely with members and/or their responsible person to ensure their voices and choices are heard and respected. The advocates are able to assist in:

  • Breaking down barriers that prevent access to behavioral health services.
  • Navigating the behavioral health system.
  • Connecting members and families to community resources.
  • Assisting members and families as part of the planning team.

Members having problems getting behavioral health services should talk to their Support Coordinator and they will connect an advocate to the member.

Crisis Services

Suicide and Crisis Hotlines

See all behavioral crisis lines including national, county, and TRBHA contacts on the AHCCCS website.

If you, a family member, or a friend has a mental health emergency, seek help right away. Trained crisis staff are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help via phone, text, or chat. The crisis lines are no-cost, confidential, and open to anyone who needs help. For medical, police, and fire emergency situations, always call 911.

Arizona Statewide Crisis Hotline

National 24-Hour Crisis Hotlines

  • Phone
    • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988
  • Text
    • Send a text to 988
    • Text the word "HOME" to 741741
  • Chat
  • For TTY Users
    • Use your preferred relay service or dial 711, then 988

Additional Crisis Services

Mobile teams staffed by behavioral health professionals who travel to the individual experiencing a crisis and provide assessment, stabilization and may triage the individual to a higher level of care, as appropriate are available 24/7.

Facility-based crisis stabilization centers are also available that offer crisis stabilization and observation, including access to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and drug detoxification.

Visit your DDD Health Plan’s website or call their Member Services unit to locate a provider near you.

Department of Child Safety (DCS) - Children Services Liaison

The Division's Children Services Liaison is available to help out-of-home caregivers, adoptive parents, and providers with questions related to children in DCS custody.

Contact the Children's Services Liaison

Services for Students

Students in need of behavioral health services may receive many of those services directly on school campuses. A referral may be made but is not required to initiate behavioral health services. Referrals or requests for services may be made by the school, family, member, or anyone assisting the member, directly to a behavioral health provider or through the member’s assigned health plan. A member’s Support Coordinator is also available to assist with referring and seeking behavioral health services through the member’s health plan. 

The Division’s Behavioral Health Administration provides oversight of the subcontracted health plans and fee-for-service Tribal Health Program. For general information regarding behavioral health resources or to speak with the Division's Behavioral Health Administration, school administrators are encouraged to contact the Division's Customer Service Center.

Visit the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) Accessing Behavioral Health Services in Schools web page for more information.

If a school district or administrator would like information on behavioral health services within their geographic area or are interested in obtaining a partnership with a behavioral health provider, schools may reach out to one of the following:

The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System also offers behavioral health services for uninsured/underinsured students through the state's Regional Behavioral Health Authorities (RBHA).

DDD Health Plan and Tribal Health Program

Individuals eligible for the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) can receive behavioral health services through their DDD Health Plan or the Tribal Health Program. Available services include:

  • Adult Behavioral Health Therapeutic Homes
  • Behavior Analysis Services
  • Behavior Management (personal care, family support/home care training, peer support)
  • Behavioral Health Case Management Services (with limitations)
  • Behavioral Health Residential Facility
  • Crisis Intervention Services
  • Emergency Behavioral Health Care
  • Emergency and Non-Emergency Transportation
  • Evaluation and Assessment
  • Individual, Group and Family Therapy, and Counseling
  • Inpatient Hospital Services
  • Intensive Outpatient and Behavioral Health Day Programs
  • Non-Hospital Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities
  • Laboratory and Radiology Services for Psychotropic Medication Regulation and Diagnosis
  • Opioid Agonist Treatment
  • Partial Care (supervised day program, therapeutic day program, and medical day program)
  • Permanent Supportive Housing
  • Psychotropic Medication Adjustment and Monitoring
  • Rehabilitation Services (living skills training; health promotion; supported employment services)
  • Respite Care (with limitations)
  • Rural Substance Abuse Transitional Agency Services
  • Screening
  • Therapeutic Foster Care
     

Serious Mental Illness (SMI) Designation

A serious mental illness (SMI) is a mental disorder in persons 18 years of age or older that is severe and persistent. An SMI designation allows an individual to receive increased access to a variety of behavioral health services and supports which may include:

  • An Individual Service Plan (ISP) which outlines the services an individual receives. The ISP is created with the individual’s full participation, and may require the treatment team to take steps to meet unique recovery needs. The individual can use their ISP to make sure that they get the services that they want, need, and are entitled to. 
  • An Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team is a community-based team of specialists who provide customized support,
  • SMI Housing is supportive housing for individuals with an SMI determination, when available, or
  • Behavioral Health Case Manager assigned to coordinate needed services.

A Serious Mental Illness (SMI) eligibility evaluation can be obtained at any qualifying AHCCCS behavioral health provider. Members must be at least 17.5 years or older to be assessed for SMI eligibility. An SMI determination requires both a qualifying SMI diagnosis and functional impairment because of the qualifying diagnosis. Qualifying SMI diagnoses include:

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Bipolar Disorders
  • Dissociative Disorder
  • Depressive Disorders
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
  • Other Mood Disorder
  • Personality Disorders
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders
  • Psychotic Disorders

To meet the functional criteria for SMI status, an individual shall have, as the result of a qualifying SMI diagnosis, dysfunction in at least one of the following four domains for most of the past 12 months, or for most of the past six months with an expected continued duration of at least six months:
Inability to live in an independent or family setting without supervision.

  • A risk of serious harm to self or others.
  • Dysfunction in role performance.
  • Risk of deterioration.

Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) Identification

A serious emotional disturbance (SED) identification is for individuals from birth up to age 18 with a qualifying mental, behavioral, or emotional diagnosis as specified in the current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It needs to have resulted in functional impairment(s), which substantially interfere with or limit the child’s role or functioning in family, school, or community activities. Children with an SED identification qualify for all AHCCCS-covered behavioral and physical health services, as well as a higher level of care to include additional services based on their needs.

All individuals from birth to 18 years of age shall be evaluated for SED eligibility by a qualified clinician if the individual or their Health Care Decision Maker (HCDM) makes such a request.

The SED identification criteria requires both a qualifying SED diagnosis, CALOCUS score of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, and functional impairment(s)  as a result of the qualifying diagnosis. Qualifying SED diagnoses include but are not limited to:

  • Anxiety, dissociative, stress-related, somatoform and other non-psychotic mental disorders
  • Behavioral syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors
  • Behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence
  • Disorders of behavior
  • Mood [affective] disorders
  • Schizophrenia, schizotypal, delusional, and other non-mood psychotic disorders

An individual must have dysfunction in at least one of the following three domains, for most of the past three months with an expected continued duration of at least three months:

  1. Seriously disruptive to family and/or community.
    1. Pervasively or imminently dangerous to self or others’ bodily safety,
    2. Regularly engages in assaultive behavior,
    3. Has been arrested, incarcerated, hospitalized or is at risk of confinement because of dangerous behavior,
    4. Persistently neglectful or abusive towards others,
    5. Severe disruption of daily life due to frequent thoughts of death, suicide, or self-harm, often with behavioral intent and/or plan, or
    6. Affective disruption that causes significant damage to the individual’s education or personal relationships and puts the individual at risk of displacement.
  2. Dysfunction in role performance.
    1. Frequently disruptive or in trouble at home or at school,
    2. Frequently suspended/expelled from school, 
    3. Major disruption of role functioning,
    4. Requires structured or supervised school setting,
    5. Performance is significantly below expectation for cognitive/developmental level, or   
    6. Unable to attend school or meet other developmentally appropriate responsibilities or milestones.
  3. Risk of deterioration:
    1. A qualifying diagnosis with probable chronic, relapsing, and remitting course,
    2. Co-morbidities,
    3. Persistent or chronic factors such as social isolation, poverty, extreme chronic stressors, or
    4. Other factors as outlined in policy.

The parent/guardian, known as the Health Care Decision Maker (HCDM), may call their child’s primary care provider (PCP), their established behavioral health provider, their health plan (AHCCCS or commercial/private insurer), or the child’s school to request an SED identification.

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