MDHHS outlines crisis units, PRTF expansion and state hospital capacity shortfalls

Summary

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services officials told the House oversight subcommittee about statewide behavioral‑health initiatives — crisis stabilization units, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), PRTF benefits for children — and described limits of state psychiatric beds and rising forensic waitlists.

Megan Groen, senior chief deputy director for behavioral health at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and Dr. George Mellos, senior deputy director for state hospital administration, briefed the House Oversight Subcommittee on the state’s behavioral health landscape and inpatient‑care capacity on Oct. 26, 2025.

“Our mission is definitely to provide access to behavioral health care where and when people need it,” Groen said, summarizing MDHHS priorities that range from prevention and outpatient services to residential and inpatient care. She told the panel MDHHS serves roughly 300,000 Michiganders annually through the specialty behavioral health system, operates or funds crisis lines and peer warm supports receiving over 200,000 contacts a year, and is expanding several initiatives intended to reduce emergency department boarding and unnecessary inpatient stays.

Nut Graf: MDHHS described…

MDHHS outlines crisis units, PRTF expansion and state hospital capacity shortfalls

Summary

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