State Coalition Recommends Utah Establish Central Authority To Coordinate Behavioral Health Initiatives, Legislation Introduced To Implement

Utah’s behavioral health system is fragmented, and the lack of system-level coordination leads to challenges with transition support and consumer navigation across services, according to an assessment by the Utah Behavioral Health Coalition. The Coalition recommended that the state establish an umbrella organization to centralize and oversee behavioral health initiatives to decrease fragmentation and administrative burden and improve transition support and navigation across systems. On December 21, 2023, legislation (Senate Bill 27) was introduced to create a Utah Behavioral Health Commission as central authority to coordinate behavioral health initiatives between state and local governments, health systems, and other . . .