A U of A team led by School of Social Work Director Johanna Thomas, Ph.D., LCSW, has been awarded $10 million by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) to create and implement a centralized Crisis Hub and Crisis Continuum for the state of Arkansas that will serve Arkansans with behavioral health needs.

“Currently, Arkansas does not have a coordinated statewide system of crisis care to address behavioral health needs for children and adults to this extent,” Thomas said. “What we’re creating together begins with prevention and early intervention, and then focuses on crisis intervention and guidance to follow up with treatment available for those who need it.”

Thomas has over a decade of experience implementing, deploying and evaluating the effectiveness of behavioral health programs across Arkansas and the United States. She will lead a team of experts from across the U of A’s Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences to include Mark Plassmeyer from the School of Social Work and Shaun Thomas, Mindy Bradley and Kayla Allison from the Department of Sociology and Criminology.

This team will partner with DHS to coordinate the program, determine subgrants and implement the department’s strategic plan for statewide prevention, early intervention and crisis services for children and adults, with an emphasis on infant mental health, school-based behavioral health and mental health and substance abuse treatment for adults, with a focus on pregnant and postpartum women. 

In collaboration with DHS, local schools, community stakeholders and partner agencies, Thomas and her team will then also design a unified crisis hub model for the state.

“Mental health and addiction are statewide issues – so our response has to be statewide too,” said Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “Through programs like the new crisis hub, we can address both adults’ and children’s needs early and often. These challenges aren’t unique to Arkansas, but we do have a unique opportunity to address them collaboratively to prevent and treat all Arkansans.”

Seven areas of the state will serve as pilot sites for the crisis care continuum. Officials expect that the crisis continuum will allow room for unique specializations within each of the seven identified pilot areas — reflecting a true Arkansas model that addresses the needs, partners and resources available in each community.

“We are proud to be part of the implementation of this program in conjunction with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ priorities already well underway regarding school-based children’s mental health, public safety and maternal health,” Thomas said.

“The model we create together will be flexible enough to capitalize on pre-existing networks and associations with the providers, like hospitals, who already make up the fabric of the area,” Thomas added. “The shared vision is that the intensity, severity and duration of behavioral crises experienced by individuals will be reduced, saving valuable resources for Arkansas while stabilizing our most vulnerable citizens.”

“We are proud to partner with the University of Arkansas to develop a statewide coordinated crisis response system,” said Paula Stone, director of the DHS Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. “This work will address gaps in our system and ensure that services are available both to prevent situations from escalating to crisis level and to support Arkansans in need in times of crisis.”

In the first two years of Sanders’ first term, DHS has designed and launched nearly two dozen initiatives targeted at promoting behavioral health workforce development, prevention and early intervention services for children and their families – both in homes and in schools – and improved treatment services and stabilization/recovery services that increase independence in one’s own community.

These pilots are documented in the Roadmap to a Healthier Arkansas, DHS’ 2024 report.

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About the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit at the University of Arkansas with three schools, 16 departments and numerous academic programs and research centers. The college provides the majority of the core curriculum for all U of A students. Get the inside scoop on all things Fulbright College by subscribing to the digital Fulbright REVIEW publication.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.