January 7, 2026

Over the past three years, Virginia’s behavioral health transformation has moved from a system unable to meet the needs of people in crisis to one that delivers faster access and stronger support for individuals and families. The behavioral health transformation initiative, dubbed Right Help, Right Now, started in December 2022 with Virginia’s legislature providing $1.4 billion in investments and enacting more than 60 bipartisan laws. The state’s administration also implemented 130 coordinated initiatives.

Right Help, Right Now included six pillars of initiatives to support behavioral health change throughout the Commonwealth. For example, over the past three years, Virginians have seen the number of mobile crisis teams increase from 36 to 110; in addition, the number of crisis care beds and chairs increased from 249 to 460 by the end of 2025, with another 374 beds/chairs in development for 2026.

The progress achieved across each of the six pillars includes:

• Pillar 1: Same Day Crisis Care: Virginians in crisis can receive help the moment they reach out, regardless of the time of day. In addition to more mobile crisis teams and more crisis beds and chairs, engagement with the 988 Suicide and Crisis lifeline also increased. Crisis response grew 15-fold and includes an integration of the 988 and 911 systems to ensure the closest and most appropriate response every time.
• Pillar 2: Supporting Law Enforcement & Reducing Criminalization: Officers remain focused on public safety while individuals in crisis receive specialized care from trained behavioral health clinical professionals. Crisis care is handled by the professionals trained to provide it. Co-response teams between law enforcement and behavioral health professionals were available in only 10 community service board (CSB) areas in 2022, with limited visibility into alternative models. They now operate in 17 areas, with 10 more in development (27 total). Previously, CSB prescreeners conducted manual bed searches with no access to a transparent waitlist, which delayed placements and tied up law enforcement in emergency departments. Virginia Crisis Connect (VCC) established a referral tool and transparent waitlist, and 7,938 individuals have been placed using this tool since February 2025, streamlining access and reducing emergency department (ED) congestion. 
• Pillar 3: Community-Based Capacity: Care is provided where people live, learn, and work. The state expanded assertive community treatment (ACT) teams, school-based behavioral health services, developmental disability waiver slots, a psychiatric consultation program to help pediatricians manage care for children with behavioral health disorders, community-based stabilization services for youth, and community living supports with more small group home beds.
• Pillar 4: Reducing Overdoses & Expanding Recovery: More Virginians are accessing addiction treatment sooner, and fewer Virginians are dying from overdoses. Access to naloxone to reverse opioid overdose expanded, the peer recovery workforce more than doubled, prevention and youth education efforts reached millions in the state, and the Substance Use Disorder Analytics platform launched statewide on October 1, 2025, giving Virginia real-time data to strengthen prevention, response, and recovery efforts. Fatal fentanyl overdoses have dropped by 59% since 2022.
• Pillar 5: Strengthening The Behavioral Health Workforce: Regulatory barriers were removed to simplify and accelerate hiring. Early career pathways connect high school and college students to behavioral health professions. Workforce stabilization investments strengthened retention, as did loan repayment programs and new licensure pathways.
• Pillar 6: Innovation, Medicaid Modernization, & Outcomes: Innovation initiatives strengthened system infrastructure and improved the flow of information across provider organizations and agencies. Commercial insurers now cover crisis stabilization services. Medicaid reforms strengthened support and care coordination for youth and families, improving access to community-based services. New quality and accountability measures modernized Virginia’s behavioral health system, improving oversight and service delivery across community-based programs.