Information for Providers

What is a COSII?

The State Co-occurring Integration Initative  was a SAMHSA funded, five –year project whose goal was  to develop and support state and provider capacity to deliver integrated services for people with complex, co-occurring conditions, especially mental health and substance use issues. To provide integrated care means to deliver services in a way that addresses ALL of the person’s needs at one time and, if possible, in one place with one provider. It means not separating out service for different conditions, but rather coordinating all services  and collaborating with other providers to meet the person’s needs. There are multiple evidence based approaches available to direct providers in providing such integrated care. The Maine Clinical Guidelines for Integrated Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment, available on this web site, describe these approaches.

The Office of Adult Mental Health Services, the Office of Substance Abuse, and Children’s Behavioral Health Services all collaborate to push this initiative forward. However, all of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the CDC,  is involved in the work of integrating care for the people it serves.    

The grant-funded work of the initiative  ended in May, 2011. The Offices of DHHS mentioned above, as well as the Co-occurring Collaborative Serving Maine, will continue to assist providers in the development of capacity for integration.