The Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID) partners with faith-based communities and organizations in the commonwealth to ensure that they have the knowledge and resources to address the needs of their communities.

Religious organizations are encouraged to compete for federal funding to provide public services. This can be done without abandoning their religious character, as long as any inherently religious and worship-centered activities are separate, voluntary and privately funded.

DBHDID is committed to strengthening the partnership between state government and those faith-based and community groups that provide compassionate care and produce impressive results. These partnerships were set forth by initiatives of the former Bush administration.

These organizations have an essential role to play in our goal to build resilience in individuals and their communi­ties, and to facilitate recovery for those who are living with challenges associated with mental health, substance use, and/or co-occurring disorders.

Part of this initiative resulted in the creation of the Kentucky Faith-Based Coalition (KFBC), with the goal of providing training and technical assistance to faith organi­za­tions and establishing a network of such groups in an effort to strengthen our state's safety net.

KFBC and the department can help communities:

In addition to the efforts of the coalitions, DBHDID funds and supports a Faith-Based Prevention Enhancement Site (PES) that is located within Communicare Services, Inc., and is aimed at improving collaboration and connection of faith-based initiatives around prevention of substance use and mental health challenges. For additional information, visit the "Faith-Based PES" link in Related Links.