Several North Country behavorial health organizations, including some located in St. Lawrence County, will split $448,650 in state money, which they will use to help improve or develop their Medicaid billing technology, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office.

Some of the agencies getting a piece of the cash include Behavioral Health Services North Inc., Catholic Charities of Ogdensburg, Citizen Advocates, Inc., Northern Regional Center for Independent Living, St. Lawrence County Community Services Board and Transitional Living Services of Northern New York.

This one-time funding will be used by providers to purchase technological upgrades including electronic health record or billing software, new servers to support database systems, as well as computers, routers, and other hardware. The funding will also be used to educate staff on how to operate these new systems. Each selected provider will receive $49,850, and is under the jurisdiction of the Office of Mental Health and Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Cuomo said.

This funding comes in addition to the $10 million in health information technology upgrades that the governor recently announced for non-profit organizations statewide. Additional health information technology awards are expected to be made in the upcoming fiscal year, Cuomo said.

“Upgrading technology will lead to new and improved services for children in New York State,” said New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Marie Sullivan. “The transition to Managed Care and development of new Home and Community Based Services will expand the variety and scale of service options available to children with behavioral health service needs. It is of the utmost importance that the providers that comprise our system are well equipped to serve the children and families who rely upon their expert care.”

“Ensuring that our addiction treatment providers have up-to-date technology is vital to our mission of serving young people and families who are battling addiction,” said New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez. “As our treatment providers transition to managed care, these new funds will help our providers continue operations without interruption so that they can focus on provision of quality substance use disorder services and supports.”