With the passage of the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963, a new emphasis and a new direction in the care and treatment of the mentally ill was made possible. The mission of a community mental health center is to provide a comprehensive coordinated level of care at the community level on an outpatient basis whenever possible. Such services, to be effective, must be accessible and include evaluation, treatment, care, rehabilitation, medication, crisis intervention, vocational programs and training, counseling, habilitation skills training, and housing.

Today we operate the largest community mental health center in the nation, serving nearly 30,000 citizens each year.

In 1963, the movement toward community care was based on the premise that more effective care could be provided to most people in a community setting rather than in large state hospitals. At the same time, the development and use of new psychotropic drugs and treatment modes enhanced implementation.

The Community Mental Health Services program was established by the state legislature in 1964 with the enactment of KRS 210.370-460 enabling the formation of Community Mental Health-Mental Retardation Boards. Prior to that time, outpatient services were provided by traveling clinics from the state psychiatric hospitals.

The Central Kentucky Regional Mental Health Board was incorporated in Lexington in 1965. (This was the first Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board in Kentucky.)

The Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1970 extended Federal grants from 51 months to eight years.

In 1971, the Central Kentucky Regional Mental Health Board merged with the Southern Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board to form the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board.

In 1995, the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board began operation of Eastern State Hospital under a management contract with the Kentucky Department for Mental Health Mental Retardation Services.

In 2000, the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board reorganized its service delivery system into units (service areas) large enough to provide flexibility and a full array of services, and at the same time small enough to be managed closely with attention given to the quality of services.