The CAPS was created with the objective of offering care that prioritizes the rehabilitation and psychosocial reintegration of the mentally ill individual. However, psychiatric hospitalization remains a widely used resource. This study aims to evaluate the rates of psychiatric hospitalizations and the implementation of CAPS in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, from 2008 to 2018. The study has an ecological time series design. As a result, we found a 42% increase in psychiatric hospitalizations. The CAPS coefficient was 0.64 in 2008 and increased to 0.85 (34% higher). The correlation between the CAPS coverage coefficient and the rate of psychiatric hospitalizations in RS exhibited a positive and statistically significant coefficient. These data diverge from what is found in the literature, which indicates a reduction in psychiatric hospitalizations in recent years. Thus, it is possible to conclude that there was an increase in hospitalizations and an increase in CAPS during the study period.