Alliance Note: This month, the Biden-Harris Administration announced $46.8 million in grant funding for behavioral health services will be made available through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These funds were announced as part of May Mental Health Awareness Month to further the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to improve behavioral health services and increase health equity. The funding is aimed at youth mental health services, improving the available workforce, and increasing organizational capacity. See below for more information.
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $46.8 Million in Behavioral Health Funding Opportunities to advance President Biden’s Unity Agenda as Part of May Mental Health Awareness Month
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) | May 8, 2024
Funding to be awarded will support youth mental health, the behavioral health care workforce, substance use treatment and recovery, integrated health care solutions, and training and technical assistance.
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced $46.8 million in notices of funding opportunities to promote youth mental health, grow the behavioral health workforce, improve access to culturally competent behavioral care across the country, and strengthen peer recovery and recovery support. President Biden made tackling the mental health crisis and beating the opioid epidemic key pillars in his Unity Agenda for the nation. Today’s announcement will help communities transform how they address behavioral health.
This critical funding supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to address the mental health and overdose crises, as well as furthers HHS’s Overdose Prevention Strategy. The grants additionally fuel each of SAMHSA’s strategic priorities for the agency: preventing substance use and overdose, enhancing access to suicide prevention and mental health services, promoting resilience and emotional health for children, youth, and families, integrating behavioral and physical health care, and strengthening the behavioral health workforce.
“Continuing to invest in informed and equitable approaches to mental health and substance use is essential to the health and well-being of individuals and families,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “These grants directly impact the behavioral health of communities around the nation and are a critical part of the commitment of the Biden-Harris Administration to enhancing accessibility of evidence-based, effective behavioral health care services.”
“We are pleased to announce nearly $50 million in funding opportunities, a significant investment in strengthening the quality of and access to behavioral health services and supports across the country,” said Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA. “This funding will improve the quality of care for underserved populations, support suicide prevention and early intervention strategies for young people, make significant contributions to the integration of primary and behavioral health care, and provide essential training and technical assistance to those working in the field.”
The funding opportunities invest in a range of critical behavioral health efforts:
- Minority Fellowship Program – $15.4 million – This program aims to reduce health disparities and improve behavioral health care outcomes for racial and ethnic populations. The program also seeks to train and better prepare behavioral health practitioners to more effectively treat and serve people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
- Cooperative Agreements for the Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program – $14.9 million – This program supports states and Tribes with implementing youth (up to age 24) suicide prevention and early intervention strategies in schools, educational institutions, juvenile justice systems, substance use and mental health programs, foster care systems, pediatric health programs, and other child and youth-serving organizations.
- Addiction Technology Transfer Centers Cooperative Agreements – $9.0 million – This program develops and strengthens the specialized behavioral health care and primary health care workforce that provides substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery support services. This is done by accelerating the adoption and implementation of evidence-based and promising SUD treatment and recovery-oriented practices and services, heightening the awareness, knowledge, and skills of the workforce that addresses the needs of people with substance use or other co-occurring physical and behavioral health conditions, and fostering regional and national alliances among culturally diverse practitioners, researchers, policy makers, funders, and the recovery community.
- The National Center for Mental Health Dissemination, Implementation and Sustainment Cooperative Agreement – $7.5 million – The National Center for Mental Health Dissemination, Implementation, and Sustainment will build the capacity of grant recipients, as well as organizations that oversee or directly provide mental health services, to improve the implementation of evidence-based change management processes that guide mental health services.
Together these, and other HHS programs, are making historic investments in how we address mental health and substance use needs across America.
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HHS funds new $46M behavioral health program for Mental Health Awareness Month
By Alan Goforth | Benefits Pro | May 28, 2024
The HHS program will allocate the funds to support behavioral health care workforce, substance use treatment and recovery, integrated health care solutions, and training and technical assistance.
The Biden administration has announced more than $46 million in behavioral health funding opportunities in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month.
“This funding will improve the quality of care for underserved populations, support suicide prevention and early intervention strategies for young people, make significant contributions to the integration of primary and behavioral health care, and provide essential training and technical assistance to those working in the field,” said Dr. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The funding initiative supports the HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s strategic priorities of preventing substance use and overdose; enhancing access to suicide prevention and mental health services; promoting resilience and emotional health for children, youth and families; integrating behavioral and physical health care; and strengthening the behavioral health workforce. Funding will focus on four specific areas:
- The Minority Fellowship Program($15.4 million) aims to reduce health disparities and improve behavioral health care outcomes for racial and ethnic populations.
- The Cooperative Agreements for the Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program($14.9 million) supports states and tribes with implementing youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies.
- The Addiction Technology Transfer Centers Cooperative Agreements ($9 million) develop and strengthen the specialized behavioral health care and primary health care workforce that provides substance use disorder treatment and recovery support services.
- The National Center for Mental Health Dissemination, Implementation and Sustainment Cooperative Agreement($7.5 million) will build the capacity of grant recipients, as well as organizations that oversee or directly provide mental health services, to improve the implementation of evidence-based change management processes that guide mental health services.
The mental health issues that came to the surface during the pandemic persist both in and out of the workplace. More than half of the 20% of U.S. adults who experience mental illness each year are not receiving treatment, according to the National Alliance on Mental Health
A recent survey by CVS Health found that many employees look to their employers and coworkers for mental health support. Employee assistance programs (53%) and peer groups (52%) have the highest levels of trust for information about mental health issues. Seventy percent of fathers are likely to turn to EAPs for support, compared with 47% of mothers.
“Continuing to invest in informed and equitable approaches to mental health and substance use is essential to the health and well-being of individuals and families,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said. “These grants directly impact the behavioral health of communities around the nation and are a critical part of the commitment of the Biden-Harris administration to enhancing accessibility of evidence-based, effective behavioral health care services.”