On Wednesday, July 24, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced grant awards totaling $45.1 million, of which $15.3 million will fund services specifically for children and youth. This funding highlights the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued commitment to address the mental health and overdose crises – two key pillars of the President’s Unity Agenda for the Nation.
Youth wellness continues to be a key focus area for HHS and SAMHSA, and $15.3 million of these funding awards will go specifically to serve children, through supporting their mental health in school settings, serving children and families who have experienced traumatic events and grief, and providing services specific to young people of transitional ages who are at risk for, or have serious mental health conditions.
“Be it fostering wellness in young people, caring for the unhoused, facilitating treatment and more, this funding directly supports the needs of our neighbors,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “These investments will empower communities to implement effective solutions that promote long-term healing and resilience.”
“I am especially pleased that children and their families who have experienced traumatic events will receive the services necessary to begin their journey of healing,” said Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA, “These significant investments will directly improve children’s lives and build a brighter future for our nation.”
The $45.1 million in awards include a variety of behavioral health initiatives in addition to youth wellness supports:
- Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals – ($7.5 million) – This program provides comprehensive, coordinated and evidence-based treatment and services for individuals, including youth, and families with substance use disorders or co-occurring mental health conditions who are experiencing homelessness.
- Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) – ($6.5 million) – This program develops a sustainable infrastructure for school-based mental health programs and services.
- National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative – Category III: Community Treatment and Service Centers – ($5.4 million) – This program increases access to effective trauma and grief-focused treatment and service systems for children, adolescents, and their families, who experience traumatic events.
- Transforming Lives Through Supported Employment – ($4 million) – This program supports state and community efforts to refine, implement, and sustain evidence-based supported employment programs and mutually compatible and supportive evidence-based practices for adults who have serious mental illness or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders.
- Minority AIDS Initiative: Substance Use Disorder Treatment for Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations at High Risk for HIV/AIDS – ($4 million) – This program increases engagement in care for racial and ethnic medically underserved individuals who have substance use disorders and/or co-occurring mental health conditions who may be exposed to, or living with, HIV.
- Healthy Transitions: Improving Life Trajectories for Youth and Young Adults with Serious Mental Disorders Program – ($2.3 million) – This program improves and expands access to developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate services and supports for transition-aged youth and young adults (ages 16-25) who either have, or are at risk for developing, serious mental health conditions.
- Adult Reentry Program – ($2 million) – This program expands substance use disorder treatment and related recovery and reentry services to adults in the criminal justice system who have a substance use disorder and/or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders, and who are returning to their families and communities following a period of incarceration in state and local facilities including prisons, jails, or detention centers.
- Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers – ($1.7 million) – This program establishes or implements comprehensive treatment and recovery centers that provide a spectrum of treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services to address the opioid epidemic and ensure access to all three FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder.
- Targeted Capacity Expansion (Special Projects) – ($1.1 million) – This program implements targeted strategies for the provision of substance use disorder or co-occurring disorder harm reduction, treatment, and/or recovery support services to address an under-resourced population or unmet need identified by the community.
- Emergency Department Alternatives to Opioids Program – ($1 million) – This program develops and implements alternatives to opioids for pain management in hospitals and emergency department settings to reduce the likelihood of opioid misuse. This program also supports identification of, and intervention for, individuals presenting with opioid use disorder.
- State Pilot Grant Program for Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women – ($3.6 million) – This program advances family-based outpatient services for pregnant and postpartum women with a primary diagnosis of a SUD, emphasizing the treatment of opioid use disorders; helps states provide outpatient treatment and recovery support services for pregnant and postpartum women with SUD; and promotes a coordinated system of SUD care within each state.
- Statewide Family Network Program – ($1.1 million) – This program provides resources to enhance the capacity of statewide mental health family-controlled organizations to engage with family members/primary caregivers who are raising children, youth, and young adults with serious emotional disturbance and/or co-occurring disorders.
- Statewide Consumer Network Program – ($1 million) – This program enhances the capacity of statewide mental health consumer-run organizations to partner with state efforts to improve mental health and related service systems for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) or serious emotional disturbance (SED) as agents of transformation.
- Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) – Improvement and Advancement Grant – ($3.9 million) – This program supports CCBHCs that have been certified by their states or that participated in a previous CCBHC-Expansion award to further expand access to and delivery of coordinated, comprehensive behavioral health services for individuals across the lifespan with mental health and/or substance use challenges, including 24/7 crisis services. CCBHCs serve anyone who asks for help for mental health or substance use, regardless of their ability to pay.
These grant awards align with SAMHSA’s mission to lead public health and service delivery efforts that promote mental health, prevent substance misuse, and provide treatments and supports to foster recovery while ensuring equitable access and better outcomes.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. To learn how to get support for mental health, drug or alcohol issues, visit FindSupport.gov. If you are ready to locate a treatment facility or provider, you can go directly to FindTreatment.gov or call 800-662-HELP (4357).
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA’s mission is to lead public health and service delivery efforts that promote mental health, prevent substance misuse, and provide treatments and supports to foster recovery while ensuring equitable access and better outcomes.
This article was originally published here on July 24, 2024.
