WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is directing $383.4 million to behavioral health programs nationwide, with nearly two-thirds of the funding going to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, suicide prevention and crisis-response services.
The grants, awarded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, divide the funding among $252 million for 988 and crisis services, $81.4 million for substance use treatment and prevention, and $50 million for mental health programs.
The largest individual allocation is $205.8 million for state and territory programs designed to improve local capacity to answer 988 calls, chats and texts and serve populations at elevated risk of suicide and overdose.
Another $19.9 million will support 988 response programs in tribal communities, while $13.9 million will fund suicide-prevention efforts for American Indian and Alaska Native youth and young adults through age 24.
HHS is also directing $12.4 million toward establishing or expanding mobile crisis teams for children and adults experiencing mental health or substance use emergencies.
“988 has become a critical front door to behavioral health care for millions of Americans, but answering the call is only the beginning,” SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher D. Carroll stated. He said the funding is intended to connect crisis response more closely with treatment and recovery services.
Substance use programs will receive $81.4 million across a range of treatment, prevention and recovery initiatives.
That includes $13.4 million for rural emergency medical services training and $12.1 million for substance use and overdose prevention programs serving American Indian and Alaska Native youth and young adults.
Another $10.6 million will support community overdose-prevention programs, including expanded access to FDA-approved opioid overdose reversal medications.
HHS allocated $7.4 million to expand substance use disorder treatment and recovery services through existing adult and family drug courts, while $7.1 million will fund rural opioid technical assistance centers addressing opioid and stimulant use and overdose.
Residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorders will receive $6.1 million. Another $7 million will support treatment and recovery services for people ages 12 to 25 with substance use disorders or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders, along with services for their families and caregivers.
The department is providing $5.9 million to hospital and emergency-department programs developing alternatives to opioids for pain management.
Tribal opioid response programs will receive $4.7 million to expand access to medications for opioid use disorder and related prevention, treatment and recovery services.
Other substance use allocations include $2.6 million for youth fentanyl awareness and overdose prevention, $2.1 million for underage drinking prevention and $1.4 million for statewide recovery networks.
HHS also allocated $1 million for training and technical assistance involving federal privacy requirements for behavioral health information, including HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2.
The $50 million mental health component includes $14.3 million for the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative and $12.8 million for programs integrating primary and behavioral health care.
Another $6.5 million will support American Indian and Alaska Native tribes developing community-based systems of care for children, young adults and families.
HHS allocated $5.8 million to programs intended to divert adults and youth with mental illness or co-occurring disorders from criminal or juvenile justice systems before arrest or booking.
School-based trauma services will receive $5.1 million to connect school systems with trauma support and mental health care, while $3.8 million will establish or expand Assertive Community Treatment programs for people with serious mental illness.
An additional $1.7 million will support statewide family-controlled mental health organizations serving families and caregivers of children and young adults with serious emotional disturbance or co-occurring disorders.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described the $252 million crisis-services allocation as an effort to “strengthen 988, prevent suicide, and improve crisis response in communities across the country.”
People experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis can call or text 988 or use the chat service at 988lifeline.org. Treatment providers can be located through FindTreatment.gov.
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