As a country we have come to realize that our youth mental health has reached a significant crisis point. Our mental health facilities are stretched to capacity. Our providers are reporting staff burn-out and staff shortages. We have experienced a significant decrease in grant funding. Our schools are overwhelmed with the mental health issues of their students.
So what does the future hold for funding programs for youth mental health? The general answer is that the level of funding does not rise to meet the need. However, that is not new information as our mental health funding has been inadequate for many years. But with increased occurrence of mental health issues, our government funding has fallen far below capacity to provide what our students need in terms of required services.
Currently there are Block Grants for emotional disturbances, school-based and early childhood programs and suicide initiatives. There is currently $8.1 billion appropriated for grants from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) which is the primary funding source. So substantial funding still exists but it is often categorical, competitive and not aligned with the scale of the crisis.
Additionally, there are active proposals and plans to cut anywhere between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion from mental health services. This year there was a sudden cancellation of $1.9 billion in grants for school-based services, youth crisis programs and community non-profits. This cancellation was reversed, but it left organizations in disarray because they could not hire or plan for the future. It destabilized the non-profit community who are the providers of these services.
Schools and community programs are especially at risk in light of the current funding vulnerabilities. With school mental health grants halted, community-based programs are living on the edge because of their dependence on federal grants and the harsh reality that staff cuts may be coming, as the funding for these programs has become both unpredictable and unstable.
It is clear that these services are becoming less and less of a priority while other projects are spending billions of dollars. It is clear that we are risking the future of our youth if we do not deal with their mental health. It will take decades to correct these problems and we certainly will be increasing other consequences if we do not align our funding with the current needs. I recognize that we need some new solutions to these problems so that every family has access to mental health training and support. Until then, we as a voting community need to demand that our federal and state legislators keep mental health funding as a significant budget priority for our youth. Their future depends on it!
Gerry Vassar
President/CEO
