SAMHSA releases $3 billion in ARPA funding for mental health and substance use programs
Author
Blaire Bryant
Upcoming Events
Related News
Key Takeaways
On May 18, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) distributed $3 billion to states and territories to support key county mental health and substance use programs. The funding was authorized under the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and follows the approximately $2.5 billion in funding SAMHSA issued to the programs in March.
The $3 billion in funding will be split between the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) and Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG) programs, which will each receive $1.5 billion to disperse to state and territorial grant recipients. While counties are not direct grant recipients of the programs, they receive sub-allocations from the state.
The funding is a win for counties, as MHBG and SABG funding is a primary source of federal discretionary funding for community based mental health services, which include employment and housing assistance, case management, school-based support services family and parenting education and peer support. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this is the largest total investment to date in the two block grant programs, which received a combined total of $2.7 billion in FY 2021 appropriations.
County-based behavioral health systems exist in 23 states that represent 75% of the population, and counties deliver community-based mental health and substance use disorder services through 750 behavioral health authorities. Counties support sustained investments in the MHBG and SABG programs to best mitigate the heightened need for local mental, behavioral and substance abuse services as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its lasting impacts.
Additional Resources
Resource
Behavioral Health Matters to Counties
Related News
U.S. House reintroduces legislation to address the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy with NACo support
Two bipartisan bills aimed at addressing the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP) were recently reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. House of Representatives re-establishes Bipartisan Mental Health Caucus with NACo support
On May 7, members of the U.S. House of Representatives appointed new leadership to the Bipartisan Mental Health Caucus, reaffirming their commitment to addressing the nation’s mental health crisis through cross-party collaboration.
House passes SUPPORT Act reauthorization
On June 4, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 2483) by a strong bipartisan vote of 366–57. The bill, which reauthorizes billions of dollars for critical programs that target overdose prevention, now heads to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, where a version of the bill was overwhelmingly advanced with bipartisan support in the 118th Congress.