SAMHSA releases $3 billion in ARPA funding for mental health and substance use programs

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

• NACo Policy Brief: Enhance Counties’ Ability to Prevent and Treat Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Disorders
• NACo One Pager: Behavioral Health Matters to Counties
• NACo Analysis of the American Rescue Plan Act