SAMHSA FY2017 Budget Request and Funding History: A Fact Sheet

Summary

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the lead federal agency for increasing access to behavioral health services. SAMHSA supports community-based mental health and substance abuse treatment and prevention services through formula grants to the states and U.S. territories and through competitive grant programs to states, territories, tribal organizations, local communities, and private entities. SAMHSA also engages in a range of other activities, such as technical assistance, data collection, and workforce development.

SAMHSA and most of its programs and activities are authorized under Public Health Service Act (PHSA) Title V, which organizes SAMHSA in three centers: the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), and the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS).

Each center has general statutory authority, called Programs of Regional and National Significance (PRNS), under which it has established grant programs for states and communities to address their important substance abuse and mental health needs. PHSA Title V also authorizes a number of specific grant programs, referred to as categorical grants.

SAMHSA’s two largest grant programs are separately authorized under PHSA Title XIX, Part B. The Community Mental Health Services block grant falls within CMHS. The full amount of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant falls within CSAT, although no less than 20% of each state’s block grant must be used for prevention.

In addition to the three statutorily established centers, SAMHSA’s budget reflects a fourth category, “health surveillance and program support,” for other activities such as collecting data, providing statistical and analytic support, raising public awareness, collaborating with other agencies, developing and supporting the behavioral health workforce, and maintaining the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

The last comprehensive reauthorization of SAMHSA and its programs occurred in 2000 as part of the Children’s Health Act, which also added “charitable choice” provisions allowing religious organizations to receive funding for substance abuse prevention and treatment services without altering their religious character. Since 2000, Congress has expanded some of SAMHSA’s programs and activities without taking up comprehensive reauthorization of the agency. Explicit authorizations of appropriations for many of SAMHSA’s grants and activities expired at the end of FY2003; many of these programs have continued to receive funding through the annual appropriations process.

The total amount of funding available to SAMHSA (i.e., total program level) traditionally includes discretionary budget authority provided in annual appropriations acts, Public Health Service (PHS) Program Evaluation Set-Aside funds, Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) transfers, and data request and publications user fees. Also, SAMHSA’s FY2017 budget request proposes new mandatory spending that, if enacted, would be in addition to the budgetary resources noted above.

Table 1 presents SAMHSA’s FY2017 budget request in the context of SAMHSA’s funding history since FY2014.