On July 5th, Governor Mike DeWine signed H.B.33 into law. The enacted version of H.B. 33 appropriates $1.2 billion in FY 2024 and $1.1 billion in FY 2025 for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS), totaling $2.3 billion for the entire biennium. Approximately half (50.4%) of these funds come from the General...
On Wednesday, April 26th, the Ohio House passed House Bill 33, the state operating budget. The amendments made to the bill changed some of the as-introduced funding levels for the state budget. Within the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (MHAS), several reductions were made to line items that have changed allocations for programs...
Throughout the past year, there has been a steady rise in interest in artificial intelligence (AI). The overall onset of AI technology has provided remarkable innovations in computation, completing a large variety of tasks at speeds that were once deemed impossible. With the recent explosion of AI technologies revolutionizing so many different industries at once,...
The Center for Community Solutions recently partnered with the Community Counseling Center of Ashtabula County to examine the behavioral health needs in Ashtabula County. One thing that came up in nearly every conversation we had with community members and stakeholders was the difficulty of finding behavioral health providers who accepted private insurance. Our community survey...
You may have heard of awareness markers for mental health such as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, but did you know there is a World Maternal Mental Health Day? A day to raise awareness, change attitudes to reduce stigma, and influence policies about maternal mental health, World Maternal Mental Health Day takes place on May 3,...
It’s been a busy few weeks (months…years….?) in the Ohio legislature. Last we checked in, the Governor’s version of the state budget—House Bill (HB) 33—was making its way through the House of Representatives. The House Finance Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, along with the other issue area subcommittees, heard testimony from a diverse set...
We live in a highly stressed society in the United States. According to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll, adults mainly cited violence and crime (75 percent), inflation (83 percent) and the political climate (66 percent) as major sources of stress. Another significant source of stress is the current racial climate (62 percent). This...
On February 7th, 2023, Director Lori Criss presented an overview of budget priorities for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS). Soon after, she testified in the Ohio House of Representatives Finance Committee to present executive budget recommendations. In the previous fiscal year, the largest line-item expense was Subsidies and Shared Revenue, which...
