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 across the agency. Let's take a closer look.
Mental Health and Addiction Changed Funding Amounts
There were some major changes that the department has seen so far since the budget passed through the House. My colleague, Tara Britton, provided a high-level overview of funding changes that occurred in MHAS. Several line items received significant reductions in the House passed version of the budget. Below is a deep dive into several reductions that have occurred.
Prevention and Wellness
Prevention and Wellness funding supported by the General Revenue Fund, was funded at $13.8 million for FY2024 and FY2025 in the Governor’s as-introduced budget. Within that line item, the earmark for suicide prevention was reduced from $8 million to $3,350,000 by the House.
988 Suicide and Crisis Response
The initial funding source for the 988 Lifeline was under the General Revenue Fund, but the line item has shifted to a different funding source within the dedicated purpose funds. The earmark value remains the same, and it does not change anything for the implementation of the Lifeline. One possible reason for this change could be that it would allow the 988 Lifeline to receive funding from other sources outside the GRF, such as the federal budget.
ARPA Pediatric Behavioral Health
ARPA Pediatric Behavioral Health was funded at $50 million in the Governor’s budget for FY 2024 with no funding in FY2025.
This line item had the highest funding reduction out of all the earmarks in OMHAS. ARPA Pediatric Behavioral Health was funded at $50 million in the Governor’s budget for FY 2024 with no funding in FY2025, given that these federal funds would be exhausted in 2024. Below is the actual language for this line item:
“Requires Fund 5CV3 ALI 336648, ARPA Pediatric Behavioral Health, to be used to support pediatric behavioral health workforce development, to support infrastructure improvements at health care facilities to improve access to pediatric behavioral health services, including OhioRISE psychiatric residential treatment facilities, and to improve integration of behavioral health and primary care services.”
When it was passed in the House, funding was reduced by 97.6%, with only $1,200,000 remaining. This was changed in the House-passed version of the budget, which required that the fund be used for St. Vincent Family Services to aid in pediatric behavioral health workforce retention and development. As the budget moves through the Senate, Senators are asking about this reduction and trying to sort through the change. Stay tuned for what the Senate does on this issue.
Statewide Treatment and Prevention
Another allocation within this line item supports the creation of step-down facilities for court involved patients in OhioMHAS’ regional psychiatric hospitals.
Statewide Treatment and is another line item that had a large funding reduction. This line item funds many different programs, such as the State of Ohio Action for Resiliency Network (SOAR). The line item also funds research, direct care, and workforce training for treatment, prevention, and recovery. Another allocation within this line item supports the creation of step-down facilities for court involved patients in OhioMHAS’ regional psychiatric hospitals. As introduced, this line item was funded at $162.8 million in FY2024, and $22.79 million in FY2025. After being amended by the House, the line received a reduction of 86% from its initial introduced language. The funding for this line item is now set at $22.7 million for FY2024 and FY2025.
Next Steps
As the budget moves past the House and through the Senate, more changes are expected to come to the state budget, altering projected outcomes for funding. Community Solutions will stay up to date through this process.
