Director's Report

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA)
Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)
National Advisory Council
Washington, D.C.
June 25 & 26, 2003

SAMHSA Budget

Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 Budget: On February 20, 2003, the President signed the FY 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which included the appropriation for SAMHSA. The SAMHSA budget for FY 2003 was $3.14 billion, essentially the same amount as last year. CMHS received a $25 million funding increase above FY 2002 levels for its programs.

The Mental Health Block Grant received $437 million, a $4 million increase. The Protection and Advocacy program was given a $1.3 million increase over the program's FY 2002 level to $33.8 million, and the Children's Mental Health Services Program was funded at $98.1 million, a $1.6 million increase over FY 2002. The Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program, which provides grants to States for community-based services for homeless individuals with mental illnesses, received $43.1 million, a $3.2 million increase.

The final budget added $14.9 million to the Programs of Regional and National Significance administered by CMHS, bringing the new funding level to $244.4 million. However, many of these funds are earmarked or directed toward specific programs by members of Congress. Funding amounts for other specific national CMHS initiatives include:

$95 million for youth violence prevention programs.
$30 million for grants to local mental health providers providing services to children suffering from posttraumatic stress disorders.
$5 million to provide mental health outreach and treatment to the elderly.
$5 million for grants to develop and implement programs that divert people with mental illnesses from the criminal justice system to community-based services.
$3 million for the National Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

FY 2004 Budget: The President's Fiscal Year 2004 budget was submitted to the U.S. Congress in February 2003. On March 26, 2003, SAMHSA Administrative Charles G. Curie provided testimony on the SAMHSA budget before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor/HHS/Education. SAMHSA's proposed FY 2004 budget is $3.4 billion, almost $200 million more than in FY 2003. The President's budget was submitted prior to Congress' enactment of the FY 2003 budget and was not revised to reflect any of the changes.

Subsequent action is now being taken on the FY 2004 budget proposal by the Appropriations Committees of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Thus far, only the House Appropriations Subcommittee has considered the SAMHSA budget. However, both the House and Senate are expected to work on the appropriations bill this month.

On June 19, 2003, the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee recommended a total budget of $3.33 billion for SAMHSA, an increase of $191.5 million over FY 2003, but $64.3 million less than the President's FY 2004 request. The recommended budget for CMHS programs was $863.9 million, an increase of $7.4 million over FY 2003, and an increase of $29.9 million over the FY 2004 President's budget request.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee recommended a $10 million increase for the Children's Mental Health Services program, for a total of $108 million. The PATH program received a recommended increase of $7 million, bringing the total funding to $50 million. The Subcommittee also recommended a $7.4 million decrease in funding for CMHS Programs of Regional and National Significance, for a total of $237 million, and a $2.1 million funding decrease in the Mental Health Block Grant, for a total of $435 million.