Included in this year’s General Fund budget was an allocation of $100 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to mental health programs in Pennsylvania. Included in this funding was a newly established Behavioral Health Commission for Adult Mental Health. NASW-PA was asked to recommend a social worker to be appointed to the Commission and we thank Dr. Stephanie Diez-Morel, of Reboot & Recover in Erie County for her service to the commission.
On October 4th, the Behavioral Health Commission for Adult Mental Health published a report on its recommendations for how to spend $100 million of one-time ARPA funding to support adult behavioral health needs. The report included three main areas of focus for allocation of this $100 million:
Stabilize, Strengthen, and Expand the Workforce ($37 million)
Improve the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Systems ($23.5 million)
Expand Capacity for Services and Supports ($39 million)
Additionally, the Commission suggested that $500k be set aside for a future study evaluating the impact of these one-time investments. This report was shared with the legislature, with the recommendation to move forward with implementation. View the Commission's Report and Recommendations
While we had hoped that the legislature would enact legislation required to expend those funds before recessing, they were not able to come to an agreement in the limited number of session days this fall. What does this mean moving forward? It remains true that the $100 million appropriation has been made and there is a collective will to appropriate these funds. We will be working closely with NASW-PA’s legislative champions to move this legislation forward when they return to session in January. We remain hopeful that this important funding will be allocated in the coming year and we will continue to fight for long-term funding to address behavioral health workforce issues.
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