{
  "id": "R41477",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R41477",
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  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 394928,
      "date": "2010-11-04",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T22:14:04.043077",
      "title": "Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Agency Overview and Reauthorization Issues",
      "summary": "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provides federal funding to support community-based mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services. SAMHSA awards formula and competitive grants under its authorities in Title V of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). The agency also administers the $1.8 billion Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) block grant and the $420 million Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) block grant, both of which are authorized in PHSA Title XIX. SAMHSA\u2019s funding totaled almost $3.6 billion in FY2010. The agency\u2019s budget increased by 34% from FY2000 to FY2010. In real (i.e., inflation-adjusted) dollars, however, the funding increase over that period was only 6%. Funding for SAMHSA\u2019s two block grants, which together account for 62% of the agency\u2019s budget, has grown at a much slower pace than funding for its competitive grant programs.\nSAMHSA was reauthorized in 2000, as part of the Children\u2019s Health Act (P.L. 106-310). The act amended SAMHSA\u2019s existing authorities to give the agency more flexibility to direct mental health and substance abuse funding; increased state flexibility to direct the use of block grant funds, creating several new competitive grant programs to expand mental health and substance abuse services for children and adolescents; and authorized appropriations through FY2003. It also added charitable choice provisions that allow faith-based organizations to compete for SAMHSA substance abuse funding without impairing their religious character. P.L. 106-310 required SAMHSA to submit two reports to Congress, one on providing coordinated care to individuals with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse, and the other on efforts to improve the flexibility and accountability of the block grants.\nComprehensive reauthorization has not occurred since 2000. However, several laws have further expanded the agency\u2019s programs and activities in suicide prevention, underage drinking, and prescription drug abuse. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-148) contained new authorizations for SAMHSA related to depression and behavioral health services for American Indians and Alaskan Natives, as well as additional provisions related to mental health and substance abuse. \nWhile reauthorization has not moved out of committee, issues that may be of interest during the next reauthorization of SAMHSA include increased performance measurement and accountability for SAMHSA grants and programs, granting specific authority for the Access To Recovery program that provides vouchers for individuals to seek treatment services, improving the ability of communities to provide behavioral health services during disaster response, requiring collaboration between SAMHSA and other federal agencies, increasing SAMHSA\u2019s level of emphasis on primary prevention, increasing SAMHSA\u2019s role in expanding the number and diversity of the behavioral health provider workforce, and ensuring fairness of the formula used to distribute SAMHSA\u2019s block grants.\nThis report describes SAMHSA\u2019s history, organization, authority, and programs, and analyzes some of the issues that may be considered by Congress during a reauthorization of the agency. The appendixes include a table describing SAMHSA\u2019s authorizations and appropriations, a table with SAMHSA\u2019s funding from FY2000-FY2010, a matrix of SAMHSA\u2019s National Outcome Measures that aim to evaluate progress on substance abuse and mental health prevention and treatment indicators, and a list of SAMHSA resources.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Economic Policy",
    "Health Policy"
  ]
}