The New York State Office of Mental Health has secured $4 million in federal funding to strengthen the state’s mental health care system.
The funding, announced Nov. 4, is earmarked for workforce recruitment and retention funds, to increase access to peer health services for individuals and families.
It comes from an expansion of the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, which is a federal program that can be used to fund new and existing programs to carry out comprehensive plans for providing mental health services. It specifically aims to target adults with serious mental illnesses and children with serious emotional disturbances.
Funding also comes from the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage share of funds for Medicaid programs.
Programs licensed, funded and designated by the Office of Mental Health are eligible to receive grants from the funding to offer incentives to recruit and retain their workforces of certified and credentialed mental health peers, including New York certified peer specialists, credentialed youth peer advocates and credentialed family peer advocates.
“Peer support workers are individuals who have lived experience with mental illness or are family members caring for youth with mental illness,” said Dr. Anne Sullivan, commissioner of New York’s Office of Mental Health. “They have had success in recovery, and use their experience, skills and training to support others in their recovery journey. Peers are known to be highly effective in helping individuals living with mental illness reach their own goals and live full lives in their communities.”
The broader goal of the workforce incentives is to improve access and quality of care for mental health services, for youth, adults and families.
“Funding to support the New York State Office of Mental Health has been desperately needed and will restore faith in an overworked and underpaid mental health workforce,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke, who represents part of New York City. “The onslaught of COVID-19 and its continued impact in the state, and especially in my district, continues to be felt, and this announcement is the relief we’ve been pleading for. Mental health workers are vital to our underserved communities that are in need of support and federal resources. This funding will undoubtedly make a difference in the lives of the people counting on it, and we are grateful for it because it is paramount to keep New York’s Mental Health services functioning.”
