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During this week’s budget presentation by Governor Shapiro, funding for mental health services was addressed as a priority for vulnerable Pennsylvanians. RCPA is working to review the preliminary funding recommendations listed below, and we hope to have greater line-item insight from DHS Secretary Arkoosh’s address this Friday.
Please note that registration is now open for the DHS 2024/25 Budget Briefing. You can register to view the briefing here. Additionally, the DHS House and Senate Budget Hearings will be March 5 and 6, 2024, respectively, and RCPA has been asked to provide questions for the testimony. The DHS budget book is available here.
Lastly, as part of our RCPA Mental Health Steering Committees and Work Groups, we will review recommendations as we develop our strategic budget advocacy campaign over the next several months in our meetings with stakeholders and legislators.
We offer the following as the initial review of yesterday’s budget presentation:
2024/25 Budget: Mental Health Program Recommendations:
This budget recommends the following changes: (Dollar Amounts in Thousands) for Mental Health Services
School-Based Mental Health
This year, the Shapiro Administration looks once more to address the needs of student mental health with a $100 million investment. This new set of funds comes on the heels of $90 million recently allocated to schools, with monies originally set aside for adult mental health services targeted through the now defunct 2022 Behavioral Health Commission.
The funding mechanism for the distribution of these funds has yet to be determined if it is approved by the General Assembly. The last two rounds of school-based mental health funding have been allocated to individual districts through noncompetitive grants. The concerns have been that the funds, if not earmarked for the development of service delivery pathways, will go to building staff infrastructure in the form of social workers. While there are advantages to having these professionals in the buildings, they alone cannot address the student needs for assessment and treatment services
RCPA supports the funding being designated through the schools but will work with legislators to encourage developing a coordinated system of care coupled with a longer-term financial strategy with the schools, community-based providers, Student Assistant Programs (SAP), and county involvement in SAP coordination.
Early Intervention Services
As part of our initial budget discussions with OCDEL, we were concerned that there would not be an interim rate increase for 2024/25 as we work through the new Early Intervention rate methodology. We see in the budget that there is an increase of $16 million, nearly 9% over last year’s number. It is also projected that more children and families will be served in this coming year, and we will work with the administration to, at a minimum, continue to fund the ARPA-supported 3% increase from over the last three years.
County Child Welfare
It is projected that the County Child Welfare budget will essentially be flat, with less than a 1% increase. As the child welfare systems await the DHS Blueprint recommendations on addressing the extensive number of services for youth with complex care, especially those in congregate care, it was surprising there was not a designated funding allocation to support this initiative. This remains a priority to fund these programs.
County-Based Mental Health Funding
It was disappointing that the Shapiro Administration failed to deliver on last year’s “down payment” of the 2022/23 allocation of $20 million towards the county base. Up until last year, the county-based mental health system has gone more than a decade without a base rate increase. Last year’s $20 million represented only a 3% increase over the 2022/23 base funding. This year’s $20 million will equate to less.
We will continue, as part of our advocacy strategy, to support an allocation that is projected to be in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion to create a sustainable platform for county-based mental health service delivery.
Today, Governor Josh Shapiro gave his second budget address to members of the General Assembly. The Governor outlined an agenda that included new spending for direct service providers, minimum wage, education, health care, law enforcement, and a number of other initiatives. The below budget initiatives come from information from the Governor and his team, which has been made available to stakeholders. The budget proposals include:
Investing in Competitive Pay and Reimbursement of Services for Home & Community-Based Care
Making Pennsylvania a Leader in Economic Development, Job Creation, and Innovation
Building on Historic Education Investments & Making Progress to Support Every Pennsylvania Child
Delivering a New Blueprint for Higher Education Grounded in Access & Affordability
The above are highlights of the Governor’s proposed budget. RCPA will be examining the budget spreadsheets over the next few days, will be attending the DHS Budget Overview this Friday afternoon, and will update members with any new information as it becomes available during the budget season.
If you have any questions, please contact Jack Phillips.
RCPA is happy to share highlights of Governor Shapiro’s proposed budget that recognizes the needs of the ID/A community in a way that Pennsylvanians have not seen for many years.
Governor Shapiro is prioritizing investments in home and community-based service providers so that they can pay competitive rates to attract and retain staff who provide these life-changing services to Pennsylvanians. The governor is proposing an increase in reimbursement rates by 12%, which will invest a total of over $480 million. This will be divided by state ($217 million) and federal ($266 million) funding for programs that support ID/A.
This budget will invest $34.2 million in the Community Waiver and $1.85 million in the Community Base Program, which will allow the Department of Human Services (DHS) to expand the number of individuals participating in home and community-based services programs.
The 2024/25 executive budget invests $213 million toward the Community Waiver Program, $2.1 million in the Autism Intervention Program, and $1.1 million in the Community Base program. It also leverages $266 million in total federal funding to increase resources for providers of home and community-based services.
In addition, this budget invests $934,000 to add American Sign Language and English interpreter services to programs serving those who require these services in order to experience equality in communication.
In response to this announcement, Richard Edley, PhD, President and CEO of RCPA, stated, “Governor Shapiro is really living up to his mandate to ‘get stuff done!’ The disability community has waited decades for a governor that would make systemic fixes a key budget issue, and the day has finally come. This may not solve all the issues that nearly destroyed this critical system of care and support, but it’s a start, which is more than we’ve had in quite some time.”
Read the summary of Governor Shapiro’s proposed budget plan for ID/A services. RCPA will be sharing more analysis of the budget when additional information is released.
Governor Shapiro and Pennsylvania’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs have announced an $18 million funding initiative to assist practitioners in the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, prevention, case management, and recovery support services workforce. The SUD student loan repayment program aims to address workforce shortages by providing loan repayment opportunities to retain professionals in the field. This initiative, funded by the Opioid Settlement Fund and Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program Fund, supports practitioners, including physicians, nurses, counselors, and case managers. Applications must be submitted by March 1, 2024, through the online portal. Practitioners are eligible for up to $75,000 for full-time practice or $37,500 for half-time practice. The program prioritizes those in rural areas with SUD workforce shortages and counties with underserved minority populations. For more information and application details, visit the DDAP Funding Opportunities page. Questions can be sent electronically.
The Shapiro-Davis Administration has announced a $155M School Safety and Security Grant for K-12 schools, with a focus on mental health support, as part of the 2023/24 state budget. The grants cover noncompetitive School Mental Health Grants, formula-based School Safety and Security Meritorious Grants, and Competitive School Safety and Security Grants. To apply and access information, including eligibility criteria, visit PCCD’s School Safety and Security web page. The application period ends on February 29, 2024. The funds aim to address basic safety needs and mental health services, as outlined in the Committee’s Revised Baseline Criteria Standards. For inquiries, please contact PCCD staff. Funding is facilitated through House Bill 301 in the 2023/24 state budget. For any other questions, contact RCPA Mental Health Policy Director Jim Sharp.
On January 8, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) announced the availability of $2.8M in reemployment funds for the Direct Care Worker Job Quality (DCWJQ) Grant. The grant funding is to be used to boost PA’s direct care workforce by improving job quality and increasing career advancement opportunities. Applicants may request awards of up to $600,000 each.
Additional information about this funding is posted on the L&I grant opportunity web page. This information includes the grant itself, the application form, project summary, budget form, and the Worker Protection and Investment Certificate form.
The application deadline for the DCWJQ Grant is February 29, 2024, at 4:00 pm ET.