Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
AGENCY TESTIMONY
Federal funding cuts and their impact on public health and mental health services
0:06:39
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3 min
Dr. Morse details recent federal policy decisions that have led to significant cuts in public health and mental health funding, affecting both city and state-level programs. She outlines the potential impacts and current legal challenges to these cuts.
- Approximately 20% ($600 million) of DOHMH's budget is federally funded
- Federal government attempted to rescind over $100 million in funding for disease control and outbreak response
- State-level mental health and addiction services faced funding cuts, impacting New York City providers
- AmeriCorps funding cuts affected the DOHMH's peer core program for substance use recovery support
Michelle Morse
0:06:39
The public health landscape has shifted dramatically since our preliminary budget hearing just two months ago.
0:06:46
Starting the day after that hearing, the New York City Health Department has been implicated in a series of federal policy decisions that seek to defund and dismantle public health infrastructure across this country.
0:06:59
At the New York City Health Department, approximately 20% of our budget is federally funded, which amounts to about $600,000,000.
0:07:08
At the March, the federal government tried to rescind over a hundred million dollars of that funding as part of an $11,400,000,000 cut to state and local health departments nationwide.
0:07:20
That funding does not impact our mental health budget, but it jeopardizes our infrastructure for disease control and outbreak response and is currently protected by a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit led by attorney general Leticia James.
0:07:34
I'll discuss that status and implications of that funding in more detail at our hearing before the health committee later today.
0:07:41
In New York, the impact of these cuts on mental health services was limited to state government.
0:07:47
The office of addiction services and supports had $40,000,000 in federal funding revoked.
0:07:53
OASAS funds a wide range of critical programs across our state including transitional housing, community based addiction recovery programs, and early intervention programs for high risk populations.
0:08:06
While that money does not flow directly through New York City government, it does go to providers who operate here in New York City.
0:08:12
The federal government also withdrew 27,000,000 in funds to the New York State Office of Mental Health.
0:08:18
That funding supports crisis care and treatment for substance use and serious mental illness in communities including nine eighty eight.
0:08:26
These programs provide a lifeline to people outside of hospital settings and help avert emergency treatment.
0:08:33
Again, the revoked funding for both OASAS and OMH impacts New York City providers, but not the DOHMH budget.
0:08:41
And the money is currently preserved by a preliminary injunction.
0:08:45
We're in regular communication with commissioner Sullivan and commissioner Cunningham to understand the impacts of federal policy and funding changes in real time.
0:08:54
In New York City, One of our mental health programs was directly impacted by the federal government's decision to revoke nearly $400,000,000 in grants to AmeriCorps and fire 90% of the staff at that agency.
0:09:07
A coalition of state attorneys general including New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the administration.
0:09:14
No ruling has been issued yet.
0:09:16
At the New York City Health Department, some of that funding went toward our peer core program, an AmeriCorps partnership created in response to the rising number of overdose deaths in New York City.
0:09:27
Peer core recruits people with lived experience in substance use and recovery to become peer certified and support community members through their addiction recovery.
0:09:37
Many of the peers in this program worked in homeless shelters throughout the city and went on to become full time staff at those facilities.
0:09:44
That program is highly successful and we're hopeful that we will be able to continue it in the future.