Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Substance Abuse and Mental 

Health Services Administration The following tables are in millions of dollars. 

Mental Health 2020 /2 2021 /3 2022 2022 +/- 2021

Community Mental Health Services Block Grant 723 758 1,583 +825

PHS Evaluation Funds (non-add) 21 21 21 --

Programs of Regional and National Significance 530 559 753 +194

Prevention and Public Health Fund (non-add) 12 12 12 --

Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics 200 250 375 +125

Children's Mental Health Services 125 125 125

Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness 65 65 65

Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness 36 36 36

Subtotal, Mental Health 1,678 1,792 2,937 +1,144

Substance Abuse Prevention 2020 /2 2021 /3 2022 2022 +/- 2021

Programs of Regional and National Significance 206 208 217 +8

Subtotal, Substance Abuse Prevention 206 208 217 +8

Substance Abuse Treatment 2020 /2 2021 /3 2022 2022 +/- 2021

Substance Use Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Block Grant 1,858 1,858 3,508 +1,650

PHS Evaluation Funds (non-add) 79 79 79 --

Formula Grants to States to Address Opioids 1,500 1,500 2,250 +750

Programs of Regional and National Significance 480 497 651 +154

PHS Evaluation Funds (non-add) 2 2 2 --

Subtotal, Substance Abuse Treatment 3,838 3,855 6,409 +2,554

Health Surveillance and Program Support 2020 /2 2021 /3 2022 2022 +/- 2021

Program Support 79 79 83 +4

Health Surveillance 47 47 48 --

PHS Evaluation Funds (non-add) 30 30 30 --

Public Awareness and Support 13 13 13 --

Drug Abuse Warning Network 10 10 15 +5

PHS Evaluation Funds (non-add) -- -- -- --

Performance and Quality Information Systems 10 10 10 --

Data Request and Publications, User Fees 2 2 2 --

Behavioral Health Workforce Data and Development, PHS Eval. 1 1 1 --

Subtotal, Health Surveillance and Program Support 162 162 172 +10

SAMHSA Budget Totals 2020 /2 2021 /3 2022 2022 +/- 2021

Total, Program Level 5,884 6,017 9,734 +3,717

Less Funds from Other Sources -148 -148 -148 --

Prevention and Public Health Fund (non-add) -12 -12 -12 --

PHS Evaluation Funds (non-add) -134 -134 -134 --

Data Request and Publications User Fees (non-add) -2 -2 -2 --

Total, Discretionary Budget Authority /4 5,737 5,870 9,587 +3,717

Full-Time Equivalents 452 484 615 --

1/ Totals may not add due to rounding.

2/ The FY 2020 column reflects final levels, including required and permissive transfers, but does not include $425 million in COVID-19 

supplemental resources.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

3/ The FY 2021 column reflects enacted levels, including required transfers, but does not include $7.8 billion in COVID-19 supplemental 

resources.

4/ The Budget Authority SAMHSA total funding level varies from the BIB Overview tables due to the exclusion of mandatory funding. 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health 

of the nation and to reduce the impact of substance use and mental illness on America’s communities.

Mental health and substance use have been a rising 

public health crisis in the United States for decades. An 

estimated 19.3 million American adults had a 

substance use disorder in 2019, and approximately 

841,000 people have died from a drug overdose 

between 2000 to 2019. Preliminary data suggest that 

overdose deaths accelerated during the pandemic. The 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration (SAMHSA) plays a lead role in the public 

health response to the opioid and mental health crises 

and develops the nation’s behavioral health 

infrastructure. 

The FY 2022 President's Budget provides $9.7 billion for 

SAMHSA, an increase of $3.7 billion above FY 2021

enacted. With these critical investments, SAMHSA is 

poised to respond to the opioid and substance use 

epidemic by expanding programs targeting prevention 

and treatment; increasing access to mental health 

services to protect the health of children and 

communities; and growing SAMHSA’s capacity to 

support the nation’s behavioral health programs. 

These investments will be a cornerstone in the 

Administration’s efforts to respond to the significant 

behavioral health challenges facing the country in 

FY 2022.

ENDING THE OPIOID AND SUBSTANCE USE CRISIS

The budget provides $6.6 billion for substance use 

prevention and treatment activities, an increase of 

$2.6 billion over FY 2021 enacted. This critical 

investment will drive funding to States and Tribes to 

increase community-level response to the opioid crisis, 

expand access to evidence-based treatment and 

recovery services, and provide targeted investment for 

prevention and recovery support services.

HHS requests $10.7 billion across the Department to 

support activities that will help end the opioid and 

substance use crisis. Of that amount, $6.6 billion is 

specifically for SAMHSA’s substance use prevention 

and treatment programs and $191 million for mental 

health activities, an increase of $2.7 billion over 

FY 2021 enacted. 

Expanding Access to Substance Use Treatment

The budget includes $3.5 billion for the Substance 

Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG)— 

an increase of $1.7 billion over FY 2021 enacted—to 

expand implementation of evidence-based treatment 

and prevention programs for individuals, families, and 

communities across the nation. This funding will allow 

SAMHSA to serve 2.1 million people in FY 2022. The 

SABG program distributes funds to 60 eligible states, 

territories, one eligible tribe. The SABG funding 

provides recipients necessary flexibility to respond to 

regional issues impacted by opioid and substance use. 

This flexibility is critical as data show a changing 

overdose landscape, where overdose deaths associated 

with synthetic opioids and psychostimulants are 

significantly increasing over deaths associated with 

opioids or heroin. SAMHSA will work directly with 

state and local partners to ensure funding is targeted 

and available to community needs. 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The budget also provides $2.3 billion for the State 

Opioid Response (SOR) grant program, an increase of 

$750 million over FY 2021 enacted. Since the SOR 

program began, approximately 646,854 patients have 

received treatment services for opioid use disorder, 

including 240,571 who have received medicationassisted treatment. This SOR funding will continue to 

increase access to important prevention and treatment 

services to respond to the opioid crisis. Within this 

total, SAMHSA will direct $75 million to the Tribal 

Opioid Response grant program to specifically address 

the opioid substance use needs in tribal communities. 

The budget provides $105 million for the drug court

program to serve 10,247 clients. Drug courts play an 

integral role in diverting people from the criminal 

justice system and into treatment. In 2020 

approximately 7,200 people received services through 

the SAMHSA drug court program. This investment will 

increase access to direct treatment services; 

wraparound and recovery support services; and other 

direct services for diverse populations, and support 

diversion away from the criminal justice system. 

The budget invests in direct treatment by providing 

$137 million for SAMHSA’s Medication Assisted 

Treatment for Prescription and Drug Addiction program

(MAT-PDOA), which is an increase of $46 million over 

FY 2021 enacted. Increasing availability of MAT is 

imperative as overdose deaths associated with 

synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, continue to rise. 

Investing in Recovery Support Services

The FY 2022 budget emphasizes recovery support 

services to provide a comprehensive response to the 

opioid and substance use crisis. Recovery support 

programs provide community-level resources for 

people with substance use disorder beyond treatment. 

The budget includes a new 10 percent set-aside for the 

SABG to direct funds to states for recovery support 

services. Currently, there is no dedicated source of 

funding of community recovery resources. As a result, 

only 140 communities have a recovery community 

organization. This funding set-aside would provide a 

sustainable source of funding directly to community 

organizations to support development of a communitylevel recovery infrastructure and will be available for a 

wide variety of recovery support programs. 

The budget also includes $20 million for the Building 

Communities of Recovery program, double the amount 

provided in FY 2021 enacted. Building Communities 

of Recovery supports linkages between recovery 

networks and a variety of organizations, including 

primary care, other recovery networks, the child 

welfare system, the criminal justice system, housing 

services, and education/employment systems. This

increase in funding will support further mobilization of 

resources within and outside the recovery community 

to increase the prevalence and quality of long-term 

recovery support from drug and alcohol addiction. 

Expanding Access to Treatment for Pregnant and PostPartum Women

The Pregnant and Postpartum Women (PPW) program 

expands the accessibility and availability of services for 

pregnant women with substance use disorder by 

providing outpatient and intensive outpatient services, 

residential treatment services, and family-based 

services. The PPW program also develops continuums 

of care and directs funding to states to develop

coordinated, effective state systems of care. The 

budget invests $49 million in the PPW program, an 

increase of $17 million above FY 2021 enacted. 

EXPANDING ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Americans are experiencing increased mental health 

challenges and greater barriers to receiving necessary 

behavioral health care. Prior to the COVID-19 

pandemic, Americans were experiencing growing rates 

of mental illness. In 2019, 51.5 million adults had a 

diagnosable mental illness, an 18 percent increase over 

2008. These mental health challenges have 

accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, 

particularly for our vulnerable populations. In June 

2020, adults reported anxiety disorder symptoms at 3 

times the level reported in 2019 and depressive 

disorder at 4 times the level reported in 2019. Younger 

adults, racial minorities, essential workers, unpaid 

caregivers, and people receiving treatment for 

preexisting psychiatric conditions are disproportionally 

impacted by rising mental health concerns. 

The FY 2022 budget provides $2.9 billion for SAMHSA’s 

mental health activities, an increase of $1.1 billion over 

FY 2021 enacted. These investments will develop the

behavioral health infrastructure, expand suicide 

prevention activities, address children’s mental health, 

and increase community-based mental health 

programs that provide services to the nation’s most

vulnerable populations. 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Respond to Systemic Strain on the Mental Health Care 

System

Calls to mental health helplines have increased across 

the country as Americans deal with increased anxiety, 

depression, risk of suicide, and trauma-related 

disorders. 

The budget invests $1.6 billion into the Community 

Mental Health Block Grant to respond to the systemic 

strain on our Nation’s mental health care system. This 

is an historic investment which will be more than 

double the 2021 funding level. 

Since 1992, the Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG) has 

distributed funds for community-based behavioral 

health services to 59 eligible states and territories and 

freely associated states. The MHBG is the foundation 

of the nation’s behavioral health infrastructure, 

particularly for some of the most at-risk populations 

across the country. States rely on the MHBG to provide 

non-clinical coordination and support services that are 

not covered by Medicaid or other third-party

insurance. This funding has improved outcomes for 

millions of Americans. In 2019, the MHBG served 

8.1 million clients. Seventy-five percent of clients 

reported improved functioning as a direct result of the 

mental health care services they received. 

The MHBG also provides targeted funding to ensure

individuals having a mental health crisis have access to 

timely and quality care. The budget more than doubles 

the MHBG set-aside for crisis systems to $75 million. 

This increase will direct funding to states to build much 

needed crisis systems that will provide high quality, 

expeditious mental health care. This crisis system 

funding increase will also support the partnering of law 

enforcement with mental health providers. 

Invest in Suicide Prevention

Suicide and suicidal ideation are a growing public 

health concern—in 2019, suicide was the tenth leading 

cause of death. Recent reports show a steady increase 

in suicide deaths over the last 20 years. The COVID-19 

pandemic has been associated with mental health 

challenges, including suicidal ideation. In June 2020, 

about 11 percent of CDC survey respondents reported 

seriously considering suicide in the prior 30 days. This 

rate was significantly higher among young adults, 

minority racial/ethnic groups, Black respondents, 

unpaid caregivers, and essential workers. It is essential 

we take action to support American’s mental health

and invest in suicide prevention. 

In FY 2022, SAMHSA will dedicate $180 million for 

SAMHSA’s suicide prevention programs, an increase of 

$78 million over FY 2021 enacted. American Indian and 

Alaskan Native communities have strikingly higher 

suicide rates compared to the overall U.S. population. 

In July 2022, the National Suicide Lifeline will transition 

from a 10-digit number to a 3-digit hotline (9-8-8). The 

Lifeline call center network needs adequate funding to 

respond to the expected increase in call volume 

accompanying the move to a 3-digit hotline. To ensure 

the Lifeline is prepared for the transition, the FY 2022 

budget invests $102 million in the Suicide Lifeline 

program, an increase of $78 million over FY 2021

enacted. 

Responding to Children’s Mental Health Needs 

Mental health concerns have been rising among youth 

since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Impacts of the 

COVID-19 pandemic, such as isolation, disruption to 

daily life, and anxiety about illness, have also hit 

children hard. Children aged 12 to 17 accounted for 

the majority of mental health-related emergency 

department visits in 2019 and 2020. To respond to the

mental health needs of children, the FY 2022 budget 

includes $155 million for Project AWARE, an increase of 

$49 million above FY 2021 enacted. The budget also 

provides $12 million for the Mental Health Awareness 

Training program, which provides training to law 

enforcement personnel and other stakeholders to 

recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders.

Child traumatic stress is a pervasive and potentially life 

changing experience that affects tens of thousands of 

children each year. The budget invests $82 million in

the National Child Traumatic Stress Network—an 

increase of $10 million over FY 2021 enacted—to 

target funding to trauma-informed services and 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

interventions for children. This funding will also 

support the delivery of trauma-informed training and 

information to service providers. 

The number of children that experience a serious 

mental health concern, such as a major depressive 

episode, have increased to 3.8 million children in 2019 

from 2.2 million in 2004. The budget provides 

$125 million for Children’s Mental Health Services

(CMHS). The program provides funding to states, 

tribes, and communities to support development, 

implementation, expansion, and sustainability of 

comprehensive, community-based services for children 

and youth with serious mental disorders. The CMHS 

program promotes clear and culturally competent 

strategies to provide services to racial and ethnic 

minorities. The budget also maintains that grantees 

may use 10 percent of the funds to assess if 

community-based interventions directed to youth and 

young adults can prevent development of psychosis. 

Increase Mental Health Resources for People Involved 

in the Criminal Justice System

The connection between the criminal justice system 

and mental health cannot be ignored. Too often, 

people in need of mental health care or treatment

do not get the care they need, and instead have 

interactions with law enforcement that lead to 

incarceration. Individuals with a mental illness 

and/or a substance use disorder involved in the 

criminal or juvenile justice system face higher rates 

of incarceration, longer lengths incarceration, and 

higher rates of recidivism. 

To address the mental health needs of people 

involved in the criminal justice system, the FY 2022 

budget invests $51 million in SAMHSA’s Criminal and 

Juvenile Justice programs, an increase of $45 million 

over FY 2021 enacted. This funding will increase 

access to mental health services post-incarceration 

and direct funding to grants that partner mental 

health providers with key stakeholders to respond to 

individuals in crisis.

Expand the Certified Community Behavioral Health 

Clinics Expansion Program

To expand access to behavioral health care, it is critical 

to invest in high quality, community-based behavioral 

health services. The budget includes $375 million in

the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics 

(CCBHC) grant program, an increase of $125 million 

over FY 2021 enacted. This investment will drive 

funding to community-based organizations that 

provide comprehensive, coordinated, high quality 

state-certified behavioral health services at the local 

level. 

Since the inception of the CCBHC program in FY 2018, 

CCBHC grantees have served over 54,000 individuals. 

CCBHC participants showed a 72 percent decrease in 

mental health care hospitalization in the past 30 days 

and a 63.2 percent decrease in emergency room visits. 

Participation in the CCBHC program is also a significant

asset to providers. Eighty-four percent of these 

organizations made changes to the range of services 

they provide as a result of program participation. The 

budget’s increase for CCBHCs will further expand 

access to these critically important behavioral health 

services to 180 grantees in FY 2022.

BUILDING CAPACITY TO IMPROVE NATION’S 

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

SAMHSA is a leader in the national response to the 

country’s substance use and mental health needs 

across the country. The FY 2022 budget invests in 

SAMHSA’s institutional capacity and in developing a 

diverse behavioral workforce. 

Developing a Diverse Behavioral Health Workforce

The budget includes $17 million for SAMHSA’s Minority 

Fellowship Programs. Since the Fellowship’s start in 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

1973, the program has enhanced services for racial and 

ethnic minority communities through specialized 

training of mental health professionals in psychiatry, 

nursing, social work, marriage and family therapy, 

mental health counseling, psychology, and substance 

use and addiction counseling. The Fellowship seeks to 

improve behavioral health care outcomes for racial and 

ethnic populations by growing the number of racial and 

ethnic minorities in the nation’s behavioral health

workforce. The program also seeks to train and better 

prepare behavioral health practitioners to more 

effectively treat and serve people of different cultural 

and ethnic backgrounds. 

Health Surveillance and Program Administration

In FY 2022, SAMHSA will invest $172 million in Health 

Surveillance and Program Support, an increase of 

$10 million over FY 2021 enacted. The budget includes 

$83 million for Program Support, a $4 million increase 

over FY 2021 enacted. This investment in program 

support will increase available staff by 131 FTEs to 

effectively manage and implement SAMHSA programs. 

The budget also invests $15 million in the Drug Abuse 

Warning Network—a $5 million increase over FY 2021

enacted—to support surveillance efforts tied to the 

opioid and substance use epidemic. These key 

programs will allow SAMHSA to effectively conduct

oversight over SAMHSA programs and to support 

nationwide Health Surveillance efforts.