President's Budget Sustains Key Programs
By Craig Packer
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget proposed by President George W. Bush allocates $3.2 billion for
SAMHSA—a budget that will allow SAMHSA to continue its mission to build resilience, promote
recovery, and ensure a life in the community for everyone.
Although the proposed budget reflects a reduction of 5 percent from the FY 2007 Continuing Resolution,
it sustains support for priorities identified by President Bush and Health and Human Services (HHS)
Secretary Michael O. Leavitt. These programs include Access to Recovery and Mental Health System
Transformation.
In addition, according to SAMHSA Administrator Terry L. Cline, Ph.D., “The President’s
budget affords us the opportunity to make bold new investments in screening, brief intervention,
referral, and treatment in both medical and community settings, and in the treatment drug courts.”
Substance Abuse
The FY 2008 budget includes $2.3 billion to prevent substance abuse and to provide treatment for
the 33 million Americans with serious substance abuse problems. The budget requests level funding
of $1.8 billion for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, which is the cornerstone
of states’ and territories’ substance abuse programs. SAMHSA’s Block Grants serve
nearly 2 million clients each year.
The proposed budget also requires states and territories receiving Block Grant funds to report
client outcomes as outlined in SAMHSA’s National Outcome Measures. (See National Outcome Measures.)
The President’s Access to Recovery initiative, which provides clients in substance abuse
treatment with vouchers so they can access treatment and support services of their choice, is slated
to be funded at $98 million in FY 2008. Some $25 million will support treatment for clients using
methamphetamine.
A total of $32 million is proposed to support substance abuse treatment to
prevent criminal recidivism—an
increase of $22 million over FY 2007. Drug treatment courts are a successful alternative to incarceration,
and they allow stakeholders to work together to give clients the treatment and resources they need
to become fully functioning parents, employees, and citizens.
The FY 2008 funding increase will enable SAMHSA to more than triple the number of grants to treat
clients of juvenile, family, and adult drug treatment courts.
SAMHSA will increase its funding of substance abuse screening, brief intervention,
referral, and treatment in medical and other community settings by $12 million for a total of $41 million in
FY 2008.
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Mental Health
A total of $807 million is planned for mental health services, a decrease of $77 million from
FY 2007. The Community Mental Health Services Block Grant will be funded at the same level as last
year, $428 million. These block grants support comprehensive, community-based systems of care for
adults with serious mental illnesses and children with serious emotional disturbances.
The proposed budget allocates $34 million for suicide prevention activities, including suicide
prevention for American Indian and Alaska Native youth, a 24-hour national hotline, and a Suicide
Prevention Resource Center.
Another $76 million is proposed for school-based violence prevention that supports the Safe
Schools/Healthy Students initiative, a collaborative effort with the Department of Education.
In addition, the budget includes $104 million for the Children’s Mental Health Services
program, $54 million for Projects for Assistance in Transition from
Homelessness, and $34 million
for State Protection and Advocacy systems to protect people with mental illnesses from abuse, neglect,
and violations of their civil rights.
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Performance Measurement
While not a separate line item in the SAMHSA budget, one of SAMHSA’s most important activities
is performance measurement and reporting. “Performance measurement creates a consistent
framework for linking Agency-wide goals with a matrix of program priorities,” said Dr. Cline.
According to SAMHSA’s FY 2008 Congressional Justification, SAMHSA and the states have agreed
on a set of National Outcome Measures. (For more information, see article below.) The data gathered
allow SAMHSA to share with stakeholders the Agency’s progress towards three strategic goals
to increase:
Accountability in measuring and reporting program performance
Capacity in service availability
Effectiveness in service quality.
For more detailed information about the President’s FY 2008 Budget, visit www.hhs.gov/budget/08budget/2008BudgetInBrief.pdf.
SAMHSA’s Congressional Justification is available at www.samhsa.gov/Budget/FY2008/index.aspx. 
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SAMHSA Budget Authority by Activity
(Dollars in Millions)
| |
| |
| $1,757 |
$1,759 |
$1,759 |
| |
| 399 |
375 |
352 |
| 193
|
181 |
156 |
| $2,349 |
$2,315 |
$2,267 |
| |
| $428 |
$428 |
$428 |
| 54 |
54 |
54 |
| 263 |
228 |
187 |
| 104 |
104 |
104 |
| 34 |
34 |
34 |
| $883 |
$849 |
$807 |
| $92 |
$97 |
$93 |
| $3,324
|
$3,260 |
$3,168 |
| |
| -121 |
-126 |
-121 |
| $3,203 |
$3,134 |
$3,046 |
| 524 |
540 |
540 |
|
|
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