In a report issued Tuesday, the state’s Behavioral Health Commission for Mental Health endorsed spending $100 million in federal money toward addressing adult behavioral health needs.
The 24-member Commission charged with providing recommendations to the General Assembly on the allocation said they want to see $37 million be spent in workforce development within mental health, $23.5 million on criminal justice programs, and $39 million to expand existing programs.
“We are confident that these recommendations will help urban, suburban, and rural counties alike and are balanced to provide near-term and future benefits to our behavioral health system,” the report concluded. “The Commission would like to stress the importance of swift action and ask that the funding authorized as a part of this year’s budget be appropriated before the end of this legislative session.”
The commission met not only with their committee members but also with Centre County officials to understand the unique needs of rural counties, along with Dauphin county about urban and suburban problems.
The report said those in Centre County emphasized the need for more treatment and recovery servicesas well as how the shared resources of small counties or rural counties can turn that investment to benefit many other groups locally.
