Committee reviews mental health services budget, behavioral health plan funding and transfer exemptions

Alex Williamson, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that the division of mental health services covers children’s and adult mental health programs and that the division’s budget pages are in the committee’s book (2-091).

The division’s recent appropriations included a $6,000,000 ongoing enhancement for community behavioral health clinics and one-time allocations of $3,000,000 for community mental health and $4,400,000 to help stand up the 988 crisis line, Williamson said. She also briefed the committee on agency requests tied to the Idaho Behavioral Health Plan (IBHP), including a fiscal 2025 supplemental and a 2026 ongoing federal-funded operating request.

The department asked for a $6,700,000 supplemental (federal) to support the first year of the IBHP and a $261,400 ongoing federal operating enhancement for grants administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Williamson said. She…