Idaho behavioral health budget request seeks federal carryover, transfer flexibilities

Alex Williamson, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, presented the Division of Mental Health Services budget and told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee the division now has 278.23 full-time positions after committee action and that budget pages are on 2-091 of the legislative book.

The agency asked the committee for a supplemental appropriation to access federal grant funds tied to the Idaho Behavioral Health Plan (IBHP) and for broader authority to transfer funds between program categories. "There are three federal grants issued to Idaho in relation to Go Live," Williamson said, and the department is seeking a fiscal-year-2025 supplemental of $6,700,000 (federal, one-time) plus a 2026 ongoing federal operating increase of $261,400 to cover grant-administered operating expenditures.

Why it matters: those federal grants were appropriated to an earlier year (2022) and, because IBHP experienced implementation delays and went live in July 2024, the department needs legislative authority now to access those grant dollars. The division also asked for exemptions to statutory…