JFAC reviews substance-abuse budget: opioid grants, Millennium funds and a federal administrative-cap correction action

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee reviewed the Department of Health and Welfare's Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention budget, discussing multi-year federal opioid funding, Millennium Income Fund allocations for recovery services and a corrective-action issue with federal grant-administration caps.

Key funding items

Analysts said an $8,000,000 state opioid-response grant was approved earlier and made ongoing in FY 2024. The division also received ongoing enhancements tied to Millennium Income Fund dollars: $1,350,000 to support community-based recovery centers and $250,000 to sustain the Idaho Drug Free Youth program.

Federal corrective action and proposed fund swaps

The department said federal guidance for the Substance Use Block Grant capped administrative (personnel) spending at 5% and placed Idaho on a corrective-action plan because the state exceeded that cap. To remain operationally staffed while complying with the cap, the department requested approval to shift personnel costs onto liquor-control funds and allocate more of the federal grant toward trustee and benefit payments.

Analyst Alex Williamson summarized the technical fix: the agency is asking to move $533,900 from liquor-control funds to operating expenditures to cover personnel, while moving $673,900 from personnel to trustee and benefit payments on the federal side, a swap designed to bring the federal spending ratios back into compliance while maintaining staffing levels.

Committee reaction and department response

Senator Cook characterized the approach as circumventing the federal admonition: "It sounds like we got our hands slapped because we were spending too much on administrative fees. And instead of fixing the problem, we're just going to shift some money, so it doesn't look like we stay underneath the 5%. Is that what we're doing?"

Director Adams answered that the department proposed net changes and also reduced staff in the program: "This entire budgeted program goes from 16 FTP to 12, so it's a net reduction of 4 FTP. You'll also see in personnel costs . . . the request for '26 . . . drops to 1,290,000." He said the department took actions to reduce ongoing personnel exposure while using available dedicated funds to pay staff where allowed.

Other items: opioid settlement and recovery programs

The division received a $1,200,000 one-time appropriation for opioid-settlement recommendations and used some settlement and Millennium Fund dollars to pass through grants including a Boise State collegiate recovery program and local recovery centers. Director Adams reported a brief update on one Boise State-funded collegiate recovery initiative: "BSU staff have established the collegiate recovery program on campus. Today, they have hosted 7 social events for 375 students," he said, and added that the department is a pass-through for those funds and has no operational control over program activities.

Ending

Committee members pressed for documentation of outcomes and performance metrics for programs funded through settlements and Millennium funds. Staff agreed to provide more detailed reports on performance measures and on the mechanics of the proposed fund swaps to comply with federal administrative limits.