A joint public hearing and subsequent committee votes approved the state's federal fiscal year 2026 block grant allocation plans for substance use prevention, community mental health, maternal and child health, preventive public health, the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG).

The plans, presented by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), the Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Social Services (DSS), generally maintain flat federal funding levels from FY25 while adjusting some line items to absorb expiring pandemic grants, expand peer workforce work and support regional suicide-prevention efforts. Appropriations approved the package in final committee action (tally recorded in committee: 42 yes, 0 no).

Why it matters: these block grants fund prevention, treatment and community supports across the state's behavioral-health and public-health systems and are used by local providers for services ranging from crisis response and housing outreach to food pantries and weatherization. Changes in how the state uses one-time carryover funds and the planned peer credentialing pilot will affect workforce development and short-term continuity of services if federal pandemic-era grants wind down.

Most important changes and agency priorities

Nancy Navarretta, commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, told committees DMHAS is requesting approval of two allocation plans: the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Services block grant and the Community Mental Health Services block grant (adult portion, with a portion shared with DCF for children). Navarretta said the substance-use grant "requires us to set aside at least 20% of the funds for what's called primary prevention strategies" and that the department "exceeded at 26%." She described modest timing-related differences between FY25 and FY26 allocations that arise from invoice timing and said DMHAS is retaining a larger carryforward in FY26 to prepare for the end of multiple federal pandemic-era grants. Navarretta summarized services funded by the grants: detox, residential care levels, outpatient and medication-assisted treatment, peer and community supports, transportation and prevention.

Key program adjustments called out by DMHAS and DCF

- Recovery support services: DMHAS said funding is increased to cover three programs previously paid with expiring federal sources (the Access line/call center and associated transportation providers; embedded behavioral-health services for survivors of domestic violence in four shelters through CCADV; and SOAR outreach and case management for people who are unhoused or at risk of homelessness).

- Peer workforce credentialing: both DMHAS and DCF proposed using a combined $50,000 from the two block grants to develop, pilot and implement a peer credentialing exam. Navarretta described the expense as a one-time investment to establish a standardized exam and said the plan includes a grandfathering process for existing credential holders. "We are integrating the competencies that are put forth by SAMHSA into what we would expect people to know," she said.

- Suicide prevention and regional supports: DMHAS proposed increased funding for regional behavioral health action organizations (RBHAOs) to support regional suicide advisory boards and local suicide-prevention response. Navarretta said the increase will "enable a local response to suicide prevention."

- Crisis response: the community mental health services plan increases funding to annualize a crisis respite program started in April 2025. DCF and DMHAS described the increase as supporting emergency crisis response and prevention capacity.

- Timing and carryforward: multiple presenters and committee members discussed invoice timing as the reason some line items appear higher or lower year over year. DMHAS and DCF explained that invoice timing and one-time projects or trainings that ended account for many differences; DMHAS emphasized it is retaining a larger carryforward "to prepare for the end of various federal grants that were received during the pandemic." Committees were told carryforward must be spent within two years.

Clarifications and oversight points raised by legislators

Committee members pressed agencies on several oversight points during Q&A:
- Whether the expanded recovery-support items use opioid-settlement dollars (Navarretta: no).
- Why some pilot programs were small (Navarretta described a mobile buprenorphine induction service that served 27 people in a year and said clients were transitioned to established providers when the pilot ended).
- How the departments assess provider performance and efficiency (Navarretta described targeted monitoring, a public-facing report card and internal quality reports).
- How the peer credentialing pilot relates to national standards (DMHAS said the exam will incorporate SAMHSA competencies and allow grandfathering for current credential holders).

Department of Children and Families numbers and corrections

Dr. Nicole Taylor of DCF presented the children's portion of the community mental health services block grant and outlined modest reductions tied to completed trainings or projects, reallocation of activities to other grants, and invoice timing. DCF and the Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA) noted differences between OFA's tabulation of expenditures and the agencies' proposed allocations; staff explained those differences reflect invoice timing and whether rows compare proposed-to-proposed figures or proposed-to-actual spending. DCF also requested a technical correction to Table A (a summing error) that committees required be noted in the motion language.

Other agency presentations

DPH presented flat funding proposals for the Preventive Health and Health Services block grant (about $2.4 million proposed) and the Maternal and Child Health block grant (about $4.48 million proposed), and explained the grants' targeted set-asides and advisory bodies they support, including the Connecticut Maternal and Child Health Coalition and a reproductive-justice alliance.

DSS presented CSBG and SSBG allocation plans: CSBG (about $9.2 million estimated federal funding) supports community action agencies that deliver anti-poverty services; DSS said it negotiated a new allocation approach with the nine community action agencies and will continue to provide administrative oversight. DSS said it will use carryforward dollars, in part, to help cover recent cost-of-living adjustments for providers; DSS noted that carryforward is one-time funding and agencies understand its limited duration.

Public testimony

Representatives from the Connecticut Association for Community Action and local community action agencies described CSBG-funded services including mobile food pantries, emergency winter shelter and housing preservation projects. Testimony also included an objection from a community speaker to Planned Parenthood receiving certain funds; committees noted public testimony and proceeded to committee votes.

Votes at a glance

- Final Appropriations committee approval (motion to approve the FY26 allocation plans covering maternal and child health services; preventive health; substance use prevention, treatment and recovery services; community mental health services (with the technical correction to Table A); Social Services Block Grant; and Community Services Block Grant): outcome approved, recorded committee tally 42 yes, 0 no, 11 absent. (Motion mover: Representative Walker; seconder: Representative Nuccio; final passage recorded by the Appropriations clerk.)

- Earlier committee approvals: Public Health and Human Services committees held similar motions and recorded committee-level approvals prior to the Appropriations action; chairs and clerks recorded voice and roll-call tallies during the meeting record.

What the approvals do and what remains uncertain

The approved allocations keep core prevention, treatment and community-support services funded at levels similar to FY25 while making targeted investments in peer workforce credentialing and regional suicide-prevention supports. Agencies emphasized the use of a larger carryforward in FY26 to bridge the end of pandemic-era federal grants; committees asked agencies to provide additional line-item breakdowns and monitoring details, including a requested breakdown of the $10,000,000 recovery support services allocation. Committees required that the technical correction to Table A be noted when the community mental health services plan is adopted.

Who spoke (selected)

"We are required to set aside at least 20% of the funds for what's called primary prevention strategies," Nancy Navarretta, commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, said. "We exceeded at 26%."

"We will continue to serve everyone that calls the line," Navarretta added, describing the state's handling of suicide-hotline calls after recent federal changes.

Dr. Nicole Taylor, chief administrator for behavioral health and well-being at the Department of Children and Families, described the children's portion of the community mental health services plan and the basis for modest reductions tied to completed trainings and contract closeouts.

Where to get more detail

Committee members asked agencies to provide supplemental detail: a) a breakdown of recovery-support service allocations within the $10,000,000 figure identified in testimony; b) a list of services funded by the one-time carryforward that agencies plan to sustain; and c) corrected Table A numbers requested by DMHAS for the record. Agencies said those materials are available in their written testimony and in the OFA analysis and that they will provide follow-up to committee staff.

Ending

Committees approved the FY26 block grant plans so the state may meet the federal submission deadline and continue funding prevention, treatment and community supports across behavioral-health and public-health systems. Agencies and committee staff will circulate corrected tables and requested line-item breakouts for legislative files and ongoing oversight.