Department of Mental Health presents FY27 budget seek for liaisons, housing and mobile clinics

Commissioner Williams presented the Department of Mental Health's FY27 proposed budget to the Senate Health & Welfare Committee, highlighting outcome metrics and funding requests.

The commissioner said the department's initiatives — including school-based behavioral health liaisons, Project Rural Recovery mobile clinics, criminal-justice liaison expansion, and a workforce scholarship program — have produced measurable outcomes (for example, reported reductions in overdose deaths and expanded county coverage for liaison services). Key budget items presented included $3,000,000 recurring to add 43 school-based behavioral health liaisons (funded from the K-12 Mental Health Trust Fund), $5,000,000 nonrecurring for the Creating Homes Initiative to add about 100 permanent supportive housing beds, $3,822,700 nonrecurring to expand mobile clinics, and scholarship and workforce investments.

Committee members praised progress (including a noted decline in overdose deaths) but pressed for details on program costs, metrics and capacity to hire. The department described monitoring and evaluation through its Office of Evidence and Impact and said it routinely audits and monitors grantees. Members also asked whether opioid abatement funds or other sources could be applied to new initiatives; the opioid-abatement executive director described grant criteria and fund balances and agreed to follow up on eligibility questions.

The committee voted to move the budget to the finance committee for further consideration.