In what will be a challenging year for the Congress due to funding constraints on all discretionary spending programs, President Bush’s newly released fiscal year 2007 budget includes a modest cut to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and a more significant 4% cut to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). The Administration’s budget numbers are used as a guideline for the House and Senate Appropriations Committees; although, the final funding levels negotiated between the House and Senate are often different from the original numbers.

Under the President’s recommended budget, the CMHS is slated for a 4% cut from last year’s funding level, with most of this being absorbed by the various programs under the agency’s Programs of Regional National Significance (PRNS). Key CMHS programs of interest to AACAP members, such as the Children’s Mental Health Services Program and the Child Post Traumatic Stress Disorder program, receive level funding (same as last year’s level). The State Improvement Grant’s (SIG), which were first created two years ago to fund state mental health systems transformation, are slated for a cut of just under $10 million.

The next phase of the budget process will come later this year when House and Senate Appropriations Committees publish their funding levels. The AACAP will work with other mental health organizations to maintain, and in cases where possible, increase funding levels for mental health services research and services, and will alert members when their action is needed.