Important Information

July 17, 2025

Special ‘Members Only’ Webinar

Friday, July 18 at 10:00

Implications of HHS Reinterpretation of ‘federal public benefit’ in PRWORA w/ NYS Council attorneys from Feldesman, LLP

The NYS Council will be hosting a special ‘Members Only’ Webinar on Friday morning, July 18 at 10:00 a.m. featuring our legal consultants at Feldesman, LLP. We will review HHS’ (revised) interpretation of the term “federal public benefit” as used in Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), 8 U.S.C. and discuss the implications of this change on our member agencies and the individuals they serve.

We have set up a Zoom meeting event for this webinar, and you can register here. You will receive a confirm from Feldesman, LLP:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4Pn5HoEoSdWcbUMuzwX8Vw.

New Restrictions on Providing Federal Public Benefits to Noncitizens: Implications for NYS Council Member Agencies

Date & Time

Jul 18, 2025 10:00 AM

Description

The Department of Health and Human Services issued a notice reinterpreting the term “Federal public benefit” used in Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). The new definition will prohibit programs funded under the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics Program, Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant, including grant programs administered by SAMHSA, to be provided to individuals who are not U.S. citizens or “qualified aliens.” At the same time, PRWORA exempts nonprofit charitable organizations from any requirement to determine, verify, or otherwise require proof of eligibility of any applicant for benefits. Join this webinar for a discussion of who is now eligible for services, collection of data, and the provision of services under your federal funding, as well as what subsequent federal issuances we may expect.

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We will discuss the information (below) along with related federal and state issues during our Thursday morning call this morning starting at 9:15. Here’s the link to access the call:

NYS Council Weekly Member Support Call Weekly Call

Thursday, July 17, 9:15 – 10:00

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86270941266?pwd=OUFFSTRSaWZDOFRVNk8xUHBXY3Z5QT09
Meeting ID: 862 7094 1266
Passcode: 619723

Breaking News:

NYS Council members should be aware that states that receive federal funds through the Overdose Data to Action Program (OD2A) federal grant program must now deal with a change in the manner in which federal funding is distributed to awardees.

In NYS, these funds appear to support the DoH State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System where data regarding overdose is tracked by the Office of Drug User Health in conjunction with the AIDS Institute. It’s not clear to me how many different NYS public health programs receive these federal funds. Please send me a note if your agency currently has an award related to this federal program. I will ask DoH for a list of potentially impacted providers, if any. It may be that the majority of funds are used for state data tracking efforts and the funds are not going to local providers. I will research but in the meantime I want you to know what’s happening.

Note: This is as good an example as I can find for why it is so important to understand where current funding for your programs and services originates, and that’s what makes the exercise we engaged our members in over a month ago to track your funds using the Spreadsheet we distributed and to participate in the ‘Planning for an Uncertain Future’ Learning Collaborative we are hosting, so useful and important. If you are not working on tracking where your funding comes from, now is a great time to start! Ask me how to start the exercise. We are here to help!

Here’s more:

The Trump administration announced that the federal Overdose Data to Action grants (OD2A) that are typically awarded to states and public health authorities through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will now be dispersed in increments rather than a single annual payment. This will most certainly delay payments to awardees, and it demonstrates the kinds of challenges we continue to face as the Trump Administration changes the rules of the road at will.

What is OD2A?

The OD2A program, run by the CDC, aims to address the overdose crisis by supporting state and local health departments in collecting and utilizing data to inform prevention strategies and response efforts. This includes activities such as:

Tracking nonfatal and fatal overdoses and emerging threats.
Promoting overdose surveillance strategies.
Implementing evidence-based and promising interventions to reduce overdose morbidity and mortality.
Emphasizing health equity and addressing disparities in overdose prevention.

In 2023, the CDC announced two new OD2A funding opportunities: Overdose Data to Action in States (OD2A-S) and Overdose Data to Action: Limiting Overdose through Collaborative Actions in Localities (OD2A: LOCAL), to continue and expand upon the work of the previous program.

Here’s more from NPR national addition reporter Brian Mann. By the way, yesterday the Senate voted to cut public funding for NPR and other public broadcasting organizations such as NPR:

White House says U.S. fentanyl overdose programs will be funded ‘in increments’

By Brian Mann

Published July 17, 2025 at 12:10 AM EDT

Greg Swan, whose son Drew died as a result of a fentanyl-related substance, looks on as President Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House. The president signed the HALT Fentanyl Act, which aims to permanently classify all fentanyl-related substances as schedule I controlled substances and aid law enforcement in prosecuting trafficking and manufacturing offenses.

The White House says a key national fentanyl overdose prevention grant program, currently underfunded by roughly $140 million, will eventually be fully paid for, but with a catch.

The federal money allocated by Congress will now be given out “in increments” rather than a single annual payment.

Administration officials issued a statement about the future of the Overdose Data To Action or OD2A program, run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after NPR reported on growing concerns among CDC staffers.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because they fear retribution for speaking with the press without authorization, four CDC staffers said it appears the grant money would be delayed past a key Sept. 1 deadline, when the current round of funding runs out, or could disappear altogether.

“The announcement [of delays] alone could trigger layoffs and program shutdowns,” one CDC staffer said. “It could really start a chain reaction that’s hard to come back from.”

In the statement sent late Wednesday to NPR, White House spokesman Kush Desai said the OD2A program is not threatened and the “funds will continue to be disbursed in increments.”

The Department of Health and Human Services sent a separate statement to NPR saying the CDC “remains committed” to OD2A funding because it “directly aligns with administration priorities.”

But sources inside the CDC say it’s unclear how public health and addiction programs around the country will operate — hiring staff, signing contracts, and offering complex medical services — when roughly half their funding remains uncertain.

“A verbal commitment is not a contractual commitment,” said one CDC staffer, who said the administration’s system for reviewing and approving grants remains opaque. “This administration changes its mind a lot. We don’t even know why we only have 50 percent [of the OD2a funding] at this point.”

A second CDC staffer voiced similar concern: “All any state or local health department can spend is what’s in their bank account. IOUs don’t work in the public health world. They cannot assume the full amount is coming and spend accordingly.”

Administration officials declined to say why they’ve shifted to dolling out key public health dollars in incremental payments rather than annual disbursements. They also wouldn’t offer a timeline for when the remaining $140 million in OD2A funds might be sent to CDC for distribution.

Desai, the White House spokesman, suggested state and local public health departments should trust Trump to follow through on overdose prevention funding because he has made fighting fentanyl a key part of his second term.

“President Trump has done more than any other president to address America’s devastating fentanyl epidemic,” Desai said, pointing to efforts to secure the border, target drug cartels and Trump’s signing on Wednesday of the HALT Fentanyl Act that toughened criminal penalties for fentanyl trafficking.

But CDC staffers said the Trump administration has lost trust in recent months among many state and local health officials after clawing back billions of dollars in COVID-19related grants and withholding funds for other public health grants managed by CDC, without offering explanation as to why.

Public health officials around the U.S., meanwhile, say the abrupt shift in funding for the OD2A overdose and addiction grants occurred without planning or communication, forcing some to pause future spending that relies on the federal funds.

Vermont’s Department of Health said there is “a lot of uncertainty” surrounding the funding, in a statement shared with NPR. Vermont officials said they have been warned by the CDC that OD2A funds will be delayed and may be cut. Vermont has paused spending “until we have more clarity about the future of this funding.”

CDC staffers said they also lack internal accounting systems needed to distribute money in the incremental way described by White House officials, especially when it’s unclear how grants will be reviewed or when the funds might be approved.

“Unfortunately the federal government is not nimble,” one CDC staffer said. “We will put out the money we have and [state and local public health departments] will have to do what they can.”