January 28, 2022

Good afternoon,

Yesterday morning during our weekly NYS Council Member Support and Public Policy call we were joined by Emil Slane, CFO at OMH. During the call a NYS Council member brought up the fact that her agency had a SAMHSA Expansion Grant that is set to expire on 4/30. NYS Council members should be aware that, to date, SAMHSA has not released the Expansion Grant RFP that was anticipated for release in early December. That RFP would have permitted agencies with an expiring SAMHSA Expansion Grant to apply for continued funding for their services. Other NYS Council members with the same problem (an expiring Expansion Grant) spoke to the crisis that is already unfolding in their organizations as they contemplate closure of their Expansion Grant programs and services that provide critical mental health and substance use disorder services to so many New Yorkers, and that employ so many valued staff. Since Emil was on the call, we shared our desperation and requested OMH assistance. We also noted that we would seek assistance on behalf of our impacted members from the Department of Health.

Linked please find a letter I sent to NYS Medicaid Director Brett Friedman this morning. I ‘cc’d’ the appropriate state agency leaders and then I called the National Council requesting their assistance. Stand by for updates.

———- Forwarded message ———

Good morning Brett,

I hope this note finds you well.

Attached please find a letter from the NYS Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. We are seeking your assistance with an imminent crisis facing our service delivery system and the individuals that currently receive mental health and substance use disorder services through a federal grant program that appears to be significantly delayed.

I remain available to you at (518) 461-8200 at your convenience.

Many thanks in advance for your consideration.

Respectfully submitted,
Lauri Cole