Click here to view HMHK’s first-of-its kind-study calling for a $195 million investment to address the workforce crisis forcing children and families onto years-long waitlists for life-saving behavioral health supports

NEW YORK – Citizens’ Committee for Children on New York Executive Director Jennifer March issued the following statement on behalf of the Campaign for Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids in response to the Fiscal Year 2025 New York State Budget:

“The Campaign for Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids is grateful for the $45 million in funding allocated in the governor’s executive budget to school-based mental health clinics and peer-to-peer support that expands access to resources for young people and better addresses challenges outside the home and at school. Similarly, we are relieved to see $9.6 million in increased funding for new Youth Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams that provide wrap-around support for acute care to manage serious mental health issues. We also applaud the proposals that would require commercial insurers to reimburse at or above Medicaid rates for outpatient behavioral health care. The executive budget also includes a federally approved 1115 Medicaid waiver that is designed to reduce health disparities and ensure all New Yorkers have access to the care they require. While we await greater detail, we can say that this goal aligns closely with our campaign priorities.

We have an opportunity to meet the needs of children and adolescents without stigma and to dramatically bolster community-based services to address the severe wait times and workforce challenges that plague a chronically underinvested in mental health system. Our rate study details the $195 million investment needed to adjust outpatient mental health rates to reflect the complexity of serving children and families, keep rates on pace with inflation, as well as compensate providers for their coordination of services with a growing array of care managers.

Targeted investments for youth and children must become a larger portion of the state’s policy agenda. We need an enacted budget that prioritizes building a workforce and increasing service capacity to meet demand in order to achieve improved behavioral health outcomes for children and adolescents statewide.”

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ABOUT The Campaign for Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids

The Campaign for Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids is a statewide coalition of behavioral health providers, advocates, and New York families, joining together to create the public and political will necessary to ensure all children and adolescents in New York receive the high-quality behavioral health services they need.