Overview
- The cancellations took effect Jan. 13, with notices stating costs after that date are not allowable, leading to immediate layoffs and halted services.
- CBS News reports 2,706 discretionary awards worth roughly $1.9 billion were terminated, with other outlets estimating 2,000 to as many as 2,800 grants.
- Termination letters invoked a regulation allowing cuts when awards no longer effectuate program goals or priorities and described the decisions as final, not suspensions.
- Sources and documents indicate career staff were not broadly informed and that political appointees drove the action during an ongoing SAMHSA reorganization.
- Programs losing support span comprehensive opioid treatment, services for people experiencing homelessness, prison reentry supports, and HIV/hepatitis C prevention, while 988, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, and State Opioid Response funding appear spared as lawmakers and advocates urge reversal.