Overview
- CBS News reports 2,706 discretionary grants valued at roughly $1.9 billion were terminated effective Jan. 13, according to a source and termination notices.
- Letters to grantees cite “non-alignment with SAMHSA priorities,” and sources say political appointees, not career officials, made the decision during a broader HHS reorganization led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Documents reviewed by reporters show cuts reached programs providing opioid treatment, services for people experiencing homelessness, prison reentry support, and HIV and hepatitis C prevention, with advocates warning of layoffs and immediate service disruptions.
- Some marquee efforts appear preserved, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, and State Opioid Response funding, though related technical assistance was terminated.
- Lawmakers and groups such as NAMI condemned the cancellations as undercutting bipartisan appropriations and called for reversal, while HHS and SAMHSA have not issued formal explanations of the full scope.