Commission will oversee $100M in mental and behavioral health funding statewide

HARRISBURG, Aug. 8 – State Rep. Mike Schlossberg today announced House Minority Leader Joanna McClinton has appointed him the Democratic Caucus representative to the Behavioral Health Commission for Adult Mental Health.

The commission will allocate the $100 million to improve mental health services in Pennsylvania that was passed in the 2022-23 state budget.

“When I introduced my HOPE for PA plan earlier this summer, my goal was to improve mental and behavioral health care in Pennsylvania,” said Schlossberg, D-Lehigh. “The 2022-2023 budget made good on that effort, allocating $100 million and creating a Blue-Ribbon Panel to create a plan that delivers. I want to thank Leader McClinton for this appointment, it is an honor to represent the Caucus to continue this important work.”

The HOPE for PA plan will provide funding in the following categories:

• $40 million for public safety, creating safe and healthy communities.
• $30 million to address provider and capacity shortages, thus improving care.
• $30 million for training, education and outreach, which would help more people.

More details can be found here.

Schlossberg added, “Our mental health care system is broken. More resources, focused on care and our communities, are needed to fix it. We have a big task ahead of us, but I think we are up for the challenge.”

 

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Thomas LeClair
House Democratic Communications Office

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