Connecticut nonprofits are breathing a sigh of relief after the Trump administration on Wednesday reversed $2 billion in sudden cuts to mental health and substance abuse programs.
The cuts were announced Tuesday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), but quickly reversed after widespread outcry from providers and members of Congress.
“After national outrage, Secretary [Robert] Kennedy has bowed to public pressure and reinstated $2 billion in SAMHSA grants that save lives,” U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement..
“These are cuts he should not have issued in the first place. Our policy must be thoughtful – not haphazard and chaotic. This episode has only created uncertainty and confusion for families and health care providers.”
DeLauro hoped the reversal served what she called a “lesson learned” that “Congress holds the power of the purse, and the Secretary must follow the law.”
In Connecticut, the SAMHSA grants include an estimated $9 million for school-based trauma treatment, and peer support and family support programs provided by some of the state’s largest providers, according to the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance.
The providers included Wheeler Clinic, McCall Behavioral Health, Community Health Resources, Rushford and Bridges Healthcare.
Nonprofit heads said SAMHSA’S sudden announcement led to panic and confusion.
“There was an absolute lack of warning, no indication at all that any of these grants, in any which way, would be jeopardized,” said Sabrina Trocchi, CEO of Wheeler Clinic.
Connecticut Public reviewed a copy of SAMHSA’S letter terminating the grants. It stated the agency was adopting a new direction toward “innovations in grant making – developing grants tailored to states and communities that provide services and supports to effect immediate and positive health changes in the people and communities we serve.”
Trocchi said the SAMHSA letter made no sense.
“The reason that is cited is that the termination of the awards was made because they no longer effectuate the program goals or agency priorities, which makes absolutely no sense since the focus of these grants is mental health substance abuse, which is 100% the charge of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,” she said.
Before the cuts were reversed, Wheeler Clinic lost $1.5 million across three programs that serve 800 people, including a program to support formerly incarcerated people.
“We provide the clinical supports, access to health care, supports with housing and employment and other related social services,” Trocchi said.
The re-entry program is funded through September 2028. Latest data from Wheeler showed 97% of the participants had no arrests in the last 30 days, and 33% had a permanent place to live.
