Workers for Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services spoke positively about Governor Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget, which would allocate a base fund of $20 million to mental health resources, with additional funds being added annually.
Eventually growing to $60 million per year by 2027, this would be the first increase to mental health funding since 2008.
Multiple studies have shown a recent spike in mental health concerns, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One from the Kaiser Family Foundation showed a 30 percent increase in the number of U.S. adults who reported symptoms of anxiety or depression between January 2019 and January 2021. And 23 percent reported an unmet need for counseling.
Dr. Val Arkoosh, acting secretary for Pennsylvania’s DHS, said the budget increase would help expand mental health services, address worker shortages, and make care more accessible.
“Mental health is integral to our overall health, and we must ensure a robust, responsive and behavioral health system to meet Pennsylvanians’ needs,” Arkoosh said.
State law mandates counties provide mental health services — but funding hasn’t kept up with rising demand.
Annie Strite, Cumberland and Perry County Mental Health Services Administrator, told WITF’s The Spark staffing shortages and a lack of funds leads to longer wait times for those who need services. As of March, her agency’s waitlist was larger than its capacity.
Strite said her office is working with a $2.5 million deficit, and she doesn’t think the $20 million will be enough.
She said counties have a lot of responsibilities when it comes to mental health. They provide crisis intervention services, residential services for adults, inpatient and outpatient services and case management services, but they haven’t gotten enough financial support from the state.
Lisa Schaefer, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, told The Spark the $20 million is a good start, but mental health services need continued support.
“I think we view that 20 million as a down payment. It’s a good step toward building that crumbling infrastructure that we’ve been seeing,” Schaefer said. “And if we can build that up, take that increase and then build on it from there, it will certainly help us to make an investment back in the system that has been struggling for so long.”
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