The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on Friday announced $42.3 million in new supplemental funding to states and territories through two federal block grants to advance President Trump’s executive order on Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets and accelerate adoption of the Best Practices Toolkit: Addressing Homelessness and Addiction through Treatment First, according to the official HHS/SAMHSA announcement distributed Sept. 18.

An additional $2 million was awarded to the national office and all 10 regional centers of the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network to support implementation, the release said.

“President Trump has directed us to break the cycle of homelessness and addiction by putting treatment, recovery, and self-sufficiency first,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in the announcement. “These investments will help states move people from crisis into treatment and from treatment into lasting recovery, stable housing, and work. We are funding results that help people reclaim their health and independence.”

How the $42.3 million splits

Of the $42.3 million, $17.3 million went to Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) recipients to build systems, partnerships, workforce capacity, policies, and technical infrastructure for Treatment First principles. The release states that funding is focused on technical assistance, training, policy development, and cross-system coordination — not the direct provision of treatment services.

Another $25 million went to Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant (SUPTRS BG) recipients to expand capacity for safe, licensed, certified, or chartered sober and recovery housing nationwide, including training and technical assistance aimed at increasing the supply of recovery residences and strengthening quality and accountability standards.

The SUPTRS supplement is designed to work alongside the $2 million ATTC awards so workforce training, licensure/certification/charter support, and outcome-measurement tools can be shared nationwide, SAMHSA said.

“Treatment First means building a system that does not leave people cycling between homelessness, emergency rooms, and the criminal justice system,” said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher D. Carroll in the release. “These investments will help states strengthen the infrastructure — partnerships, data, workforce, and recovery supports — needed to connect people with serious mental illness and addiction to effective treatment and support them on a path toward lasting recovery, stable housing, employment, and self-sufficiency.”

Federal strings on a policy shift

The awards advance a federal homelessness policy shift that pairs housing with treatment and recovery requirements under the Treatment First model — tying supplemental block-grant dollars to coordination across behavioral health, housing, courts, law enforcement, and homelessness services rather than housing alone. States and territories may use the money to strengthen that cross-system coordination so people can move from crisis into treatment, recovery, and longer-term self-sufficiency, the announcement said.

SAMHSA said the investments aim at measurable progress on treatment engagement, recovery, mental health, stable housing, employment, self-sufficiency, and fewer repeated homelessness and crisis-system episodes. People in crisis can call or text 988 or visit FindTreatment.gov, the release noted.

Sources