Earlier this week, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued unexpected grant termination notices to more than 2,000 grantees nationwide, including Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Urban Indian Organizations. These notices cited a shift in agency priorities and would have immediately halted funding for critical mental health, behavioral health, substance use, crisis response, youth services, and related programming. These abrupt terminations triggered significant and rapid concern across Indian Country. Tribal health programs immediately began preparing for service disruptions, staff impacts, and program pauses.
Upon learning of these terminations, NIHB began raising urgent objections to our federal partners. We alerted key partners in the administration and Congress and began collecting data to understand the scope and scale of the funding terminations. Within hours, we collected stories and information from nearly 300 Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Urban Indian Organizations detailing the impact these grant terminations would cause.
By Wednesday afternoon, following widespread backlash from Indian Country, SAMHSA communicated that the terminations would be rescinded and that grant funding would be restored.
This situation underscores the essential need for strong protections for Tribal and Urban Indian behavioral health funding, consistent with the federal trust responsibility and the disproportionate impact of mental health and substance use crises in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Even temporary uncertainty can jeopardize service continuity, workforce retention, and community trust.
We will continue to work closely with Tribal leaders, national partners, and federal agencies to ensure that all affected awards are fully reinstated and to advocate for better safeguards to prevent similar disruptions in the future. If you have not received notice of reinstatement, please contact us at [email protected].
