The Governor’s State of the State speech was delivered remotely on January 12, due to the pandemic and the proposed budget was presented to a joint meeting of the House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means Committee on the morning of January 13. The Budget proposes two merge KDADS and DCF into a single Department of Human Services and includes new spending.
Department of Human Services Enhancements
- $2.0mil for CMHC specialized services in Nursing Facilities for Mental Health
- $5.0mil for statewide mobile response & stabilization
- Provides community-based interventions and individualized care planning
- $3.0mil for family crisis response and support
- Provides any child/youth up to 18 in the community, or any young adult (ages 18 – 21) who is a foster care alum who is experiencing behavioral or psychiatric emergency with rapid, community-based crisis intervention services, regardless of health care insurance status
- Department of Corrections Lansing facility
- Substance abuse program implementation
The Governor cites two key principles for her budget:
1. Respond to the needs highlighted by the pandemic and protect core services, while keeping Kansas on the path of fiscal responsibility and economic growth
• The FY22 Governor’s recommended budget will show investments in IT modernization, transportation, public safety, mental health services, education, and economic development tools
2. Continue building on the work that has been done over the past few years to keep putting tools back into the budget toolbox
• By remaining steadfast in the commitment to restore stability to the state’s finances over the past couple of years, we have been able to weather the financial uncertainty that the pandemic has brought to date
Links to the Governors Budget information:
Budget Overview GBR Volume 1 GBR Volume 2
A Tough Year
It is worth noting that the Governor has prepared her budget recommendations based on forecasts for reduced revenues due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Every agency was asked to submit their agency budget with 10% reductions – then, the Governor and her team worked to reinstate portions or all of the 10% cuts for various agencies. Then, limited enhancements were added.
So, it is very encouraging that Governor Kelly prioritized behavioral health needs for Kansans. Now, the legislative process will take her budget proposal and dissect it, adding and removing funding items according to the priorities of legislators. We are hopeful that the work of the Mental Health Modernization and Reform Committee over the interim will help to keep behavioral health top of mind for legislators in the next few weeks and months.
