The Children’s Hospital Association’s (CHA) review of governors’ proposed fiscal year (FY) 2025 state budgets indicates that governors continue to focus on investing in children’s and youth behavioral health programs.
Key themes from the proposed FY 2025 budgets include a focus on expanding school-based behavioral health services, strengthening the behavioral health workforce, and investing in Medicaid support for behavioral health services. Below are highlights from the CHA state behavioral health policy tracker of governors’ proposed funding for youth behavioral health initiatives.
Note: While the proposed budgets highlight governors’ priorities, they do not have the force of law. The CHA FY 2025 tracker will be updated after most state legislatures have completed action on their budgets.
Targeting funding to children’s hospitals
Four governors (Florida, Montana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee) proposed funding for initiatives that target financial support towards children’s hospitals’ behavioral health care efforts.
Expanding school-based behavioral health services
Nineteen proposed budgets include funding for school-based behavioral health initiatives.
- Nine budgets include increases to the number of school behavioral health providers.
- Fifteen budgets propose funding to expand access to behavioral health services in schools.
Addressing shortages in the behavioral health workforce
Eighteen proposed budgets include investments in the behavioral health workforce. Four of these budgets include initiatives targeting pediatric providers and are inclusive of pediatric providers.
- Eleven budgets target funding towards behavioral health provider loan repayment programs.
- Thirteen budgets propose to fund recruitment and retention initiatives.
Investing in Medicaid
Fourteen proposed budgets include measures to enhance Medicaid support for behavioral health services in their states.
- Thirteen budgets include increases for Medicaid reimbursement rates for behavioral health providers.
- Two budgets include investments that would expand access to behavioral health services in schools for children covered by Medicaid.
