Report warns funding losses could reduce youth mental health teams

The Department of Mental Health reports that funding losses could reduce youth treatment teams from seven to three. The teams serve people under 22 with serious emotional difficulties whom traditional office or community services have not helped. The forecast combines about $4 million in expiring federal pandemic aid with a proposed $1.5 million state funding reduction. The report does not itself cut funding or close teams. The proposed state funding reduction concerns fiscal year 2026; the report describes the federal aid loss as occurring in the upcoming year.