More than $50 million is available to help community hospitals expand access to mental health care for children and adults, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Thursday.
The funding will allow these facilities to add new inpatient capacity. Awards of up to $5 million will be made to cover the design, property acquisition and construction costs associated with this expansion. Eligible facilities include Article 28 accredited general hospitals and freestanding Article 31 psychiatric hospitals, which operate programs approved or certified by and in good standing with the state mental health agency.
It comes from the governor's $1 billion investment in mental health care.
“For too long, the mental health crisis has been ignored or pushed aside – but not anymore,” Hochul said. “Our $1 billion investment is transforming the mental health continuum of care, and our State of the State initiatives will make real change in the lives of millions of children.”
The state will also provide additional funding to Children's Community Residences, which will also focus on youth with child welfare involvement.
Mental health was a pillar of Hochul's State of the State address earlier this week, in which she proposed expanding the number of available psychiatric beds in the state by 200, establishing school-based mental health clinics and expanding support and treatment programs.
