It’s hardly news that the United States is experiencing a mental health crisis — the CDC says as much. But experts in the field say that the current administration has severely compounded the problem by eliminating agency funding and national programs, slashing research grants and data resources, and creating new barriers to behavioral healthcare and what has been referred to as the mental health funding gap.

Philanthropic foundations aim to do what they can to address the shortfall. The numbers, however, just don’t add up.

“Some big foundations and philanthropies have said they’re going to increase what they give out in the next 4 years, but they’ll never be able to fill the gap,” said Morgan F. McDonald, MD, national director of population health at the Milbank Memorial Fund in New York City, which works with states on health policy. “Even if every one of them were to spend down their endowments, they still couldn’t.”

Given the financial limitations, some foundations are taking a different tack. While looking for ways to join forces with fellow nonprofits, they are providing emergency grants and bridge funding in the short term to keep research from grinding to a halt.

Budget Cuts Reach Far and Wide, Exacerbating the Mental Health Funding Gap

Mental health research certainly didn’t escape the extensive grant cancellations at the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

“It’s already affecting our ability to stay on the cutting edge of research, best practices, and treatment approaches,” said Zainab Okolo, EdD, senior vice president of policy, advocacy, and government relations at The Jed Foundation in New York City, which focuses on the emotional health of teens and young adults.

The upheaval is evident in an array of government agencies. The Health Resources and Services Administration, which last year awarded $12 billion in grants to community health centers and addiction treatment services, has seen more than a quarter of its staff eliminated. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has lost more than a third of its staff as federal cuts took a $1 billion bite out of its operating budget. The Education Department has halted $1 billion in grants used to hire mental health workers in school districts nationwide.

Read the full article about bridging the mental health funding gap by Debbie Koenig at Medscape.