FY2026 Annual Report

12 75 th Anniversary Federal Budget and Advocacy Successes A very significant NJAMHAA advocacy success at the federal level occurred in January of 2026. When sudden terminations of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants were announced, NJAMHAA was quick to take action to reverse them. These cuts would have decimated many critical, life-saving programs. NJAMHAA reached out to its members for details and President and CEO Debra Wentz immediately contacted then-Attorney General (AG) Matthew Platkin to provide information and then continued to work with the AG’s Office. At the same time, NJAMHAA collaborated with our national partners in writing to New Jersey’s Congressional representatives and sent immediate and repeated alerts to members, urging them to do the same. Collectively, we were successful in having the grant terminations rescinded within 24 hours! NJAMHAA’s advocacy never pauses and its federal agenda is broad. It includes, of course, requests to protect Medicaid, Social Security Disability, Social Security, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other safety net programs, but also focuses on: the IMD [Institutions for Mental Disease] Exclusion; parity; Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) model permanence; Medicare lifetime limits; and legislation supporting re-entry services, peers and reauthorization of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, a critical statute on opioid use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery services. NJAMHAA regularly contacts New Jersey’s Congressional delegation on all these issues, as well as on the federal budget, legislation, regulation and policy issues that arise. It also continually joins national efforts undertaken by the many associations it belongs to and collaborates with. Among them are the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (National Council), the Legal Action Center (LAC), the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Mental Health America and the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare (NABH). I n particular, NJAMHAA works closely on federal advocacy with the National Council – sometimes joining in their efforts, other times taking up advocacy alone that aligns with the National Council’s agendas, and often collaborating behind the scenes on both types of efforts. Last fall, NJAMHAA once again joined several of its members and others from across the state and the country to participate in the National Council’s Hill Day in October 2025 in Washington, D.C. Advocacy was focused on CCBHCs, increased appropriations for mental health and substance use treatment and support services, reentry services and peers. Together, we realized an enormous success when the Health and Human Services appropriations bill was passed in February for federal FY2026 and all the major mental health and substance use funding streams were, at a minimum, flat compared to prior years, but with more than half receiving increases! This was quite an accomplishment given the current fiscal and policy environment. Most recently, NJAMHAA participated in the National Council’s virtual policy institute that was part of Hill Day 2026 and will continue to bring that agenda, along with other items unique to New Jersey, to our Congressional delegation in the coming months. Hill Day