The Oregon Health Agency detailed spending and allocation of a $1.3 billion package from the state legislature aimed at transforming the state's behavioral health system, according to a Sept. 20 news release.
The Behavioral Health Investment Report details $845 million spent to date. The agency expects to spend or obligate an additional $291 million by the end of 2022, bringing the total to $1.1 billion, or 84 percent of the allocated funding.
The spending over the remaining three months of this year will focus on:
- $67 million for construction and renovation projects to increase the number of behavioral health beds in Oregon
- $30 million in workforce grants to provide scholarships, tuition assistance, and other support to diversify the behavioral health workforce
- $155 million in behavioral health provider rate increases to sustain and support behavioral health services.
- $41 million for various behavioral health programs, including Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, substance use disorder funds, and other system and accountability programs.
"We’re grateful for the legislature’s historic increase in behavioral health funding, which is helping to correct years of underinvestment. We have more work to do, but we’re building a system that can address the full range of services people need to get in treatment, sustain their recovery and lead full and productive lives," said Oregon Behavioral Health Director Steve Allen.