Several advocacy groups are concerned that time is running out to adequately fund mental health initiatives like Gary’s mobile crisis response team under existing budget proposals in the Indiana General Assembly.
Faith in Indiana and the Interfaith Action Network (IAN) have called on the Indiana legislators to fully fund proposals that would expand access to mental health services across the state.
On Thursday, Indiana Senate Republicans revealed their proposed budget for 2024-2025, which included a general fund appropriation of $35 million spread over two years to implement Senate Bill 1. The legislation would bolster Indiana’s mental health infrastructure with a mental health helpline, crisis response resources and additional mental health facilities.
But the number falls well short of the amount sought by the bill’s advocates.
In September, the Indiana Behavioral Health Commission released a report in which it estimated the total cost of implementing the crisis response system at just over $130 million annually. The $35 million dollars — $15 million during the first year and $20 million during the second — will fund behavioral community health clinics but not the state’s 988 mental health helpline or the implementation of mobile crisis response teams. The latter two programs are intended to supplement and in some cases provide an alternative to existing 911 and police services.
In a statement released on Friday, IAN member Rabbi Len Zukrow framed funding the bill’s mental health programs as a sacred duty to those in need.
“Funding of SB1 is an opportunity to be holy in service of our fellow human beings who happen to be in need of mental and spiritual care. Any member of a faith community, any one who claims to be spiritual has to see the value in such a command,” he wrote. “We are calling on the legislature to fund this bill to help us all be closer to the divine as we act rather than stand idly by.”
Legislators have considered a number of different options to secure additional funding, including raising taxes on alcohol or cigarettes or implementing a monthly cell phone fee.
Haniah Davis, an organizer with Faith in Indiana, said that the organization supports the latter approach, which was also recommended by the Behavioral Health Commission’s report. It promises, she said, to be the most politically expedient in an often-tax hostile state.
“Most Hoosiers don’t want to see their taxes increase on anything,” Davis said, but they might still be amenable to a $1 a month fee.
Faith in Indiana, a statewide activist organization, has working closely with the Northwest Indiana-based IAN for over a year, and IAN is in the process of becoming an official Faith in Indiana chapter. The two organizations have been vocal advocates for the passage and funding of Senate Bill 1 throughout its journey through the State House.
Earlier this year, both groups celebrated a major win for mental health resources in the city of Gary. In March, the Gary Common Council voted to allocate $1.5 million from the city’s American Rescue Plan funds towards the creation of a mobile crisis response team, which will make mental health professionals part of the city’s emergency response system, in addition to police and other emergency services. The city’s next step is to identify a partner who can provide emergency mental health services for Gary’s residents.
Senator Eddie Melton, D-Gary, proposed an amendment that would raise the state’s tax on cigarettes by 150% — by increasing the existing $0.99 per pack tax by $1.50 — with revenue being split between mental health and tobacco use prevention programs. He framed the plan as a win-win scenario for the state.
“Raising the cigarette tax has been a long-time effort by my caucus for both its health benefits and the positive impact on healthcare costs,” Melton wrote in a statement to the Post-Tribune. “Tobacco use costs Indiana $3.4 billion in annual healthcare costs with Medicaid taking a $634 million hit, and we have the eighth-highest smoking rate in the nation. Raising that tax would help address those numbers and promote a healthier state while also providing us with an ongoing stream of revenue to support both Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 4.”
Senator Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, introduced an amendment to the budget bill that would appropriate a total of $200 million over two years from the state’s general fund to fund the 988 helpline and crisis intervention teams. With a sizable budget surplus available, he said the state can afford to implement the programs without an immediate plan for drawing in additional revenue.
“Our argument is that regardless of which fund my Republican colleagues are interested in, they can think about it, they can take their time, they can bring it in the future and they can deposit those dollars in the general fund after they figure it out,” he said. “We cannot wait for the crisis to continue to grow. It’s time to act.”
The General Assembly must wrap up business by April 29.
In the event that the state legislature does not deliver full funding for Senate Bill 1’s provisions, Davis hopes that the Gary program, once implemented, will serve as an example of the good that such initiatives can bring.
“We will continue talking about these issues, because these issues will continue to be relevant, for as long as we need to,” she said. “We plan on lifting up those communities that already have this in place to kind of show that to legislators and be like, ‘look, this is working. This is why we need this money.’ “
