NYC Council Calls for Funding Restorations and Investments in Mental, Maternal, and Physical Health Programs ahead of Budget Hearings (2024)

Mayor’s FY25 Executive Budget failed to include funding for key hospital, mental health and maternal health services

City Hall, NY – Ahead of the City Council’s Executive Budget hearings by the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction, Committee on Health, and Committee on Hospitals, with the Committee on Finance, the Council called for funding restorations and deeper investments to mental health programs and healthcare provided through the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and New York City Health + Hospitals (H+H).

Specifically, the Council urged funding for solutions that would help the City address mental health challenges, reduce recidivism, and deliver essential health services that were left out of the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget.

The omitted budget priorities were outlined by the Council in its Preliminary Budget Response released in April. They include:

Mental Health Courts and Diversion Programs

• Mental health courts and their associated programs help facilitate appropriate mental health responses and reduce the likelihood of rearrest by diverting people into treatment with increased coordination of care to address underlying issues. These programs have lacked the capacity to fulfill the level of need, are too often unavailable, and can have average wait times of months for appropriate placement because of insufficient investments to operate at scale. The Council called upon the Administration to provide an additional $8.9 million for baseline funding for mental health courts that connect people to appropriate interventions: $4.7 million in additional resources for the Manhattan Mental Health Court and the Judicial Diversion Court’s Mental Health Track, and $4.2 million for alternative-to-incarceration programs (ATIs) and problem-solving courts.

15/15 Supportive Housing and Justice-Involved Supportive Housing

• Supportive housing remains one of the most effective methods to address issues of mental health and homelessness by providing housing stability to individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness with other challenges or involvement in the justice system. The Council called on the Administration to allocate $19.6 million to progress the 15/15 Supportive Housing program and $6.4 million for Justice Involved Supportive Housing (JISH) to ensure 500 supportive housing units are brought online for New Yorkers to successfully transition back into their communities.

Alternatives to Incarceration, Supervised Release and Re-entry Programming

• For years, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice has managed Alternatives to Incarceration, supervised release, and re-entry programming to reduce incarceration and recidivism. As part of the Mayor’s Program to Eliminate the Gap, these programs took a nearly $28 million cut and were only partially restored in the Executive Budget.

Trauma Recovery Centers

• Over the past two fiscal years, the Council has allocated nearly $5 million to establish New York State’s first trauma recovery centers (TRCs) in Brooklyn (2) and the Bronx (1). TRCs are designed to reach survivors of violent crime who lack access to traditional victim services and are less likely to engage in mainstream mental health or social services. They provide wraparound services and coordinated care, including mental health, physical health, and legal services, by utilizing multi-disciplinary staff that can include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and outreach workers focused on providing survivor-centered healing and removing barriers to care. The Council called for $7.2 million in baselined funding to permanently sustain the existing TRCs and create one new center in both Queens and Staten Island in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget.

Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) teams

• The Council called for an additional $7 million investment to expand the City’s FACT teams, which are specialized units composed of behavioral health specialists, clinicians, case management experts to provide care and wraparound services for individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMIs) outside of traditional clinical settings. They provide targeted support to people who have not been effectively served by traditional services and have cycled through the justice system without successful interventions to address their underlying challenges.

Maternal Health Psychologists in Public Hospitals

• The Council has called for the baselined funding of $5 million to provide at least one maternal health-focused psychologist within each New York City Health + Hospitals maternity department. Mental health care that supports emotional wellness for mothers during and after pregnancy is critical to achieving positive maternal and family health outcomes, but is often left unaddressed. In Speaker Adams’ State of the City address, she called for this funding to ensure a maternal health psychologist is available in every public hospital to provide appropriate care. Funding these positions would advance post-partum care and improve maternal and mental health outcomes for mothers throughout the city.

Nurse Family Partnership

• The Council has called for an additional $5 million to expand and enhance the Nurse Family Partnership program that provides critical education and support services to low-income first-time parents during and after pregnancy about appropriate care. Families receive nurse home-visits and are connected with resources, such as health insurance and childcare services, to ensure their success.

Maternal and Child Health Services

• The Council has called for $500,000 in additional funding for Maternal and Child Health Services, which can help to reduce infant mortality rates and improve health outcomes for both mothers and children.

Cancer Screenings

• The Council has called for $3 million in baselined funding for the City to implement a Cancer Screening Day to provide free screenings for New Yorkers each year. During the height of COVID, many people did not get vital screenings for various types of cancer, such as breast and prostate cancer. As part of HealthyNYC, which has a goal of reducing screenable cancer (including lung, breast, colon, cervical, and prostate cancer) by 20 percent by the year 2030, the City should provide free prostate and breast cancer screenings citywide on a designated day.

Diabetes Management and Glucometer Pilot Program

• The Council has called for the City to allocate $1 million to establish a pilot program in each borough that provides people with glucometers to test their blood sugar. The cost of vital diabetes management products, such as glucometers that can cost between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, has negatively impacted the health of many New Yorkers.

HealthyNYC Learning Collaboratives

• The Council calls for $500,000 in new funding for HealthyNYC to establish Learning Collaboratives with diverse stakeholders to track each of the City’s seven mortality drivers and the strategies that impact them. The 7 primary drivers of high mortality rates: diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, cancers, drug overdose, suicide, maternal mortality, COVID-19, and violence. HealthyNYC is the City’s vision for how to improve life expectancy and create a healthier city for all.

Women’s Concussion Clinic

• The Council has called for $300,000 in new city budget funding for a trauma-informed Women’s Concussion Clinic pilot program within the NYC Health & Hospitals network to provide mental health care for patients receiving treatment for concussions. Concussion care should also focus on patients’ mental health, in addition to neurological injuries, to address the full extent of injuries. Many concussion patients who are domestic violence survivors do not receive the trauma-informed care they need, and this pilot could begin helping to close that gap through collaboration between DOHMH and H+H in providing holistic care.

“If New York City is committed to providing positive mental health outcomes for New Yorkers most in need, then we must commit to funding models and programs that have proven results of saving lives,” said Council Member Linda Lee, Chair of the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addictions. “The Administration’s allocation of roughly $757M towards DOHMH is less than one percent of New York City’s total budget and will not suffice in providing the necessary diversion programs, supportive housing, and professional workforce support to combat this crisis. I look forward to co-hosting this Monday’s Executive Budget Hearing alongside Chair Narcisse and Chair Schulman as we say no more revolving door, end the cycle of treatment and release, and improve the continuum of mental healthcare in our city.”

“As we hold hearings on the Mayor’s Executive Budget Response, we need to ensure our city’s commitment to a robust investment in our City’s healthcare system including increased access to public health programs in underserved areas, providing resources to increase the life expectancy of all New Yorkers and improving health outcomes, focusing efforts on diabetes and other chronic disease prevention, and committing to a healthcare infrastructure that is accessible, affordable and equitable,” said Council Member Lynn Schulman, Chair of the Committee on Health. “We also must address the historic lack of preventive and primary care services, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in tragic illness and needless deaths.”

“The health of New Yorkers is paramount to the overall well-being of our city,” said Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, Chair of the Committee on Hospitals. “Therefore, our budget must support efforts to provide equitable access to vital healthcare services for all city residents. As we focus on passing a fair and sensible budget, it’s crucial that we align our efforts with the City Council’s mission to protect the health of every New Yorker. I am committed to ensuring that the budget we pass adequately supports essential services and vital public health initiatives. These include providing pay parity for Health + Hospitals residents, supporting maternal health by placing psychologists in every H+H Maternal Health Department, and expanding language access services at all Gotham Health Centers.”

“Supporting the medical and mental health and well-being of all New Yorkers isn’t just a fundamental responsibility – it’s also a no-brainer of an investment,” said Council Member Justin Brannan, Chair of the Committee on Finance. “I am proud to fight for fully funded preventative care and services: we know that not only do they work, but also save us money by cutting down on the need for crisis and emergency intervention. This kind of funding is good for our people and good for our budget, and we’re excited to deliver it in a big way in FY 25.”

“Mental health challenges are a top driver of our city’s maternal mortality crisis – a crisis that disproportionately harms Black and Brown pregnant people,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “To truly turn the tide on maternal health in New York, our hospitals – especially our public hospitals – must be equipped with behavioral health professionals that can meet the needs of our neighbors before, during, and after pregnancy. And in a city like ours, where all of the world has found a home, these critical services must be provided in the languages that are most comfortable for our residents, such as Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French.”

“Funding supportive housing, mental health services, and alternative to incarceration and reentry programs is essential,” said Jennifer J. Parish, Director of Criminal Justice Advocacy at the Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project. “These services not only help individuals with mental health and substance use treatment needs; they enrich our communities and promote health and safety. If we choose not to invest in housing, mental health treatment, and other supports, we are tacitly approving of pouring billions of dollars into a failing system – the New York City jails. Jails do nothing to improve the lives of the people incarcerated there, and instead inflict mental and physical harm and make it even more difficult for people to succeed in the community upon release. The Mayor and City Council must be smart about how they spend taxpayers’ dollars. Funding housing and healthcare is a good investment, and the City will reap the benefits for decades to come.”

“NAMI-NYC is grateful the City Council continues to invest in mental health strategies that provide off-ramps from the traditional revolving door of hospitalization, jail, and homelessness,” said Matt Kudish, NAMI-NYC CEO. “NAMI-NYC looks forward to continuing to partner with the City Council to expand innovative, proven programs that center individuals living with mental illness and the people who love them.”

“While we have heard the Mayor talk about investing upstream to close the pipelines that feed Rikers, we have consistently seen budget proposals from his administration that would do the opposite. Instead of speculating about how the jail population might increase if nothing changes, this is the time to change something,” said Darren Mack, Co-Director of Freedom Agenda. “This year’s budget must not only restore senseless cuts to alternatives to incarceration and reentry services, but expand these proven interventions. The budget must also make serious strides toward scaling up the mental health resources that every New Yorker knows we desperately need – including supportive housing, Forensic Assertive Community Treatment teams, and crisis respite centers. It is immoral and illogical to allow our neighbors to face long waiting lists for supportive programs but always have space available for them to languish on Rikers. It is time to fund the things that work, and get Rikers closed.”

“Working at the center of the NYC Health and Hospitals system, CIR physicians give everything we have to safeguard the health of all New Yorkers, but we are being pushed beyond our limits in hospitals that are woefully under-resourced,” said Dr Michael Zingmam, National Secretary Treasurer Committee of Interns and Residents SEIU. “It’s critical that the city passes a budget that includes real, substantial investments in our public hospitals and that CIR physicians get fair pay and benefits to support us now–and to ensure H+H can continue to recruit and retain the talented physicians our patients need and deserve. As frontline physicians CIR members also bear witness to the devastating physical and mental health impacts of the City’s housing crisis. We are grateful for the City Council’s leadership and mission to pass a budget that understands that stable and affordable housing is central to safeguarding the health of our members and our patients by investing $2.5 billion in capital funds over the next five years into HPD’s Neighborhood Pillars and Open Door programs.”

“For 100 years, the American Heart Association, along with our volunteers and supporters, has worked to advance health and hope for everyone, everywhere. We’ve learned that to achieve that mission, quality health care must be accessible and affordable for everyone,” Robin Vitale, Vice President, Community Impact and Health, American Heart Association. “The American Heart Association applauds the NYC Council’s prioritization of equitable access to healthcare and distribution of health resources in their FY2025 budget priorities. We look forward to working with Speaker Adams and the NYC Council to help New Yorkers live longer and healthier lives by funding CPR education, blood pressure control initiatives and tobacco cessation programs.”

###