SAMHSA Suicide Prevention Programs FY 08 Funding

The Appropriations Committees in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have included funding for the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (GLSMA) programs, which are housed at SAMHSA. These three programs: State Youth Suicide Prevention; Campus Suicide Prevention and the Technical Assistance Center have made a significant difference in addressing the issue of suicide throughout the nation since being created in 2004. The APA's Education GRO office, in partnership wit key APA members, were instrumental in developing the idea for the Campus Suicide Prevention initiative, which is designed to strengthen and enhance mental and behavioral health services on college campuses.

The Senate provided $30 million FY 2008 funding for the Youth Suicide Prevention grants--an increase of $12.2 million over the FY'07 level. The Campus Suicide Prevention program received $5 million--the same amount as last fiscal year's level. Finally, the Suicide Prevention Technical Assistance and Resource Center received $5 million (i.e., level funding from FY'07). The U.S. House of Representatives included the following amounts for the three GLSMA programs under SAMHSA: State grants: $17.8 million; Campus Suicide Prevention grants: $4.95 million and Technical Assistance and Resource Center: $3.96 million. The FY 2008 omnibus appropriations bill provided the Senate levels of funding for the GLSMA programs under SAMHSA.