Confusion erupted in mental health and substance abuse programs after the Trump administration cut nearly $2 billion in federal grants, then reversed course and restored the funding, leaving providers and state agencies to unwind changes made during the brief period of uncertainty, according to an Associated Press report published Thursday.
The whiplash was captured by Elizabeth Woike, CEO of BestSelf Behavioral Health in Buffalo, New York. She said she initially felt cautiously optimistic when she saw reports that the grants were being reinstated, but that optimism collapsed after she received a 2 a.m. email Thursday from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reiterating the cuts. “I just shook my head. It’s mass chaos,” Woike said.
Woike said her situation reflected what other organizations were experiencing. She said roughly 2,000 grant recipients nationwide were notified later Thursday morning that their federal funding had indeed been restored after the second termination letter that triggered additional confusion was sent in error.
Providers and state health agencies described the episode as part of a broader pattern in which federal funding decisions are canceled without notice and sometimes reversed. Woike said the instability makes long-term planning difficult, describing how organizations are not able to expand services but instead pull back amid the uncertainty. “No one’s looking at expansion or really trying to ramp up services to meet the need in the community,” she said. “Everyone is just retrenching, looking at putting aside every penny and every resource.”
The funding upheaval began when the administration notified grant recipients that their funding was being pulled in emailed letters Tuesday evening, copies of which were reviewed by the Associated Press. By Wednesday, some organizations said they were already making difficult decisions in response to the cuts, including laying off employees and canceling scheduled trainings. By Wednesday evening, news reports suggested the cuts might be reversed, but recipients had not yet been informed of any change.
Some recipients said that instead of receiving clear guidance, they received confusing overnight emails that duplicated their termination notices or told them to close down their grants within 30 days. It was not until Thursday morning that recipients started receiving form emails stating that the grant terminations were “hereby rescinded,” the report said.
Even as the restored funding notifications went out, some providers said they remained uncertain. Sara Howe, CEO of the Addiction Professionals of North Carolina, said members of her professional association were still nervous about whether their funding was guaranteed. “Any time this happens, you wind up in a position where you’re like, is it OK to breathe?” Howe said. “It puts everybody on really unsteady, shaky ground.”
An administration official with knowledge of the decision confirmed that the grants were restored, but did not say why. The Associated Press reported that a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson declined to comment on the confusion and did not answer a question about the administration’s reasoning.
Democratic lawmakers criticized the administration’s approach as dangerous and haphazard, according to statements carried by the AP. House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rep. Rosa DeLauro described Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision-making as dangerous and haphazard after recipients began laying off employees based on the original plans. “He must be cautious when making decisions that will impact Americans’ health,” DeLauro said. “I hope this reversal serves as a lesson learned.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin also criticized the episode, telling the AP in a statement that it “caused chaos and real harm to Americans” and that families need answers about why the administration caused “this mess.”
As recipients received the restoration notices, some providers said they were working to reverse changes already made. Honesty Liller, CEO of the peer support organization the McShin Foundation in Richmond, Virginia, said she was working on the logistics of getting five laid-off employees their jobs back. Ryan Hampton, founder of the nonprofit advocacy organization Mobilize Recovery, said he was relieved the funding was restored but criticized the administration for endangering lifesaving services in the first place. “Restoring these grants was the only acceptable outcome, yet the chaos inflicted on frontline providers and families these past 24 hours is unforgivable,” Hampton said. “We cannot normalize a political environment where overdose prevention and recovery are treated as leverage.”