Tallahassee, Fla. –The Florida Behavioral Health Association (FBHA) applauds Florida Senate
President Kathleen Passidomo, Senate Appropriations Chairman Doug Broxson and Senate
Health and Human Services Appropriations Chairwoman Gayle Harrell, as well as the entire
Senate, for funding community mental health and substance use disorder services in the Senate
Budget which passed earlier today.
Please feel free to use this statement by FBHA President and CEO Melanie Brown-Woofter.
“On behalf of FBHA’s community behavioral health provider members and over 750,000
Floridians we serve, we are deeply grateful to the Florida Senate for passing a budget that offers
families hope and services.
“For the first time in over 20 years, the Florida Senate has provided a substantial Medicaid rate
increase for behavioral health services in their budget. The Senate is also investing an additional
34 million dollars into the community substance use and mental health system of care aimed at
increasing access to crisis services, providing an immediate impact for thousands of Floridians
across the state.
“The FBHA is beyond thankful that the Senate has committed over 60 million additional dollars
to community initiatives, giving behavioral health care providers necessary resources to better
serve their clients, and offering individuals living with mental illness and substance use
disorders a lifeline to a resilient future. “