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$1 million in ARPA funds to be used for mental health services in Warren County

Post-Star - 5/26/2022

May 26—QUEENSBURY — Mental health services throughout Warren County will soon be able to apply for federal stimulus money through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors voted to use $1 million in ARPA funding to improve mental health services in the county.

The federal ARPA funding will be available as grant money to organizations that provide services in behavioral health, which includes prevention and treatment programs, harm reduction and support for long-term recovery.

The grant funding could also be used for the equipment and facilities used by these providers in the county.

The use of this funding will be overseen by the Warren County Community Services Board.

In a news release, Robert York, Warren County director of Community Services, said that he was thankful for the ARPA Committee and the Board of Supervisors for the recognition of the impacts to behavioral health as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have seen a significant increase in demand for mental health and substance use services over the COVID-19 period, and we look forward to partnering with local provider agencies to develop and implement projects to improve the behavioral health and well-being of the residents of Warren County," York said.

The Warren County Community Services Board will set up an ad hoc committee to review and select proposals from providers in the county.

York said that the committee will be following the same process that the ARPA Committee is currently utilizing to receive proposals for federal funding. He noted that there had been two proposals already submitted to the ARPA Committee prior to the resolution passing that would have fit into behavioral health care.

He said that one of the proposals was to expand mobile access for outpatient addiction treatment.

"It would be a mobile person in the community that can go out and perform whatever that service," York said.

But he was unsure if there would be a separate form to fill out for the mental health services grant funding, or if the proposals would all come from the same form on the county's ARPA site.

The project solicitation form can also be found on the county's ARPA site.

"It's possible that we would look for some additional specific information in our proposals related to behavioral health," York said.

He said that since the resolution approving this use of ARPA funding was passed on Friday, the Community Services Board is still working through the specifics and time frames for the application process.

He said that there will be updates posted on the county's ARPA site as things are put into place.

"We already work very closely with a number of local agencies that are a part of our local planning process. We have annual contracts with a number of them," York said.

While there isn't a date set for the application process to be finalized, York said that he felt confident that it would happen in the coming weeks.

But he said that the application process is technically open right now. York said that the ARPA Committee would take the proposals that would fit under the behavioral health umbrella and send them along to the Community Services Board.

"Anybody can go on to the Warren County ARPA site," York said. "Some of our agencies already did that before this idea came about."

Jay Mullen is a reporter for The Post-Star covering the city of Glens Falls, Warren County and crime and courts. You can reach him at 518-742-3224 or jmullen@poststar.com.

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