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On April 1, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and 22 other states filed a lawsuit in an effort to halt the Trump administration’s cuts to COVID-era health funding. On April 3, a federal district court in Rhode Island issued a Temporary Restraining Order immediately restoring $11 billion in critical public health funding to state and local public health agencies across the country. This included the SAMHSA cuts, as well as $220 million cut from the Minnesota Department of Health. On May 16, the district court granted a preliminary injunction, extending the relief granted in the temporary restraining order while the case is pending.
The federal government initially appealed the preliminary injunction. But on July 29, the federal government voluntarily dismissed its appeal. So what does that mean for grantees?
With the order in place since April 3, ARPA funds within grantees’ contracts have been available and DHS has been reimbursing grantees as needed. Later court proceedings could dissolve the preliminary injunction, or could reinstate the cuts permanently, at which point DHS would lack authority to reimburse agencies for work. Most of the grantees’ work with these grant funds, however, was already set to end by now. Grantees with an active contract must, consistent with the terms of their contract, expend all of the impacted COVID-era health funding by Sept. 30, 2025.
There were 85 contracts affected by SAMHSA’s abrupt action, which cut funding to counties, Tribal Nations, urban Indian organizations, school districts, provider organizations, and support and services from other state agencies. And while the cuts were temporarily blocked – they still did have an impact. DHS advised grantees that funds were available and DHS would reimburse, but suggested organizations consult their own legal counsel about any risks of resuming impacted services. Not all grantees opted to resume services.
DHS continues to encourage grantees to monitor the case and work with legal counsel to assess the impact of any future developments.
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Sudden funding disruptions create tremendous stress and chaos for our partners and the people they serve. Unfortunately, these actions have become more common. That’s why Governor Tim Walz launched a dashboard Minnesotans can use to track disruptions and cancellations of federal funding and their impact on services available to Minnesotans. Federal disruptions and cuts so far include grants to track measles and avian influenza, provide heating assistance, and mitigate flooding.
DHS will continue working with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, as well as other state partners, to advocate for the vital work behavioral health grantees do across our state.
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