CSAP, in coordination with the five district branches, is preparing the following letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. A draft of the letter is as follows:
April 11, 2025
The Honorable Rob Bonta
Attorney General State of California
1300 I Street, Suite 1740
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Attorney General Bonta,
On behalf of the California State Association of Psychiatrists (CSAP), the five California district branches of the American Psychiatric Association, and thousands of psychiatric physicians working across the state, we respectfully request your consideration to initiate litigation, with appropriate and strategic timing, against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in response to its illegal consolidation and effective elimination of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
As you are likely aware, SAMHSA was established by Congressional action in 1992 within the Department of Health and Human Services as the agency responsible for leading public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation.
Through numerous pieces of legislation, Congress has repeatedly mandated the organization, leadership, programs, and responsibilities of SAMHSA, which have grown substantially since its formation. Despite this, on March 27, 2025, HHS announced adrastic restructuring that eliminates SAMHSA and announced a new entity, the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA). A reduction in force began immediately on April 1, 2025, undermining essential behavioral health services authorized explicitly by Congressional statutes, including but not limited to, the Public Health Service Act, the ADAMHA Reorganization Act of 1992, the 21st Century Cures Act, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.
SAMHSA is required by Congress to maintain the 988 & Suicide Crisis Lifeline, which it operates through cooperative agreements with states, including California. Millions of Californians have relied on 988 for mental health assistance and suicide prevention, in fact, the California Department of Healthcare Services reports that about 1 out of 8 calls to 988 originate in California.
Additionally, SAMHSA administers vital grants to states, directly supporting California’s mental health and substance use disorder programs. In 2024, California received nearly $700 million in behavioral health grants from SAMHSA which support programs such as community mental health clinics, addiction treatment and drug overdose prevention efforts, suicide intervention services, mental health crisis response teams, workforce development, school and campus-based services for children and young adults, and more. The agency’s elimination places these critical state services at severe risk, potentially violating federal statutes mandating SAMHSA’s established functions and structures. Critically, we have been informed that the entire contracting and grants management division has been terminated as of April 1, 2025.
We believe that legal action is necessary. This action aligns with numerous mental health advocacy groups, professional organizations, and Congressional representatives who have strongly opposed this unauthorized restructuring. On March 28, 2025, US Senator Alex Padilla sent a letter to the HHS secretary warning that the elimination of SAMHSA was unlawful and would have “disastrous ramifications for millions of Americans struggling with mental and behavioral health challenges.”
We sincerely appreciate your leadership in protecting the National Institutes of Health and its vital research mission to improve the health of Americans. We respectfully ask your office not to let mental health fall behind and to explore litigation to preserve SAMHSA’s statutory role and protect Californians dependent on these indispensable federal resources. We stand ready to assist with further information or collaboration needed to address this critical public health issue.
Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
California State Association of Psychiatrists
Central California Psychiatric Society
Orange County Psychiatric Society
Northern California Psychiatric Society
San Diego Psychiatric Society
Southern California Psychiatric Society
Addendum
If you have written, called, or visited a way to contact your congressperson outside of APA’s action alert system, please let APA know by emailing advocacy@psych.org. They are tracking who has been contacted by APA members as it informs the APA team on the ground in Washington D.C.
Worth a Read
April 11, 2025
