About this episode:

Last month's abrupt cancellation and reinstatement of $2 billion in grants is just the most recent ordeal in SAMHSA's long year of funding cuts and administrative upheaval. In this episode: Dr. Yngvild Olsen, formerly the director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at SAMHSA, chronicles the challenges facing the agency and their possible implications for efforts to reduce opioid overdose deaths and improve mental health outcomes.

Guests:

Dr. Yngvild Olsen, MPH, is a nationally recognized leader in addiction medicine, public health policy, and clinical care integration. She currently serves as a national advisor with Manatt Health.

Host:

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Show links and related content:

• 24 hours of chaos as mental health grants are slashed then restored—NPR

• SAMHSA Strategic Priorities—SAMHSA

• Progress on overdose deaths could be jeopardized by federal cuts, critics say—Stateline

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