Governor Hochul Receives National Award for Outstanding Leadership in Mental Health Policy

Governor Kathy Hochul was presented with a national award for her outstanding leadership in mental health policy, recognizing her efforts to expand access to life-saving care throughout New York State. Mental Health America presented her with the 2026 Governor's Leadership Award, recognizing the 'significant and sustained investments' that have strengthened mental health systems across the state's continuum of care.

"Our ongoing investments into expanding access to care is providing renewed hope for New Yorkers who experience mental health issues," Governor Hochul said. "With roughly $2 billion prioritized for this purpose, we have built up a system that is both responsive to the needs across our state and providing an example for others to follow nationally."

Governor Hochul's award was announced virtually during Mental Health America's Regional Policy Council meeting earlier this month. The Governor was presented with the award by Glenn Liebman, the Mental Health Association in New York State's Chief Executive Officer.

Starting with her historic $1 billion initiative to strengthen New York State's mental health care system in 2023 and continuing with investments made in subsequent budgets, Governor Hochul has ushered sweeping improvements in both services and support. From adding inpatient capacity to dramatically expanding outpatient programs to creating thousands of new units of specialized housing and more, the state has taken bold measures under her leadership to ensure all New Yorkers have access to these critical services - especially those individuals and families from previously underserved populations.

Governor Hochul also has focused on improving youth mental health, as evidenced by her legislative initiatives to address the harmful impacts of social media and to eliminate the use of smartphones by students in K-12 public schools. Signed into law last year, the Governor's signature Safe for Kids Act now requires social media companies to restrict addictive feeds on their platforms for users under 18.

In September, Mental Health America ranked New York first nationally in the organization's report, 'The State of Mental Health in America.' This designation was based on 17 indicators measuring the prevalence of mental illness and access to care.

The measures that had the largest effect on New York's overall ranking were the state's percentage of youth with serious thoughts of suicide; youth with a major depressive episode in the past year; and uninsured adults living with mental illness. Aside from being ranked first overall, New York also topped all other states in the report's adult rankings, which include eight measures gauging the prevalence of mental illness and access to care among individuals over the age of 18.

New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said, "Since taking office, Governor Hochul has made unprecedented investments into our state's continuum of care. We are now seeing many of these funded programs and initiatives come to fruition, and the positive impact these investments are having on individuals and families across our state. This national recognition reflects both the Governor's leadership and her unwavering commitment to strengthening our mental health care system."

The FY 2027 Executive Budget continues Governor Hochul's strong record of investment in mental health. The budget provides $17.5 million to ensure that all 10th graders in our state have access to Teen Mental Health First Aid training, expanding on our existing funding for this training, and helping us to reach 180,000 high schoolers annually.

Governor Hochul's budget also provides $500,000 to establish two additional Youth Safe Spaces, which are peer-led, non-clinical programs serving youth in welcoming, community-based settings, offering resources and connections to help them navigate mental health challenges. The Executive Budget also proposes establishing a 'Schools of Distinction in Supporting Strong Mental Health' to reward schools that have done an outstanding job providing mental health support and reducing substance abuse.

Governor Hochul also proposed a $71 million increase to supportive housing rates that will help maintain capacity systemwide. This funding will increase stipends for scattered-site units and rates for single room occupancy units.

Additionally, the Executive Budget includes $1.8 million to train 988 crisis counselors to better understand the challenges facing young people in the LGBTQIA+ community, to help replace the specialized line for this population - the so-called 'press 3' option - that was eliminated by the federal government last summer. The proposal also would establish a new legal hotline and website for this community with information about legal resources, housing, healthcare and more.

The Executive Budget also builds on OMH's Indigenous Mental Wellbeing pilot program by expanding transitional support workers and peer advocates to all Tribal Nations and Indigenous-serving school districts with a government-to-government relationship. The initiative also stands up an Indigenous School Mental Health Workforce Center to support SUNY students seeking careers in school-based mental health.

The Governor's budget also proposes creating a joint licensure for providers who offer mental health and addiction services. This will further align programs licensed by the Office of Mental Health and the Office of Substance Abuse Services and Supports, since there is often overlap among providers that offer this care.

MHANYS CEO Glenn Liebman said, "MHANYS is proud to stand alongside Mental Health America in honoring Governor Hochul for her extraordinary leadership and commitment to mental health that is leading the way not only for New York State but as a model for other states. Governor Hochul has overseen an extraordinary investment in community-based mental health services including school-based mental health clinics, youth safe spaces, mental health literacy including youth and teen Mental Health First Aid, and the enactment of precedent-setting laws requiring insurers and health plans to provide timely appointments, restricting cell phones in schools, and new stringent safety measures to protect youth online and from addictive social media platforms and AI chatbots."

Mental Health America Interim President and CEO Dr. Pierluigi Mancini said, "Mental Health America is honored to present this award to Governor Hochul, for her outstanding leadership in expanding access to lifesaving mental health services and support in New York. Through significant and sustained investments, Governor Hochul has strengthened mental health systems across the continuum of care, meeting people where they are and addressing the needs of communities across the state."

Contact the Governor's Press Office