Alaska Mental Health Trust opens $636,523 for equipment at agencies serving beneficiaries

Alaska agencies that serve people with mental illness, developmental disabilities, substance use disorders, dementia and traumatic brain injuries have until Sept. 9 to apply for a share of $636,523 in one-time equipment funding.

The money comes through the Alaska Mental Health Trust and is administered by the state Division of Senior and Disabilities Services. It buys equipment an operating budget usually can't absorb: medical equipment, assistive technology, telehealth gear. Construction and deferred maintenance don't qualify.

Awards top out at $30,000, so the full amount reaches 21 agencies at most across the state. The smallest request the division will take is $5,000, and applicants have to cover 10 percent of the cost themselves.

Priority goes to agencies serving the largest number of Trust beneficiaries, and to those already meeting federal accessibility requirements and Medicaid access standards. Alaska Native organizations have to pass a resolution waiving sovereign immunity before they can accept an award.

The Trust's 2024 scorecard describes aging facilities, staff leaving faster than agencies can replace them and rising demand tied to addiction. A state behavioral health report calls Medicaid funding reasonable in the aggregate. A comparable round in 2022 distributed $600,000.