AUDIO – LOST JOBS, LOST LIVES? –
March 13, 2025 – “Cutting SAMHSA employees without understanding the impact is extremely dangerous, given the behavioral health crises impacting every corner of our nation.” Reductions in staff, they argued, could lead to a surge in relapse rates, a strain on the health care system and poorer health outcomes overall. Asked about the pending cuts, a spokeswoman for SAMHSA replied: “The important collaboration facilitated by SAMHSA’s regional offices continues, regardless of personnel changes, and SAMHSA staff remain diligently responsive to partners around the nation.”
Proposals to shrink staff sizes across government departments are due Thursday. In the last month, SAMHSA’s staff was reduced by roughly 10 percent through layoffs of workers in their probationary period, a designation that included people recently promoted to new positions. Last weekend, the agency’s employees and other personnel overseen by Mr. Kennedy received emails offering $25,000 to those who left their jobs by this Friday, characterized as a “voluntary separation.”
