A budget for the Substance Abuse Treatment & Prevention Division of the state Department of Health & Welfare has cleared JFAC on an 18-2 vote, with Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, and Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, dissenting. The budget includes just a 0.9 percent increase in state general funds, but a 14.8 percent increase in total funds due to the inclusion of the second year of a one-time federal grant, the Access to Recovery grant. LeFavour noted that services through the division are contracted out to private providers. "If we provide dollars, they can provide treatment to individuals who need it," she said. "We have had huge waiting lists. ... Dollars equal more treatment." Yet, she said, "This is a bare-bones budget."

The budget includes a shift of $10,000 from a federal Substance Abuse Block Grant now targeted for suicide prevention research to help pay for restarting Idaho's suicide prevention hotline.