Idaho Lawmakers Consider $3 Million for Prevention and Treatment

Ten Idaho centers have requested a total of $3 million for youth prevention, family treatment and behavioral care. Lawmakers in the Joint Millennium Fund Committee heard the proposals but haven’t yet decided which ones to choose.

The money would come from Idaho’s endowment funded by tobacco lawsuit settlement money for drug and alcohol prevention. As of September 30, the fund balance was $43.5 million, with some previous proposals still pending

Any recommendations would still need final approval from the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee in January 2027. The call comes as the state has considered Medicaid cuts for mental health providers.

Youth Prevention

The largest request came from Idaho Boys & Girls Clubs for $1.6 million for statewide drug and alcohol prevention. Mark Kuhnhausen of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kootenai County, noted the money would support mentoring, healthy lifestyles, emotional learning and family engagement.

Razor’s Edge Boxing Club in Idaho Falls requested $500,000 for a larger East Idaho facility. Coach Dustin Irelan pointed out they can allow more young people to join a positive youth development program combining boxing, mentorship and substance use prevention. They’ll develop prevention sessions for different age groups four times a year.

Command Point Training Group asked for $45,000 to develop an online class for teens cited for drugs and alcohol with voluntary enrollments. The proposal includes 4.75 hours of instruction, a live online discussion and optional parent resources in English and Spanish. Development and startup funding would support about 18 live sessions for 350 teens during the pilot year.

Boise State University’s Idaho RADAR Center requested $71,382 to print and distribute prevention and treatment resource materials. The funding would cover a student employee, formatting and printing for a stockpile available to requesting organizations.

Treatment & Recovery Center Proposals

Change House seeks $623,300 to launch a McCall program for pregnant women and mothers. The request would fund two months of training and three months of clinical care and housing. Plans include medical care, childcare, parenting and life-skills classes and educational opportunities.

River of No Return Recovery Center in Salmon requested $150,000 to continue services in Lemhi and Custer counties. Executive Director Annie Stokes pointed out opioid settlement money that helped open the center is nearly spent. Its services include peer support, transportation to inpatient treatment and court hearings, parenting classes and GED classes.

Two proposals address statewide recovery. Recovery Idaho requested $32,780 to develop voluntary accreditation, standards and outcome metrics. Recovery Community Alliance of Idaho requested $267,615 for a statewide office providing technical support, and assistance adopting national standards.

The Foundation for the Idaho Conference on Alcohol and Drug Dependency asked for $28,000 in scholarships so behavioral healthcare workers can travel to its annual conference and earn continuing education credits. The Center for Hope requested $30,000 to expand education program for parents in treatment court or community reentry in nine East Idaho counties.

Implications for Behavioral Health

Children’s behavioral health services in the Change House’s proposal in McCall and emotional learning in the Boys & Girls Clubs proposal bring dual diagnoses into the equation.

Behavioral centers in Meridian like the Recovery Idaho and Recovery Community Alliance could affect how programs document outcomes and develop their workforce. Accreditation helps families compare services, but the committee hasn’t approved those systems or established what the measures would be.

Care in The Gem State & Beyond

Even if you’re not in Idaho, programs are standing by. Browse through our directory to find behavioral treatment centers and mental health treatment facilities.

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Courtney Myers, MS

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Courtney Myers has more than 15 years of experience in online writing and editing. Since graduating from N.C. State University with an MS in Technical Communication, she’s helped clients improve their visibility and reach through expert-level content creation. She specializes in addiction recovery and behavioral healthcare topics.

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Peter Lee, PhD

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Peter W.Y. Lee is a writer and historian of American history during the Cold War. His primary focus is the relationship between youth and popular culture and its impact on U.S. society during the twentieth century. He has published widely on how the public has used popular culture as a mechanism to address political and social shifts throughout time