Come Oct. 1, mental health, crisis response, and drug treatment services will be defunded at the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, officials said Wednesday.
Some $5.3 million funding from a memorandum of agreement with Public Health will no longer be supported after September, GBHWC leadership told senators during an oversight hearing at the Guam Congress Building.
Behavioral Health Deputy Director James Cooper-Nurse told the Pacific Daily News that this is a nationwide occurrence.
The funding comes from the Child Care Development Fund, a federal and state partnership authorized under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act that supports childcare assistance and other associated programs.
Cooperative-Nurse said the CCDF received a large influx during the pandemic, so those allotments are now being peeled back.
Because of this, agencies nationwide are receiving reduced amounts from the CCDF, and the effects have started to trickle down to Guam, he added.
“We’re doing our due diligence. We’re all experienced grant writers and took our time to demonstrate the efficacy of the CCDF, and we’re trying to communicate with the Legislature and the community about the need for these services to continue,” Cooper-Nurse said.
Without the necessary funding, Behavioral Health will have to discontinue the following services:
Family Stabilization Service; $391,057.95Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT); $977,322.80Children’s Home Based Services; $418,869.95Autism Services;$1,493,460Therapeutic Group Homes; $1,500,00Crisis team cut
The Mobile Crisis Response Team, facing a $977,322.80 cut, responds to calls to the 988 suicide and crisis hotline implemented in August 2024.
First responders on the team activate for mental health and substance use crises, operating from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., daily.
According to Behavioral Health’s presentation, Guam ranks among the top 10 states and territories for the highest in-state suicide and crisis hotline answer rate, and approximately 97% of the calls are successfully de-escalated without the need for emergency services.
Behavioral Health’s presentation said the team has been activated 213 times, with 162 of those responses resulting in safe resolutions and 51 requiring “higher intervention.” Officials also said call activations are on the rise, showing the value of the service.
Children, autism services, group home
The children’s home-based services provides at-home therapy sessions, where a case manager or therapist spends time at a client’s home to help build a treatment plan, are likewise facing a $418,869.95 cut.
Behavioral Health said 64 clients have used home-based services so far in fiscal year 2026, and the number is expected to increase. In fiscal 2025, it serviced 75 clients.
Autism services, facing a $1.4 million cut, include family intervention training and therapy. The center has trained 114 parents and 39 childcare centers and served 158 families since fiscal 2024.
Finally, Behavioral Health’s therapeutic group home is the Latte Treatment Center, which remains operational 24/7 with two crisis stabilization units and 3.7 detox unit.
The group home faces the largest single cut of $1.5 million
Funding sought
GBHWC Director Carissa Pangelinan said Behavioral Health will continue to seek funding through other means, such as federal grant programs.
But without the money from Public Health, Pangelinan said her responsibility is to ask the Legislature for help to find funding for the programs in the fiscal 2027 budget.
Despite her spending plan, there were things outside her control, Pangelinan said.
“There’s still an approval process that i go through outside of my agency. I can plan [but] I’m realistic and I’m one of several agencies that have to compete,” Pangelinan said.
Lawmakers seek fix
Sens. Sabrina Salas Matanane and Shawn Gumataotao voiced support for finding the necessary resources for Behavioral Health.
Gumataotao was especially upset about this not being a stated priority for Public Health, as data shared during the hearing said 15% of Guam’s youth, or about 54,000 young people, are diagnosed or have some issues with depression.
“This changes our priority and our motivation to support you. You’re not asking for much. You’re asking for support. It’s clear as a group we [need] a greater percentage. As a community, we have to respond,” Gumataotao said.
Looking forward to Public Health’s oversight hearing on Monday, Salas Matanane asked Behavioral Health for copies of correspondence between the agencies about the funding cut.
She intends to clarify whether DPHSS’s allotment from the CCDF is being cut, or if the agency is prioritizing the funds for something else.
“We will certainly look at ways and avenues to fix this,” Salas Matanane said.