Gov. Andy Beshear is highlighting significant progress made by his administration to expand mental health care access across Kentucky as Mental Health Awareness Month concludes, according to an announcement from the Governor's Office.

The administration has doubled the amount of licensed mental health providers available in the state and implemented services like the 988 Lifeline. Kentucky launched the three-digit 988 crisis line in 2022, and since then the state's 988 lifeline has handled around 265,000 calls, chats and texts. The in-state network of 14 community mental health centers has answered calls in an average of 25 seconds, with calls routed to in-state centers increasing 30% over the past year.

During the 2026-2028 budget session, Beshear signed House Bill 169, requiring more health plans to cover the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders. House Bill 178 was also signed, establishing a psychiatric collaborative care model intended to support reimbursement and coverage for mental health treatment.

Since taking office, the Beshear/Coleman administration has awarded more than $40 million in grant funding toward expanding school-based mental health resources at public schools across the commonwealth. Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman created and led a successful Student Mental Health Initiative, meeting with and listening to hundreds of Kentucky students about how mental health services can be improved.

Beshear's office tied mental health efforts to the state's response to addiction, noting Kentucky has seen four consecutive years of declines in overdose deaths through expanded addiction services through Medicaid, Naloxone distribution, grants to treatment organizations, recovery initiatives, reentry services, and law enforcement efforts.