Once ranked among the nation’s best, New Hampshire’s mental healthcare system has steadily eroded since the turn of the century, and grown more distressed in the past decade as the demand for mental health services has far outrun the capacity to provide them.

In January, the NH Department of Health and Human Services released a 10-year plan to restore the system — the third of its kind in the past decade. The plan proposes an initial investment of $21.7 million in the next biennium to jump-start the process.

In his budget address, Gov. Chris Sununu said, “We’re not going to slow-roll this plan over 10 years,” adding that with budgeted funds and executive actions, two-thirds of the recommendations will be addressed immediately. He acknowledged that “these efforts will not fix the system overnight,” but expressed confidence that New Hampshire would once again “set the gold standard for the rest of the nation.”

Read more in our partner publication The Laconia Daily Sun