Feds pull mental health funds from Centre County nonprofit, then abruptly reverse course
President Donald Trump’s administration pulled tens of thousands of dollars in mental health grant funding from a local nonprofit and Penn State late Tuesday before abruptly reversing course Wednesday night.
The move, part of a nationwide termination of mental health funds by the administration, inserted more uncertainty into an already hectic federal grant environment and promoted an outpouring of support from community members.
The Centre County nonprofit, the Jana Marie Foundation, said in a sharply-worded Facebook post late Thursday “uncertainty remains” despite the government confirming that its funds had been reinstated.
“But this moment makes one thing painfully clear: there are no guarantees when it comes to future funding from these agencies,” the foundation wrote.
Of the grant program, known as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, it continued, “What happened over the last 36 hours with SAMHSA grant funding for mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention is deeply concerning.”
“This grant supported many of our school-based mental wellness programs, summer camps, and evidence-based education initiatives and programs that provide students with critical tools for emotional resilience, connection, and hope,” the foundation’s executive director, Marisa Vicere, said in an earlier Facebook post.
Vicere did not return a message left with her team Thursday afternoon — she was traveling, they said.
Since 2024, the foundation has received about $89,000 per year from the federal grant program. The SAMHSA grant comprised about 13% of the Jana Marie Foundation’s revenue last year, according to tax records.
Penn State’s University Park campus has also received SAMHSA funds: $374,000 each year since 2023. A spokesman, Wyatt DuBois, said the university had a total of three grants terminated, two in the College of Medicine and one in the College of Health and Human Development.
“The University was notified today that the termination notices have been rescinded,” DuBois said in a statement Thursday evening. The Electronic Research Administration, a federal grant manager, sent the notification, he added.
Programs combatting opioid abuse in rural communities and coordinating mental health treatment across five states are among the programs the university says the grant funds.
The reversal of the cuts followed outcry from nonprofits like the Jana Marie Foundation and lawmakers. Six members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation — including two eastern Pennsylvania Republicans in competetive districts — signed onto a letter addressed to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with 94 other lawmakers demanding the cuts be reversed.
“Too many people across the country are suffering without necessary resources,” the letter reads. “We must ensure that SAMHSA programs serve their congressionally intended purpose of getting lifesaving resources to our communities.”
The Jana Marie Foundation sent a fundraising plea out on Facebook shortly after the cuts were announced Jan. 13. In an update posted Thursday after the funds were reinstated, it said, “In less than 12 hours, our community came together in an extraordinary way, helping us raise vital funding during a moment of sudden uncertainty.”
The nonprofit said even if the funds were fully reinstated, donations would “continue to support Jana Marie Foundation’s mission, strengthening program stability, helping offset the broader financial impact of this disruption, and preparing us to respond to future uncertainties.”
The grant shakeup is the latest in a series of disruptions for nonprofits at the hands of the federal government over the past year. Throughout the first year of the second Trump administration, federal funding for some nonprofits has been rescinded, forcing staff cuts, and recipients of federal funds went a month and a half without income from the federal government amid the longest shutdown in American history.
This story was originally published January 16, 2026 at 10:50 AM.
