Mental health agency loses 1 in 10 staffers to DOGE cuts, 988 hotline team impacted
CBSN
More than 10% of the staff working for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were fired this month as part of the government-wide cuts to recently hired federal workers ordered by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, task force.
The cuts amounted to around 100 probationary workers, multiple current and former federal health officials told CBS News, and affected multiple teams around the department, ranging from recently hired directors of SAMHSA's regional offices to staff working on projects related to the 988 hotline for people facing mental health crises, which the agency oversees.
At the agency's communications team, whose work is aimed at raising awareness about the 988 hotline, a SAMHSA employee said a quarter of their team had been lost over the last month.
