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# U.S. Department of Education Announces More Than $188 Million from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to Support Mental Health and Student Wellness

# U.S. Department of Education Announces More Than $188 Million from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to Support Mental Health and Student Wellness

February 16, 2023

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
Today, the U.S. Department of Education  (Department) is announcing awards of more than $188  million across 170 grantees in over 30  states to increase access to school-based mental health  services and to strengthen the pipeline of  mental health professionals in high-needs districts. With  funding provided by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), these investments  help advance the President’s Mental Health Strategy, which directly implements  his Unity Agenda priority to tackle the mental health crisis in our school  communities. These grants will enable communities to hire approximately 5,400  school-based mental health professionals and train an estimated 5,500 more to  build a diverse pipeline of mental health providers in  schools. These investments will begin the important  work of broadening access to critical mental health supports by  increasing the number of health care providers in schools. These funds also  will help with strengthening the pipeline of certified mental health  providers who are ready to work in schools with the greatest  needs. These competitive grants are the first in a series of awards the Department will  make over several years and constitute the largest investment in school-based  mental health this country has ever made.

Even before the pandemic, the wellbeing of many students  was unmet due to insufficient access to high-quality mental health  care. For years, schools have struggled to meet the recommended  ratios for school-based mental health professionals, and this is  especially true in schools with more underserved  students. Now, the mental health crisis facing  students has reached a critical point with more than one in three high school students reported experiencing  poor mental health during the height of the pandemic. Research shows that  children and young people learn more, report feeling safer, and develop more  trusting relationships with their peers and teachers when their  social and emotional needs are met with certified and accessible mental  health professionals.

“As the President outlined in his State of the Union address, we  must do more to tackle our nation’s growing mental health crisis, which is  particularly acute among our youth,” said Domestic Policy Advisor to the  President Susan Rice. “These new awards will help connect more students in need  to school-based mental health services now and ensure a pipeline of trained  professionals to support students in the future. Integrating mental health  services into our schools is a key component of the President’s Mental Health  Strategy and will help fulfill a key component of the President’s Unity  Agenda.”

“Even before the disruption, isolation, and trauma of the  pandemic, youth rates of anxiety and depression, and other mental health challenges  were on the rise, and too many students suffered in silence,” said U.S.  Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “Mental health and wellness have  profound implications for our students, their academic success, and their  overall outcomes, and we know that youth facing mental health challenges are  more likely to receive services in a school-based setting. The Bipartisan Safer  Communities Act represents an unprecedented opportunity to raise the bar for  our support of our students, to improve learning conditions in our schools, to  expand access to school-based mental health care, and to supercharge efforts  across the country to train and hire a pipeline of professionals committed to  the wellbeing of our students.”

These historic awards are made possible because of funds secured  as part of the 2022 Omnibus and BSCA. Over the next five years, BSCA will  invest $1 billion in these programs, helping us to make substantial progress  towards the President’s goal, as part of his Mental Health Strategy,  to double the number of school counselors, social workers, and other mental  health professionals. These funds have the potential to meaningfully change  lives by building a mental health infrastructure in schools and communities  across the country.

“Following countless conversations with Connecticut parents,  educators, and district leaders, as Chair of the subcommittee that funds the  Department of Education, I created the School-Based Mental Health Services  Grant Program to help districts increase the number of qualified, well-trained  mental health professionals working in schools,” said Ranking Member of the  House Appropriations Committee Rosa DeLauro**.** “Disruption  in schools due to COVID-19, economic anxiety, job losses, and learning  challenges have exacerbated pre-existing mental health challenges. Our youth  need help, and this is a burden that teachers, administrators, and parents  cannot alleviate on their own. These grants will expand the program’s reach,  helping to move us closer to my goal of ensuring every child goes to a school  that has a qualified mental health professional on staff. I want to thank  Secretary Cardona for spearheading efforts to get this funding to our schools  and improve the health care of our children.”

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to  tackle our mental health crisis by working to ensure every student has access  to the mental health supports, the U.S. Department of Education will host a  town hall, in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, to  hear directly from students and young people about the importance of social,  emotional, and mental health. The townhall will take  place at John Lewis High School in Fairfax County, Virginia where the  district has received a grant to make critical investments to  recruit, develop, and retain highly qualified and credentialed school-based  mental health professionals, including counselors,  social workers, and psychologists. Fairfax County Public Schools is  part of a larger cohort of Virginia grantees.

This year, Virginia’s districts and institutions of higher  education are receiving more than $10 million in funds to strengthen the  pipeline and provide school-based mental health services to the state’s  underserved students. This investment will support the mental health and  academic trajectories of students across the state. These grantees include  Campbell County Public Schools, Lynchburg City Schools, Fairfax County Public  Schools, Newport News Public Schools, the University of Virginia, and the  partnership between Portsmouth Public School Board and Norfolk State  University.

Awards  are being announced for two grant programs today: the School-Based Mental  Health Services (SBMH) Grant Program and the Mental Health Service  Professional (MHSP) Demonstration Grant Program. Through SBMH, the  Department is investing more than $141 million to 103 states and school  districts to increase the number of qualified mental health services providers  delivering school-based mental health services to students. These funds  increase the number of school psychologists, counselors, and other mental  health professionals serving our students through recruitment and retention  efforts, the promotion of re-specialization and professional retraining of  existing mental health providers, and through efforts to increase the diversity  and cultural and linguistic competency of school-based mental health services  providers. These investments will allow more students in school buildings  across the country to access mental health supports through trained  professionals they can trust, and without shame or stigma.

Through MHSP, the Department is investing more than $46 million in  competitive grants to 67 states, school districts, and institutions of higher  education to support and demonstrate innovative partnerships to train  school-based mental health services providers for employment in schools and  local educational agencies (LEAs). The goal of this program is to increase the  number and diversity of high-quality, trained providers available to address  the shortages of mental health services professionals in schools and high-needs  LEAs. Nearly half of the awardees included a partnership with a Historically  Black College or University, Tribal College, or Minority Serving Institution.  These funds will help the many schools struggling to fill mental health  professional vacancies by creating partnerships between high-needs school  districts and institutions.

The School-Based Mental Health Services Grant awardees are  listed below:

 

Dillingham    City School District 

AK 

$577,100 

Bering    Straits School District 

AK 

$857,202 

Northwest    Arctic Borough School District 

AK 

$711,279 

Southwest    Arkansas Educational Cooperative 

AR 

$585,528 

Academy    of Mathematics and Science South, Inc. 

AZ 

$768,240 

Tempe    Union High School District #213 

AZ 

$275,973 

Northern    Humboldt Union High School District 

CA 

$866,861 

Eureka    City Schools 

CA 

$1,064,784 

Santa    Clara County Office of Education 

CA 

$1,694,164 

Madera    Unified School District 

CA 

$1,262,349 

Cutler-Orosi    Joint Unified School District 

CA 

$2,999,259 

Riverside    County Office of Education 

CA 

$2,999,967 

Tulare    County Office of Education 

CA 

$2,991,658 

Conejo    Valley Unified School District 

CA 

$1,995,912 

Animo    Jackie Robinson Charter High School 

CA 

$2,453,540 

Ukiah    Unified School District 

CA 

$1,182,896 

Lemon    Grove School District 

CA 

$545,782 

La    Mesa-Spring Valley School District 

CA 

$1,471,616 

Livermore    Valley Joint Unified School District

CA 

$535,663 

Imperial    County Office of Education 

CA 

$3,000,000 

Eagle    County School District RE50J 

CO 

$785,304 

EdAdvance 

CT 

$1,549,164 

DC    Office of the State Superintendent of Education 

DC 

$2,555,510 

Ingenuity    Prep Public Charter School 

DC 

$531,287 

AppleTree    Early Learning Public Charter School 

DC 

$289,016 

School    Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida 

FL 

$3,000,000 

Duval    County Public Schools 

FL 

$1,263,203 

School    Board of Monroe County, Florida 

FL 

$1,300,713 

Hillsborough    County Public Schools 

FL 

$1,710,606 

Bay    County School District 

FL 

$1,698,847 

Seminole    County Public Schools 

FL 

$521,838 

DeKalb    County School District 

GA 

$677,673 

Calhoun    City Board of Education 

GA 

$399,121 

Dougherty    County School System 

GA 

$2,999,971 

Illinois    State Board of Education 

IL 

$2,975,414 

Board    of Education City of Chicago 

IL 

$3,000,000 

Skokie    School District 69 

IL 

$1,393,028 

Crystal    Lake Community Consolidated School District #47 

IL 

$1,042,046 

Cook    County School District 130 

IL 

$1,955,646 

Region    06 West Cook ISC 2 

IL 

$2,189,227 

La    Moille Community Unit School District #303 

IL 

$1,370,654 

Indiana    Department of Education 

IN 

$1,298,556 

Greenfield-Central    Community School Corporation 

IN 

$285,000 

Richland    Bean Blossom Community School Corporation 

IN 

$651,743 

Hamilton    Southeastern Schools 

IN 

$841,720 

Ohio    Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC) 

KY 

$1,079,192 

Northern    Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services, Inc. 

KY 

$1,263,481 

Nelson    County School District 

KY 

$560,213 

Board    of Education, Prince George's County, MD, Inc. 

MD 

$403,449 

Anne    Arundel County Public Schools 

MD 

$249,824 

Maine    Department of Education

ME 

$1,785,071 

Maine    School Administrative District 37 

ME 

$527,561 

Lansing    School District 

MI 

$2,504,911 

Independent    School District No 535 

MN 

$228,427 

Senatobia    Municipal School District 

MS 

$1,052,770 

Jackson    Public Schools 

MS 

$533,190 

Iredell-Statesville    Schools 

NC 

$2,018,455 

Surry    County Schools 

NC 

$892,109 

North    Carolina Department of Public Instruction 

NC 

$2,373,740 

Guilford    County Schools 

NC 

$2,992,531 

West    Fargo Public Schools 

ND 

$2,320,788 

Dickinson    Public School District 

ND 

$455,358 

Educational    Service Unit 2 

NE 

$3,000,000 

Lincoln    Public Schools 

NE 

$360,447 

Scottsbluff    Public School District 

NE 

$1,228,248 

New    Jersey Department of Education 

NJ 

$2,700,000 

Passaic    Board of Education 

NJ 

$279,059 

Central    Region Educational Cooperative 

NM 

$398,444 

Silver    Consolidated Schools 

NM 

$1,210,500 

Niagara    Falls City School District 

NY 

$533,836 

Board    of Education - Ossining Union Free School District 

NY 

$596,234 

Charter    School of Educational Excellence 

NY 

$500,000 

Haverstraw-Stony    Point Central School District 

NY 

$1,750,000 

Greater    Amsterdam School District 

NY 

$532,500 

Beavercreek    City Schools 

OH 

$596,255 

North    Point Educational Service Center 

OH 

$1,206,000 

Oklahoma    State Department of Education 

OK 

$1,883,138 

Durant    Independent School District I-72 

OK 

$424,040 

Stringtown    Public Schools 

OK 

$500,474 

School    District 1J Multnomah County, Oregon

OR 

$200,473 

Douglas    Education Services District 

OR 

$2,236,382 

Corbett    School District 39 

OR 

$862,079 

Jackson    County School District #4 DBA Phoenix-Talent Schools 

OR 

$420,080 

RI    Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 

RI 

$2,000,000 

CORE    Educational Cooperative 

SD 

$205,692 

Bradley    County Schools 

TN 

$1,981,669 

Hamilton    County Department of Education 

TN 

$492,672 

State    of Tennessee 

TN 

$1,870,740 

Pasadena    Independent School District 

TX 

$1,058,482 

Education    Service Center Region XV 

TX 

$236,515 

Waxahachie    Faith Family Academy 

TX 

$707,532 

Uplift    Education 

TX 

$1,737,872 

Humble    Independent School District 

TX 

$173,740 

Virginia    Department of Education 

VA 

$3,000,000 

Campbell    County Public Schools 

VA 

$693,750 

Lynchburg    City Schools 

VA 

$1,786,893 

Fairfax    County Public Schools 

VA 

$2,351,965 

Newport    News Public Schools 

VA 

$892,013 

Northwest    Educational Service District 189 

WA 

$1,361,470 

Tacoma    Public Schools 

WA 

$630,956 

Vancouver    School District No. 037 

WA 

$1,726,793 

Shell    Lake High School 

WI 

$199,598 

Sauk    Prairie School District 

WI 

$947,545 

**Total **

 

**$131,840,216 **

 

The  Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant awardees are listed  below: 

 

Alabama    State University 

AL 

$1,181,140  

Auburn    University 

AL 

$352,526  

Troy    University 

AL 

$226,555  

University    of Central Arkansas 

AR 

$323,451  

Acton-Agua    Dulce Unified School District 

CA 

$689,186  

El    Rancho Unified School District 

CA 

$696,038  

iEmpire    Academy 

CA 

$680,738  

Multicultural    Learning Center 

CA 

$820,058  

Norwalk-La    Mirada USD 

CA 

$770,537  

Santa    Paula Unified School District 

CA 

$635,875  

The    Regents of the University of California, Santa Barbara 

CA 

$832,677  

University    of Northern Colorado 

CO 

$235,010  

Howard    University 

DC 

$540,102  

University    of Delaware 

DE 

$339,848  

The    Florida International University Board of Trustees 

FL 

$1,200,001  

University    of Florida 

FL 

$868,338  

University    of South Florida 

FL 

$449,685  

Georgia    State University Research Foundation, Inc 

GA 

$1,430,886  

University    of Georgia Research Foundation Inc. 

GA 

$219,835  

University    of Northern Iowa 

IA 

$370,394  

Illinois    State Board of Education

IL 

$1,201,072  

Lewis    University 

IL 

$466,308  

Loyola    University of Chicago 

IL 

$560,735  

Northern    Illinois University 

IL 

$961,629  

Wichita    State University 

KS 

$331,806  

Springfield    College 

MA 

$576,212  

University    of Maine System dba University of Southern Maine 

ME 

$172,837  

Michigan    Department of Education 

MI 

$913,475  

College    of St. Scholastica, INC. 

MN 

$370,523  

Minnesota    State University Moorhead Foundation 

MN 

$770,369  

Regents    of the University of Minnesota 

MN 

$1,169,599  

Mississippi    State University 

MS 

$163,870  

Cumberland    County Schools Board of Education 

NC 

$1,017,227  

North    Carolina Department of Public Instruction 

NC 

$776,791  

The    University of North Carolina at Greensboro 

NC 

$880,938  

Minot    State University 

ND 

$889,991  

University    of Mary 

ND 

$1,200,000  

Kean    University 

NJ 

$807,332  

Board    of Regents, NSHE on behalf of Nevada State College 

NV 

$67,131  

Fordham    University 

NY 

$652,241  

Mercy    College 

NY 

$887,088  

Nazareth    College of Rochester 

NY 

$519,333  

Seneca    Falls Central School District 

NY 

$1,199,318  

The    Research Foundation for The State University of New York 

NY 

$524,426  

The    Ohio State University 

OH 

$836,178  

Board    of Regents of the University of Oklahoma 

OK 

$909,048  

Carlow    University 

PA 

$868,376  

Albizu    University 

PR 

$815,440  

Clemson    University 

SC 

$600,455  

University    of South Carolina 

SC 

$675,888  

The    University of Tennessee 

TN 

$712,706  

Region    One Education Service Center 

TX 

$1,167,574  

San    Antonio Independent School District 

TX 

$294,548  

Texas    Woman's University 

TX 

$228,111  

The    University of Texas at Austin 

TX 

$612,378  

The    University of Texas at San Antonio 

TX 

$548,284  

The    University of Texas Rio Grande Valley 

TX 

$1,024,711  

University    of Houston-Victoria 

TX 

$224,213  

University    of Texas at Tyler 

TX 

$262,537  

University    of Utah 

UT 

$969,514  

Portsmouth    Public School Board Office 

VA 

$211,338  

The    Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia 

VA 

$1,199,434  

Educational    Service District 105 

WA 

$1,108,985  

University    of Washington 

WA 

$1,196,705  

Alverno    College 

WI 

$500,351  

Marquette    University 

WI 

$194,337  

Marshall    University Research Corporation 

WV 

$1,660,220  

**Total **

 

**$46,764,462 **

 

 

 

 

This announcement is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s  commitment to addressing the nation’s mental health crisis by providing more  resources and supports to help schools address students’ mental health needs.  Just recently, the Department announced the Stronger Connections Grant program,  which are awards totaling nearly $1 billion to 56 states and territories  through BSCA to help schools in high-needs districts provide students with safe  and supportive learning opportunities and environments that are critical for  their success. At the beginning of the school year, the Department, along with  the U.S. Health and Human Services  Secretary Xavier Becerra, sent a letter to governors  across the country to highlight federal resources available to states and  schools to invest in mental health services for students. The Department also  awarded $122 billion in American Rescue Plan Elementary and  Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to help schools reopen and recover, and  experts indicate more than $2 billion has been directed to hire more school  psychologists, counselors, and other mental health professionals in K-12  schools. With the help of these funds, as of July, compared with the  pre-pandemic period, the number of school social workers is up 54%, and the  number of school counselors is up 22%.
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