Department of Education Opens 2 Grant Applications for Mental Health Services Providers
- By Kate Lucariello
- 10/10/22
The
United States Department of Education (ED) has announced the opening
of two grant applications for fiscal year 2022, one for mental health
service providers (MHSPs), and one
for
postsecondary institutions to form partnerships to fund training and
placement of MHSPs in high-need schools. Both grants were
appropriated by the FY 2022 Appropriations Act and the Bipartisan
Safer Communities Act in response to traumatic disruptive events such
as the pandemic. The application deadline for both grants is Nov. 3,
2022.
The
Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration grant, Listing No.
84.184x, provides competitive grants to support and demonstrate
innovative partnerships to train school-based MHSPs. ED said the goal
is to “increase the number and diversity of high-quality, trained
providers available to address the shortages of mental health service
professionals in schools served by high-need LEAs” (local
educational agencies). Partnerships must provide opportunities to
place mental-health-field college graduate students in high-need
schools. This grant can go to help complete required field work,
obtain training, complete credit hours, fund internships, and develop
mental health career pathways, etc. Applicants are “encouraged to
consider the needs of individuals from diverse backgrounds … to use
funds to provide support services that will have a meaningful impact
on diversifying the school-based mental health services workforce,”
the announcement noted. This grant does not require matching funds.
The partnership grant awards are estimated to go to 50 to 150
institutions from $500,000 up to $3 million. A pre-application
webinar will be held Oct. 12 and 19, 2022, at 3 p.m. EDT. More
information on this grant can be found here.
The
School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program grant, Listing
84.184H, funds local and state schools to increase the number of
credentialed school-based MHSPs in schools defined as demonstrated
high-need. Funds may be used to recruit and retain new credentialed
professionals, as well as expand and respecialize the training of
existing staff. This grant requires cost-sharing or matching funds of
at least 25% of the school budget. The MHSP grant awards are
estimated to go to 150 to 250 institutions for $800,000 each. A
pre-application webinar will be held Oct. 11 and 19, 2022, at 4 p.m.
EDT. More information on this grant can be found here.
About the Author
Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.