Awards
FY 2022 Award Receipients
Alverno College (WI) $500,351
Understanding that school psychologists are in a key position to advance school mental health (SMH), Alverno College’s Educational Specialist training program for school psychologists (Ed.S. in School Psychology) is seeking support from the Mental Health Services Professional Demonstration Grant to increase the number of highly-trained, competent bilingual/multilingual and racially/ethnically diverse school-based mental health professionals in targeted Southeastern Wisconsin K-12 public school settings, serving youth who are at-risk for or who have developed a mental health disorder and who are from culturally diverse backgrounds. Through the Bilingual and Multicultural School Mental Health Professionals Program (BiM-SMHP), Alverno intends to leverage its 60-credit hour (3-year) highly immersive Ed.S. degree program, enabling graduates to be eligible to become licensed school psychologists in Wisconsin and train school psychology graduate students in this program, as well as practicing school psychologists, in providing a continuum of services to bilingual and multicultural K-12 students through a Certificate Program. Two Certificate programs, one designed for bilingual school psychologists who will be able to provide mental health services in a language other than English, and one designed for monolingual school psychologists, who will learn culturally and linguistically sensitive mental health assessment, intervention (e.g., counseling), and consultation with educators and families. The goal of this program is to create and expand school-based behavioral health care for bilingual and multicultural students through six (6) highly diverse and high-need piloted school districts in Southeast Wisconsin. The proposed program addresses the Absolute Priority as well as all three of the Competitive Preference Priorities.
Educational Service District 105 (WA) $1,108,985
The target communities are on the Yakama Indian Reservation and Yakima Valley in eastern Washington state. These LEAs have large numbers of Hispanic, Farmworkers, Indigenous, ELL, and low-come students. The Yakima GYO Consortium of High-Need LEAs, an MSI Higher Education Institution, Yakama Indian Nation, and ESD 105 will implement a Grow Your Own model to address the shortages of MH Providers in our high-need rural schools. We will accomplish this by developing a pipeline of students recruited from local diverse high schools into Heritage University’s undergraduate Bachelor of Science Social Work Program and into the newly to be developed Master of Social Work graduate program. Students will be placed in local diverse schools to conduct their field education hours/credits to attain their state credentials required to work in schools. Upon completing all credentials and certifications, these diverse graduate students will be hired in local diverse high-need LEAs. Competitive Preference Priorities Addressed: CCP1 – Increase School-based MH Providers; CPP2 – Inclusive Practices; and CPP3 – Partnering with Minority-Serving Institutions.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (TX) $1,024,711
Accessing Mental Health Services proposes to increase the capacity of 7 high-need LEAs in partnership with UTRGV, a Hispanic-Serving Institution (Competitive Preference 3), by training School Psychology, Counseling, or Social Work School-Based Mental Health Service Professionals (SBMHSP) who are from diverse backgrounds or from communities serviced by high need LEAs (Absolute Priority and Competitive Preference 1). 24 SBMHSP will be placed in 7 identified high-need LEAs yearly for a total of 120 across the life of the grant. By the end of the grant period, 90 (75%) of the total 120 SBMHSP will be employed as SBMHSP in one of the 7 identified high-need LEAs or within the local region. In addition, 3 SBMHSP will be hired through UTRGV as Mental Health Clinicians to work in one of the 7 identified high-need LEAs. At least 80% of the SBMHSP will be from diverse backgrounds and will also show evidence of increased knowledge and demonstrate competencies to provide inclusive practices in mental health services regarding race, ethnicity, culture, language, disability, and for students who identify as LGBTQIA+ in order to create safe environments for students. SMBHSP will also be trained on supporting the positive mental health of students K-12. As a result, 80% of them will increase their knowledge to use evidence-based practices and support the positive mental health of students in K-12, and 80% of K-12 students helped by Project MHS ACCESS personnel will improve positive mental health. Activities for SBMHSP will focus on developing (1) culturally adapted EBP to improve K-12 students’ positive mental health; (2) culturally adapted EBP to create culturally and linguistically inclusive environments for K-12 students; (3) culturally adapted telemental health practices and (4) EBP specific to trauma-informed-care.
University of Central Arkansas (AR) $323,451
The proposed project goal is to provide additional financial support to students who are recruited and accepted to the School Psychology Ed.S. program at the University of Central Arkansas. The overall goal is to Increase the number of School Psychologists trained at The University of Central Arkansas. Students admitted to the program in years prior have had the opportunity to work with a faculty member as a Graduate Assistant 20 hours per week in exchange for a stipend. The stipend allowed students to pay their annual tuition. However, many students also worked outside the university and/or applied for student loans for living expenses. The majority of students applying to the program are Arkansans. Arkansas ranks 49th in the attainment of 4-year degrees with 22.4% of individuals earning a four-year degree. Arkansas ranks 4th in poverty rate (16.2%) ahead of Kentucky (16.3%), New Mexico (18.2%), Louisiana (19.0%), and Mississippi (19.6%). Therefore, there are substantial financial barriers to higher education in Arkansas. The grant proposal partners are\one High-Need LEA, an Institution of Higher Education, and a Historically Black College or University. Mental health services will be provided in 5 High-Need elementary schools (Ida Burns ES, n=394; Marquette Vann ES, n=359; Theodore Jones ES, n=425; and Ellen Smith ES, n=429). The partners plan to train 63 school psychologists during the grant period. The partners are seeking to meet Competitive Preference Priority 1 (increasing the numbers of mental health service providers from diverse backgrounds and numbers of individuals from communities with High-Need LEAs). The proposal also addresses Competitive Preference Priority 2: promoting inclusive practices and Competitive Preference Priority 3: partnership with HBCUs, TCUs, or other MSIs.
The Ohio State University (OH) $836,178
Project objectives and activities. The partnership between Ohio State University and Columbus City Schools (CCS) has three primary objectives: (1) to increase the number of highly qualified School Psychologists who can provide mental health services in high-needs schools; (2) to improve the quality and quantity of mental health service access for students in high-needs schools; and (3) to increase the number of underrepresented school psychologists. Activities and services that will be implemented will be the expansion of mental health services which may include classroom wide social emotional learning interventions, individual and group interventions, and teacher consultation in Columbus City Schools. The outcomes of this project include an increased number of school psychologists trained and certified to provide mental health services in schools. From a school standpoint, our goal is to decrease mental health-related issues (e.g., depression, anxiety, trauma-related disorders, and social-emotional issues) demonstrated by children and improve the school climate because of a decrease in discipline referrals and suspensions. These outcomes will be measured by universal screenings, checklists, discipline referrals, and qualitative interviews. Number of LEAs to be served. Columbus City Schools (CCS) is the partner LEA. CCS is the largest district in the state of Ohio serving the needs of 47,000 students in 112 schools. The number of students to be served. We will partner with ten high-need PreK-8th/Elementary schools. On average each Pre-K thru 8th/Elementary school has an average of 450 students. This means approximately 4500 students each school year will be served by the grant project. The number of providers to be hired. Over the duration of project 44, preservice school psychologists (40 Ed.S. level & 4 Ph.D. level) will be trained and hired to provide mental health services in the Columbus City School district.
Fordham University (NY) $652,241
Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education, in partnership with a consortium of schools in two Local Educational Agencies (LEAs): KIPP NYC’s 18 charter schools, and School District 9’s 69 schools in the Bronx of New York, will implement a five-year Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration project. This project utilizes a cohort training model to facilitate trainees’ competency development, personal growth, and career advancement, in response to the contextual needs of the 87 schools that serve a combined total of 35,000 students. The project objectives are to (a) Enhance LEA’s capacity to provide mental health services to students. (b) Increase students’ access to counseling services. (c) Ensure students receive evidence-based, and culturally and linguistically inclusive mental health services. Four cohorts of 25 culturally diverse graduate students each will be recruited and selected to receive one semester of training, followed by two semesters of field experience in high-need schools. Cohort students will receive training in telehealth, group counseling, and in providing culturally responsive and justice-oriented services, thus increasing their sense of belonging and social justice commitment. Training will consist of readings, weekly meetings and discussions, peer support groups, and shadowing professionals in high-need schools. The project aims to achieve its proximal outcome of serving approximately 10,000 students in high-need schools annually, with the intermediate outcome of 80 cohort graduate students (80% of the 100) employed as school-based mental health professionals in high-need schools within 2 years after earning their degree and certification. The distal outcome is to nurture a safe, supportive, and culturally inclusive learning environment to increase school students’ well-being, engagement, and achievements.
Regents of the University of Minnesota (MN) $1,169,599
Through Project AWARE, we propose an innovative partnership between the University of Minnesota School Psychology Program and two high-need LEAs: (1) Minneapolis Public Schools and (2) South St. Paul School District. Through a five-phase capacity-building and workforce development model, we will increase the number and diversity of fully qualified school psychologists who can significantly expand the capacity of high-need LEAs through the enhanced implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to support youth mental health. We will accomplish these objectives through sixteen paid MHSP graduate assistant (GA) positions per year, through which MHSP GAs will provide mental health services in high-need schools for 20 hours per week. The Project leverages collaborative efforts between the Minnesota School Psychologists Association, the Minnesota Collective for Educational Equity, and the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement to achieve these objectives and sustain investments well beyond the proposed five-year project. Proposed Project Outcomes: (1) Increase the number of fully qualified school psychologists in Minnesota, (2) Increase the diversity of fully qualified school psychologists in Minnesota, (3) Increase the capacity of high-need LEAs to support student mental health through MTSS, (4) Increase the number of skilled supervisors, and (5) Improve student outcomes.
University of Washington (WA) $1,196,705
The Washington State School Mental Health Service Professional (WA-SMHSP) Demonstration Project is a collaboration among the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Social Work, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), WA Association of School Social Workers (WASSW), and WA’s five Institute of Higher Education (IHE)-based social work training programs. Objectives of the project are: 1. Increase the number of qualified school mental health (SMH) service professionals (SMHSPs) from diverse backgrounds who work in high-need LEAs; 2. Provide high-quality training to SMHSPs on SMH and inclusive practices;
- Train participating LEAs on effective SMH and multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS); 4. Reduce language and cultural barriers to the provision of SMH by increasing the proportion of SMHPs that are from diverse backgrounds.
Activities for this project are (1) UW will provide conditional grants of $30,000 to 100 2nd year MSW students at the five schools of social work in Washington from 2023-2024 through 2027-2028. (2) Participating MSW students will agree to complete 45 hours of training on SMH and inclusive practices and a specialized practicum placement in a high-need LEA, and commit to two years of full-time employment in a high-need LEA. (3) UW, OSPI, and WASSW will develop a certificate program on SMH and inclusive practices for participating students. (4) UW will provide training and consultation to school-based practicum supervisors in participating LEAs on effective SMH and inclusive practices. (5) UW will provide specialized training and consultation on evidence-based SMH to participating students. LEAs to be served: Four initial participating LEAs; ultimately expanding to 10. Students to be served and providers to be hired: 200 MSW students will be in the SMH training program; 100 will receive conditional grants to be hired by high-need LEAs. Competitive Priorities: The project seeks to achieve all three optional competitive preference priorities: (1) Increase the number of SMHSPs from diverse backgrounds; (2) Promote inclusive practices; and (3) Implement the project with a Minority Serving Institution (the University of Washington is an MSI).
Carlow University (PA) $868,376
Carlow University (Carlow), a four-year, private liberal arts university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, requests support for the Promoting Mental Health in Area Schools (PMHAS) project from the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program in the Department of Education. Carlow will partner with Woodland Hills, a high-need school district located in east Pittsburgh. This project will increase the number of mental health service providers available to support the ever-increasing mental health needs of students in the Woodland Hills School District and in the surrounding Pittsburgh region while improving the capacity of teachers and service providers to identify students with mental health needs at schools in the Woodland Hills district. The goals of the project are to (1) increase the number of graduates from the Master of Professional Counseling (MPC) and Master of Social Work (MSW) graduate programs who move on to work in high-need local education agencies (LEAs), including Woodland Hills, from none currently to 85% of graduates and (2) improve the mental health supports available to students in Woodland Hills district. To achieve these goals, the project leaders will develop and implement a scholarship program that attracts an additional 10 students into the two programs each year, develop new recruitment strategies focused on attracting students from underrepresented groups and working professionals in the Woodland Hills district, create two new certificate programs focused on school-based work for the two programs, launch a clinic in the Woodland Hills district, and offers Mental Health First Aid training to teachers, staff, and the employees of external agencies working in Woodland Hills. The project will serve an estimated 700 students in Woodland Hills each year and work with an estimated four external providers.
Albizu University (PR) $815,440
The MHSP Program presented by the San Juan Campus and Mayaguez Center at Albizu University seeks to alleviate the shortage of mental health service providers high need public schools in Puerto Rico, to offer alternative mental health career pathways, and to entice high schools and undergraduate students to enter college and choose mental health careers. Also, brings opportunities to schools’ staff and community and recent high school graduates to opt for these career pathways and create the conditions through financial assistance for the students. The Program consists of three initiatives described below: Initiative 1 will place twenty graduate students at the School and Counseling Psychology programs in high-need public schools to complete the MS or MS/PsyD Internship. The students will receive a $16K stipend during the internship year (3 semesters) to cover living costs. Initiative 2 involves the development of 4 professional certifications: Mental Health Cultural Competencies, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Behavioral Interventions, and Alcohol & Substance Dependence, and through a competitive application and qualifications for financial aid, granting 8 scholarships yearly to 8 participants from underserved populations. Initiative 3 will provide opportunities for high school and undergraduate students to participate in Psychology Career Pathway talks, the HS Psychology course with Lab Practices, and the Young Scholars Psychology Research Program. The Project will also impact schools’ teachers & staff, faculty, clinical supervisors, and graduate students by providing them with training on cultural competencies, identity-safe environments, and Mental Health First-Aid Training. The school community will benefit from a YouTube channel to become educated in mental health and well-being topics, resources, and services. The Project’s total cost amounts to $3,999,087.51.
The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (VA) $1,199,434
Project Objectives and Activities. The Virginia Partnership for School Mental Health (VPSMH) at the University of Virginia (UVA) aims to improve the provision of mental health services to expand the capacity of school mental health (SMH) professionals and increase the number of diverse graduate trainees in high-need local education agencies (LEAs) (Absolute Priority). SMH professionals will receive financial incentives to complete a series of online learning modules and attend monthly TeleECHO sessions. Graduate students enrolled in SMH training programs will receive financial incentives for completing field experiences in partner high-need LEAs and for accepting employment in high-need LEAs. SMH professionals will receive additional financial incentives for supervising an SMH graduate student field experience. Through this proposed project, the VPSMH will (a) increase the number of SMH professionals working in high-need LEAs throughout the state and improve the capacity of SMH services (Absolute Priority); (b) partner with 9 high-need LEAs and 9 IHEs, including MSIs, and an HBCU to increase the number of qualified SMH professionals in high-need LEAs from diverse backgrounds (Competitive Priorities 1, 3); and (c) enhance culturally responsive, inclusive, and identity-safe environments and evidence-based pedagogical practices via professional development and graduate student training (Competitive Priority 2). Over the duration of the project, the VPSMH will provide professional development services to an estimated 300 SMH professionals in 9 high-need LEAs that serve over 100,000 PreK-12 students. We will provide incentivized field placements and SMH training opportunities to approximately 300 SMH graduate students enrolled in 9 IHEs (11 training programs) across Virginia. Our goal is for at least 50% (n = 150) of our graduate student trainees to be hired in high-need LEAs.
Loyola University of Chicago (IL) $560,735
This project will address the critical shortage of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) school psychologists in three high-need LEAs in the Cicero and Berwyn, IL communities, through a partnership with the Loyola University Chicago School Psychology program. K-12 students attending schools in these districts are primarily Hispanic (80-97%) and many are dual-language learners and/or have parents whose primary language is Spanish. The absolute priority to expand the capacity of high-need LEAs will be accomplished by placing school psychology trainees in practica and internships in the high-need LEAs to carry out comprehensive school mental health services within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework. Competitive preference priority 1 is a major focus of the project; activities to increase the diversity of the workforce include intentionally recruiting graduate students from CLD backgrounds, especially those who are bilingual, and providing funding to offset the financial burden of pursuing a graduate degree. A pipeline of school mental health professionals from the Cicero-Berwyn community will also be cultivated by exposing high school students to these careers through a workforce development program in partnership with a local youth-serving agency. Competitive preference priority 2 will be met by providing both graduate trainees and partner-LEA support staff with high-quality professional development opportunities and consultation activities centered on enhancing culturally and linguistically informed MTSS and promoting inclusive school mental health practices. At project completion, three high-need LEAs, 22 schools, and 19,803 students will be served. At least 32 school psychology trainees will be placed in the partner LEAs for a practicum and/or internship, and it is estimated that 10 graduates supported by the project will be hired by the partner LEAs. The overall goal of the project is to reduce the critical shortage of qualified school psychologists that can effectively serve high-need LEA students so that more students can access and benefit from school-based mental health support.
The University of Texas at Austin (TX) $612,378
The Training in Comprehensive, Culturally Affirming Services (TRACCS) in School Psychology: Increasing School Mental Health Service Capacity in High Need Schools is a partnership between The University of Texas at Austin (UT), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and the Del Valle Independent School District (DVISD), a high-need LEA. TRACCS meets local, state, and national needs for school mental health providers prepared to provide services to culturally and linguistically diverse students. TRACCS also addresses significant workforce shortages in School Psychology and will increase the availability of Spanish-speaking school psychologists and those from minoritized backgrounds. This proposal responds to the MHSP Program competitive preference priorities 1, 2, and 3. TRACCS objectives and activities are to (1) recruit and enroll up to 12 culturally and linguistically diverse school psychology master’s trainees committed to careers in high-need schools, using evidence-informed recruitment methods; (2) prepare trainees to provide comprehensive, culturally affirming evidence-based mental health services via coursework, professional development training workshops, and a seminar series; (3) increase DVISD mental health services capacity via practicum and internship placement of TRACCS trainees and professional development of DVISD supervisors; (4) identify and serve DVISD students with mental health needs from special education, general education, and by parent referral and 5) support trainee resiliency and retention in the school mental health workforce via resiliency training, mentorship and vertical team approach. We will report on recruitment, retention, and employment of TRACCS trainees, provision of mental health services provided to students, trainee participation in training activities, trainee knowledge of and competencies in culturally affirming, evidence-based mental health services, trainee burnout and wellbeing, and the ratio of LSSPs and bilingual, Spanish-speaking LSSPs working within DVISD to students served.
El Rancho Unified School District (CA) $696,038
El Rancho Unified School District (ERUSD), serving 9,652 students in grades K-12 in Pico Rivera, CA, seeks funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program (MHSPD). The district meets the high-need school definition included in the NIA. The percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-price meals under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act at the 14 participating schools is 70.2%: each of the elementary schools (8) have rates over 60%, and the other six ERUSD schools exceed the established threshold of 45%. Our MHSPD grant expands the capacity of ERUSD by establishing partnerships with California State University (CSU), Los Angeles; CSU, Long Beach; and the University of California (UC), Los Angeles. These partnerships were established to place graduate students of their academic programs into schools served by ERUSD to complete required fieldwork and credit hours for a social work degree. (Absolute priority). Project activities and goals include: (1) Partner with IHEs to expand the pipeline of mental health providers into high-needs schools; (2) Increase the number of qualified school-based mental health providers (75 over the five-year grant period) by hiring graduate students to complete their field learning experience in participating ERUSD school sites and hiring IHE graduates to be assigned to high-needs schools; (3) Increase access to school-based mental health services; (4) Increase the number of school-based mental health providers who are from diverse backgrounds (Competitive Priority #1); and (5) Promote inclusive practices that include evidence-based cultural and linguistic pedagogical practices in provider preparation (Competitive Priority #2). We have 22 corresponding objectives related to these four goals, including the six GPRA measures. Details are included in the Narrative. Our MHSPD grant program also meets Competitive Priority #3 as two of our three IHE partners are Minority-Serving Institutions. CSU, Long Beach is a federally designated Minority-Serving Institution (MSI), Hispanic-serving Institution (HIS), and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. CSU, Los Angeles is an MSI and HIS. Furthermore, UC, Los Angeles has set a goal of reaching federally recognized status as a HIS by 2025, which would cover three of the five years of our grant program.
University of Maine System dba University of Southern Maine (ME) $172,837
The Maine School Psychology: Collaborative Affiliations in Rural Education (Maine School Psychology CAREs) project aims to increase the number of credentialed school psychologists in rural, high-need schools in Maine (a) reflect the diverse backgrounds of students in those communities; (b) are qualified to deliver comprehensive, culturally responsive mental and behavioral health services; and (c) demonstrate competencies for effective rural school psychology practice. In partnership with the Maine Department of Education, high-need rural schools, and the Maine Association of School Psychologists, the University of Southern Maine will recruit and prepare 22 graduate students with diverse backgrounds for state credentialing as school psychologists. Key project objectives and activities include (a) developing and implementing a low residency school psychology training program; (b) delivering coursework that emphasizes culturally responsive mental and behavioral health services; (c) coordinating quality practicum and internship experiences in rural high-need schools; (d) facilitating seminars and workshops focused on ethical practice in rural schools; (e) offering induction support for new school psychologists; and (f) engaging in formative and summative evaluation of processes and outcomes. It is anticipated that project services will benefit 1000 students across at least 10 local educational agencies and result in the hiring of 22 school psychologists. This will improve ratios of school psychologists to students, increase rural students’ access to mental and behavioral health services, and build capacity for continued workforce development. This project directly addresses the competition’s Absolute Priority, Competitive Preference Priority 1, and Competitive Preference Priority 2.
Nazareth College of Rochester (NY) $519,333
Nazareth College of Rochester, NY, will partner with one area high-need LEA, the Greece Central School District (GCSD) for AMPs Up – Increasing Access to Mental Health Professionals in High-Need Schools. This program will increase the number and diversity of critically needed mental health service providers prepared to serve in high-need schools. Following academic preparation that includes specialty coursework in school social work practice, mental health, trauma-informed care, and play therapy, 40 graduate interns in social work and art therapy will complete year-long fieldwork placements in eight GCSD schools. More than 15,000 children will receive high-quality health services because of this program. A comprehensive professional development workshop series will advance the knowledge and skills of all GCSD mental health professionals, as well as Nazareth student interns, in culturally responsive and inclusive evidence-based practice. Forty highly qualified social work and art therapy mental health professionals will be hired by high-need LEAs as a result of this program. Nazareth and GCSD will also develop a career pathway program to interest high school students in mental health careers to increase the pipeline of the future for professionals from high-need LEAs and underrepresented populations. This program will meet the Absolute Priority of the MHSPD program by creating an exceptional school-based mental health partnership. It will meet Competitive Preference Priority 1 by increasing the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers in high-need LEAs who are from diverse backgrounds or from communities served by GCSD, and meet Competitive Preference Priority 2 by using evidence-based pedagogical practices that are inclusive and that prepare all participating mental health services providers to create culturally and linguistically inclusive and identity-safe environments for students when providing services.
Minot State University (ND) $889,991
Minot State University’s (MiSU) North Dakota School Psychology Service Professional Demonstration Grant (ND SP Service Grant) will increase the unduplicated, cumulative number of high-quality, trained School Psychologists in North Dakota (ND) (1) to address the shortages in High-Need ND LEAs by providing financial support, field-based training, and required post-graduate service components; (2) to persons from diverse backgrounds and/or communities with High-Need LEAs through student recruitment, application process, promoting inclusive practices, and providing crisis response training; (3) to increase school-based mental health services in High-Need ND LEAs by providing field-based training in a High-Need LEAs and through student financial support for completion of practicums and internships; (4) to increase the unduplicated, cumulative number of School Psychologists hired by ND LEAs to provide school-based mental health services through student financial support and service component commitment to High-Need LEAs; and (5) to fulfill the unique mental health needs of students from High-Need ND LEAs through completion of trauma informed care, suicide prevention training, and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support training for program students. Each year, ND SP Service Grant will serve approximately 1,700 students in the Bureau of Indian Education Turtle Mountain Area Schools (BIE-TMAS) High-Need LEA located on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indian Reservation. BIE-TMAS includes Dunseith Public, Ojibwa Indian, and Turtle Mountain Community Schools (elementary, middle, and high school), Tiny Turtles Pre-School, Pre-School Special Needs, Head Start, and Head Start Special Needs. The ND SP Service Grant will result in 28 unduplicated Education Specialist Degrees in School Psychology graduates, who will be committed to completing years of service in ND High-Need LEAs commensurate with their years of ND SP Service Grant funded support.
Norwalk-La Mirada USD (CA) $770,537
Project objectives and activities: Objective 1: Expand the capacity of high-need LEAs in partnership with eligible Institutions of Higher Education to train school-based mental health services providers with the goal of expanding the number of Master of Social Work (MSW) interns from six to forty-five over the course of the project; Objective 2: Provide Master of Social Work & Bachelor of Social Work interns with training for evidence-based and culturally and linguistically inclusive mental health interventions. Project activities include: (1) providing stipends for MSW and Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) interns to complete their required fieldwork hours at high-need schools; (2) offering full-time fellowship positions for MSW interns after they successfully complete their fieldwork within the high-need schools and obtain MSW degrees; (3) offer an additional stipend for MSW Interns who are bilingual in Spanish and Korean, two languages the district is required to provide parent materials in these languages which are reflective of the school community; (4) provide stipends to MSW and BSW interns for expenses related to the fieldwork and state licensure; (5) provide training for the MSW interns on evidence-based and culturally and linguistically inclusive strategies, and (6) create a Resource Center for MH Service Professionals. Proposed project outcomes ensure that students receive appropriate, evidence-based, and culturally and linguistically inclusive mental health services. This expansion will allow for a safe & supportive learning environment that will increase the identification of students needing mental health support and provision of early intervention services.
NSHE Board of Regents on behalf of Nevada State College (NV) $67,131
This proposal meets the absolute priority of expanding the capacity of a large, high-need LEA, the Clark County School District (CCSD). It also meets the three competitive priorities of increasing the number of high-quality diverse school psychology providers originating from the high-need community, promoting inclusive practices, and implementation by Nevada State College (NSC) which is an MSI, specifically, a Hispanic Serving Institution. The goal of this project is to address the school psychology workforce and practice gaps. These gaps will be addressed with the Active Recruitment, Training, and Educator Retention to serve our Youth (ARTERY) (Dockweiler, 2019) pipeline project for school psychologists to increase graduate training programming and infrastructure, and to increase the number of students in the high-need CCSD who receive mental health services. This project seeks to achieve seven objectives: enrolling high school students into School-Based Mental Health dual-credit courses, expanding the number of undergraduate students who enroll in School-Based Mental Health Minor coursework, increasing the number of state-licensed school psychologist assistants, expanding the number of graduate students enrolled in the Educational Specialist program of School Psychology, and increasing the number of state-licensed school psychologists, specifically those who are diverse, who enter the CCSD from the Educational Specialist School Psychology graduate program at NSC. Approximately 136,920 PK-12 students in the CCSD will benefit from the ARTERY program. Each year, they will be served by 36 new and diverse high-quality NSC practicum students, internship students, and licensed school psychologists. Capacity will be sustained, and this impact will be realized each year into perpetuity, positively impacting shortages in the school psychology workforce and mental health services delivered to students.
University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc. (GA) $219,835
The Athens Community Collaborative for Equitable Student Support (ACCESS) proposes a partnership between the University of Georgia, 1 LEA – Clarke County School District (CCSD, a high needs LEA), and Advantage Behavioral Health (a community mental health provider). The goals of this project are to (1) Increase the Number of Individuals in CCSD Providing Student Mental Health Services (Absolute Priority); (2) Promote Inclusive Practices Among Trainees and Current CCSD Staff (Competitive Preference Priority # 2) while diversifying the Student Support Work Force (Competitive Preference Priority # 1), and (3) Increase the Capacity for Trainees and Current CCSD Staff to Provide Empirically Supported Mental Health Therapies. We will accomplish these goals by placing 9 school psychology and school counseling students annually (total = 27 providers) in 14 high-needs schools in the district to complete their practicum/internship/postdoctoral requirements, serving approximately 6,400 students each year. We further propose to engage trainees and community partners in training around inclusive and evidence-based mental health practices. It is our hope that the proposed training activities will lead to the following outcomes: an increased number of diverse providers in CCSD, increased feelings of self-efficacy and multicultural competence among ACCESS-associated trainees, supervisors, and staff, increased knowledge, attitudes, and implementation of EBIs, and reduced burnout among CCSD staff.
N.C. Department of Public Instruction (NC) $776,791
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) is positioned to leverage MHSP Grant Program funds to support an increase in the number of qualified school-based mental health (SBMH) providers in ten local education agencies (LEAs). Project Adding Direct Supports (ADS) will pursue the following objectives: Objective 1: Address the absolute priority by increasing the number of licensed school counselors & school social workers to better serve students in eight LEAs by increasing the number of SBMH provider candidates that are respecialized, and thus eligible for NCDPI Licensure. The project will address competitive priority 1 by recruiting and incentivizing local generalist counselors and social workers to respecialize to work in the school setting Objective 2 addresses competitive priority 2 by training LEAs, SBMH providers, and SBMH provider candidates utilizing evidence-based, culturally responsive, and inclusive mental health intervention strategies, programs, and protocols to maximize SBMH services. Project ADS will meet its objectives and address competitive priority 3 by partnering with a minority-serving institution and two other institutions of higher education to recruit, train and respecialize SBMH providers, provide travel stipends for internships in identified LEAs, and stipends for internship supervisors. The project will also provide intensive training in trauma-informed care/practice, restorative practices, (LGBTQI+) ally training, crisis intervention, and universal screening. The outcomes of this project will be increased pipelines of SBMH providers, NCDPI issued licenses, school-based internships, and the capacity of the LEAs to provide SBMH services. This project will serve over 120,000 students in 8 LEAs by increasing the number of licensed SBMH providers by a minimum of 60 providers over five years.
Clemson University (SC) $600,455
The Community Collaboration for Counselors: Increasing School-Based Mental Health Support (CCC) project, will expand the capacity of Greenville County Schools (GCS), a high-need LEA, to support the mental health needs of at least 33,000 students from diverse backgrounds in 46 high-need schools. Clemson University (CU) will work with GCS will recruit a total of 48 individuals from diverse backgrounds or communities served by high-need schools to complete CU’s graduate program in counselor education, including 600 hours of supervised field placement in high-need schools. Upon graduation, GCS will hire CCC participants into school-based mental health (SBMH) positions, thus increasing the pipeline of trained mental health professionals entering the GCS workforce. CU’s counselor education will prepare SBMH professionals to use inclusive practices to support the needs of PK-12 students in high-need schools by providing a 60-credit hour evidenced-based, culturally responsive graduate training program. CCC participants will implement 240 hours of evidence-based direct counseling services to students in high-needs schools, while supervised by counselor education faculty for a minimum of 40 hours. Additionally, CCC participants will engage in collaborative activities that support sustained professional growth and capacity, including membership and participation in professional counseling associations. Through community engagement and involvement, CCC participants will increase the network of resources and supports available for SBMH professionals and students in high-need schools. Overall, CCC will increase K-12 students’ access to SBMH counselors, increase mental health services provided in schools, and reduce ratios of SBMH counselors to students in GCS high-needs schools. This project will lead to more highly trained SBMH counselors from diverse backgrounds to deliver inclusive mental health care to students.
University of Houston-Victoria (TX) $224,213
The University of Houston Victoria (UHV) will partner with Katy Independent School District (Katy ISD) with support from the Texas Association of School Psychologists (TASP) to develop and implement the proposed project, “Creating Targeted Undergraduate Pathways to Build the Professional Identity and Leadership of Future School Psychologists.” The objectives and activities of the proposed program include the following: (1) create opportunities for undergraduate students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) to become aware of the school psychology field; (2) immerse undergraduate students at an HSI in the field of school psychology during their senior year through experiential learning, thus creating a targeted pathway to entering graduate study; (3) provide structured mentorship and field-based placements for school psychology graduate students in Katy ISD; (4) provide leadership opportunities for school psychology graduate students to build their professional identity and leadership skills as future school psychologists; and (5) increase the number of school psychologists serving high needs schools and providing comprehensive school-based mental health services in Katy ISD. These activities will increase the professional identity of a cohort of 10 future school psychology students by participating in a training model that embeds students in Katy ISD high-needs schools from their senior year of undergraduate work through their first year of employment. Students (n=10) will gain a sense of professional identity by participating in state and national school psychology organizations. Student training will expand and improve Katy ISD’s capacity to provide mental health services to selected Title 1 schools (n =10). Graduates of the grant cohort (n=10) will include at least 50% of students who identify as from a diverse background and this cohort of students will be employed in Katy ISD by 2027, thus increasing the number of school psychologists in Katy ISD by 16%.
Seneca Falls Central School District (NY) $1,199,318
Seneca Falls Central School District, in partnership with the University of Rochester, Medaille University, Roberts Wesleyan College, and Syracuse University, and in consortium with Geneva, Marcus Whitman, Marion, Palmyra Macedon, Penn Yan, Romulus, South Seneca, Waterloo, and Williamson Central School Districts will operate the Finger Lakes NY Mental Health Expansion Project. Our project innovatively meets the needs of 22 high-needs rural schools and will serve 7,957 students to meet the Absolute Priority of this project. We will expand the capacity of our high-need LEAs through dynamic partnerships with the Institutions of Higher Education that will train school-based mental health service providers in evidence-based, pedagogical practices and professional development in mental health services that are inclusive with regard to race, ethnicity, culture, language, disability, students who identify as LGBTQI+, meet the needs of our students, and expand the pipeline of diverse mental health professionals into our schools. Over the course of the project, one hundred and fifty or more graduate-level Interns will support the delivery of a core menu of inclusive, evidence-based interventions designed to integrate community and school services to meet needs associated with trauma, poverty, transience, substance abuse, and violence. In addition, our project will operate a Grow Your Own internship program, in mental health, for rising 11th and 12th graders, which will also allow them to earn college credit.
Marquette University (WI) $194,337
Marquette University’s Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology proposes to graduate 55 diverse school counselors over the grant period, with an additional 18 graduating the semester immediately after the end of the grant. Students in the school counseling program will follow either a traditional 2-year graduate program or an accelerated program in which students take some graduate classes as undergraduates, which then allows them to complete their graduate studies within a one-year post-undergraduate degree. This accelerated program lessens the cost burden for students, which is important, especially for students of color or first-year students. The project will also expand its existing curriculum, which is based on the ASCA National Model of School Counseling, by incorporating ASCA’s Specialist Training Program in which trainees acquire skills in culturally inclusive and sustaining school counseling practices, closing achievement gaps, or mental health and trauma-informed practices. The project will also collaborate with high-need LEAs and schools on practicum and internship placements for 55 students (plus 18 post-grant periods) and to then also support trainees in seeking employment opportunities in high-need schools. The project will serve four high-need LEAs in southeastern Wisconsin: Kenosha, Racine, Sheboygan, and West Allis-West Milwaukee. Approximately 40 schools will be served, comprising approximately 57,000 students. As school counseling students near graduation, networking opportunities with high-need LEAs will be coordinated to assist them in attaining post-degree employment in these settings.
The University of Tennessee (TN) $712,706 The Rural Appalachian Mental Health Partnership (RAMHP) will create a collaboration between four high-need, rural Appalachian school districts and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) to help address K-12 students’ mental health needs. Cocke County, Greene County, Grainger County, and Newport City Schools will work with UTK Project Directors to implement a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) program designed to meet the unique and collective needs at targeted high-need schools that have a high student-to-qualified mental health service provider ratio. To meet the Absolute Priority, RAMHP will place 48 school counseling and school psychology graduate students in these high-need schools to increase school-based mental health services. To meet Competitive Priority 1, RAMHP will intentionally recruit graduate students from low-income and/or rural communities to participate in the project so they will mirror the backgrounds of the K-12 students being served by our high-need districts. To address Competitive Priority 2, graduate students will be trained in MTSS and evidence-based and culturally-inclusive practices, and then placed in 10 of the highest-need schools across the four districts to complete their fieldwork experiences. Graduate students, under the supervision of the RAMHP leadership team, will implement universal student mental health screening to identify at-risk students and introduce classroom lessons on social-emotional learning (Tier 1). For students with additional mental health needs based on screening and school-based data results, the graduate students will offer small group counseling services, psychoeducational assessments, and parent and teacher consultations (Tier 2). Finally, for students with acute needs, targeted, individualized mental health interventions and/or comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations for IDEA service eligibility will be available (Tier 3). In addition to providing ongoing professional development for school partners on data-driven, culturally-responsive mental health services, we will work with schools to help them understand their own school data and how to support their students. All will be trained in inclusive practices and use culturally-responsive, evidence-based interventions. RAMHP will expand the capacity of high-need schools to identify students with mental health needs and to provide quality services to promote health and wellness.
Region One Education Service Center (TX) $1,167,574
Region One Education Service Center, in alignment with Absolute Priority and Competitive Preference Priority 1, 2, 3, proposes a Mental Health Service Professional program entitled RBMHL Project! (Region One Building Mental Health Leaders Project!) to serve 53,138 students across 7 high-need LEAs (4 are rural) with 91 campuses and 9,336 educators. RBMHL Project! will implement a strategic, comprehensive proven evidence-based MHCP (Mental Health Career Pathways) to increase the number of school-based mental health service providers at each high-need LEA of which all will be diverse or from the communities served.
Project Activities: RBMHL Project! will implement the MHCP in partnership with two MSI-IHEs (UTRGV and TAMIU) to offer practicum, internships, fieldwork, credit hours, or related training applicable for degree or credential to recruit and onboard school-based mental health service providers (8 annually for a total of 40 or more over the five years), train LEAs to support mental health service providers, and offer training and services to a diverse population of graduate students to provide culturally competent mental health school-based services through an evidence-based framework entitled TI-MTSS to all students at participating schools.
Kean University (NJ) $807,332
Funding from the U.S. Department of Education through the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program will allow Kean University to strengthen its partnership with Belleville Public Schools District (BPSD) to expand the pipeline of qualified mental health providers, while concurrently strengthening the long-term capacity of the school district (Absolute Priority) to provide high-quality mental health services to its students. Belleville Public Schools District is a high-need local education agency (LEA) with five high-need schools that serve over 3,290 students. Kean University will work with BPSD to refine the BeWell Mental Health Initiative in order to create a trauma-informed multi-tiered system of mental health supports (MTSS), districtwide. Our activities will include recruiting and enrolling a diverse set of students into our School and Clinical Psychology graduate programs; placing our students in internships and externships at BPSP to provide school-based mental health services to their students; and training our students and the staff at BPSD in the implementation and delivery of inclusive, culturally responsive, evidenced-based mental health services through data-based MTSS. Through this initiative, we aim to increase the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers from diverse backgrounds at BPSD which is a high-need LEA (Competitive Priority 1) and promote inclusive practices (Competitive Priority 2). By the end of the grant, we intend to achieve the following: enroll 60 students from diverse backgrounds into our graduate programs; place over 65 of our school psychology students in internships and externships at BPSD; train over 65 students and 30 BPSD district employees in MTSS; and have at minimum of 40% of our students hired by BPSD and high-need LEAs to provide school-based mental health services upon their graduation from our programs.
Alabama State University (AL) $1,181,140
The Alabama State University Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration (ASU MHSP) project addresses all three competitive preference priorities. LEA and Number of Students Served. ASU MHSP includes all 51 schools in Montgomery Public Schools (MPS), serving 28,784 students, with 79% being African American. The poverty rate for MPS students (ages 5-17) is 25.7%. Providers Hired. ASU MHSP includes 15 graduate students each year in the ASU College of Education’s School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs. During the five-year project period, a total of 75 graduate students, to fulfill their graduation requirement of completing 700 hours of practicum and internship, will provide counseling services at MPS, equating to a total of 52,500 hours. Project Outcome Objectives. Included in ASU MHSP are six outcome objectives: (1) Increase the number of state-licensed/certified mental health service professionals (i.e., counselors) prepared for employment in MPS; (2) Increase the number of state-licensed/certified mental health service professionals (i.e., counselors) employed by MPS; (3) Increase the number of diverse states licensed/certified school mental health service professionals (i.e., counselors), prepared for employment in MPS; (4) Increase the number of students receiving school-based mental health services; (5) Decrease violent, aggressive, and disruptive behavior in schools; and (6) Increase student school engagement. Activities. ASU MHSP activities include graduate coursework; supervised practicums and internships; National conference attendance (i.e., ACE, ACES, ASCA); stipends, childcare, tuition, books/supplies for graduate students; mental health pipeline for MPS seniors; scholarships to MPS students who complete healthcare pathway and serve as mentors; project evaluation and continuous improvement.
Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District (CA) $689,186
Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District (ADUSD) is a rural and low-income school district located in California, seeks funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program (MHSPD). AADUSD serves students in grades TK-12 and their families from the communities of Acton and Agua-Dulce. AADUSD is comprised of one elementary, one middle, and one high school and provides oversight to an additional nine (9) public charter schools in our attendance zone. All AADUSD schools are Title I schools. The K-12 enrollment for the 2022-23 school year for all participating high-needs LEAs and school sites is 11,912. At 64.8%, the percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-price meals in our schools meets the high-need school definition included in the NIA. Our MHSPD grant expands the capacity of AADUSD by establishing a partnership with the University of Southern California. This partnership was established to place graduate students of their academic programs into schools served by AADUSD and partnering LEAs to complete required fieldwork and credit hours for a social work degree. (Absolute priority). Project activities and goals (in bold) include (1) Partner with IHEs to expand the pipeline of mental health providers into high-needs schools; (2) Increase the number of qualified school-based mental health providers (74 over the five-year grant period) by hiring graduate students to complete their field learning experience in participating school sites and hiring IHE graduates to be assigned to high-needs schools; (3) Increase access to school-based mental health services; (4) Increase the number of school-based mental health providers who are from diverse backgrounds (Competitive Priority #1); and (5) Promote inclusive practices that include evidence-based cultural and linguistic pedagogical practices in provider preparation (Competitive Priority #2). We have 21 corresponding objectives related to these three goals, including the six GPRA measures. Details are included in the Narrative.
University of Northern Iowa (IA) $370,394
The University of Northern Iowa School Psychology Program, a National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) approved program, will partner with three of Iowa’s nine Area Education Agencies (AEA) to implement a Grow Your Own (GYO) school psychology program aimed to increase the number of school psychologists in high-need, rural areas of our state. Master’s level educators who presently live and work in rural areas of Iowa will be recruited to this program. Across the 5 years of the project, 15 new school psychologists will be trained and employed in high-need, rural areas of Iowa. The GYO program will be 44 credits of Ed.S. level coursework that includes two years of coursework, learning opportunities to enhance inclusive mental health practices and a one-year, full-time paid internship with a partner AEA. Upon completion of their internship, participants will be required to work at their respective AEA for three years. This grant will allow UNI to offer this program at a deeply discounted rate and will support students financially throughout the program. This program aims to meet the Absolute Priority of the grant program along with Competitive Priority 1 and Competitive Priority 2. The first goal of the project is to increase access to school-based mental health services in high-need, rural areas of Iowa. With the addition of 15 new school psychologists in these areas, the project aims to provide inclusive school psychological services to 3,500 students who otherwise would not have support from a school psychologist. The second goal of the project is to replicate an accessible and effective “Grow Your Own” school psychology program. UNI developed a GYO program in partnership with two of Iowa’s nine AEAs beginning in 2019 with the support of the 2019 Mental Health Demonstration Grant program. Data suggest the program is successful but that some improvements are needed. We aim to further decrease barriers to accessing the program for students currently living and working in rural areas of Iowa.
Cumberland County Schools Board of Education (NC) $1,017,227
Cumberland County Schools (CCS), a federally recognized high-need local educational agency (LEA), is partnering with institutions of higher education (IHEs) Fayetteville State University (FSU) and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP), along with RTI International, to propose an ambitious and innovative program to address shortages in school-based mental health (SBMH) care in Cumberland County, North Carolina. CCS will work with FSU and UNCP’s Department of Social Work and Department of Professional School Counseling to expand the capacity of the high-need LEA to meet the needs of its approximately 50,000 students in prekindergarten through grade 12. This initiative will directly address the Absolute Priority – Expand the Capacity of High-Need LEAs. The goal of the partnership is to place graduate students from the master’s programs in social work at FSU and UNCP and UNCP’s master’s program in school counseling in CCS to provide mental health care while earning important experience and credit hours in a supervised environment. The long-term outcome is expected to be an increase in SBMH professionals working in high-need LEAs and high-need schools. Furthermore, the program meets the criteria for Competitive Preference Priority 1—Increase the Number of Qualified School-Based Mental Health Services Providers in High-Need LEAs who are from diverse backgrounds or from communities served by the high-need LEAs. Our project also addresses Competitive Preference Priority 2—Promote Inclusive Practices by infusing these practices into both the coursework of the graduate students and into their internship experience. Developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of SBMH professions to use practices that promote inclusivity and remove unconscious bias only enhances mental health services and ensures all students receive the supports they need. Competitive Preference Priority 3—Partnerships with HBCUs, TCUs, or other MSIs are fulfilled in our partnerships with IHEs; FSU-HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and UNCP-MSI (Minority Serving Institution). CCS, FSU, UNCP, and RTI will work together to target three primary goals of the project to address the gaps identified above.
University of Delaware (DE) $339,848
Funding is requested for an innovative five-year, state-wide partnership to increase the capacity of Delaware’s (DE’s) high-need local education agencies (LEAs) to deliver inclusive, evidence-based mental health services in alignment with state regulations regarding multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). Led by school psychology program faculty at the University of Delaware, this partnership was designed to address two primary root causes of the school mental health service provider (MHSP) shortage in DE. The first root cause relates to limitations on the number of MHSPs trained in DE, as a function of few training opportunities within the state. Proposed solutions include acting within DE MHSP graduate programs to hire faculty to raise enrollment caps, developing specialization options, offering alternative pathways to program completion and enhanced support to students, and forming the DE School MHSP Training Consortium to allow for collaboration on initiatives related to MHSP student recruitment and retention. The second root cause relates to challenges with both recruiting and retaining MHSPs to work in high-need DE schools, as a function of suboptimal working conditions for MHSPs in high-need LEAs. Proposed solutions include MHSP programs partnering with high-need LEAs to place and fund MHSP trainees, provide high-need schools with enhanced training and coaching on MTSS, and offer specialized training to graduate students to prepare them to serve as systems change agents. As a state-wide project facilitated by the DE Department of Education, this initiative is expected to include 14 high-need LEAs, who presently serve approximately 79,000 students, and ultimately lead to the hiring of at least 36 MHSPs in these high-need LEAs. This project was designed to address the absolute grant program priority (expanding capacity in high-need LEAs) and each competitive preference priority: Enhancing program support and targeting recruitment to increase the number of MHSPs from diverse backgrounds and from communities served by high-need LEAs; delivering pre- and in-service training, coaching, and consultation to promote inclusive practices; and partnering with Delaware State University, the only HBCU in DE.
iEmpire Academy (CA) $680,738 The iEmpire Academy, part of the REAL Journey Academies network, is the lead Local Education Agency (LEA) for a consortium of ten Local Education Agencies/public charter schools for our U.S. Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program (MHSPD). The Consortium schools are located in San Bernardino County, California, serving 6,511 students in grades K-12. Each of the LEAs and participating school-sites meets the definition of high-need as all LEAs have more than 20 percent of children served from low-income families, and participating schools are serving students K-12 with an average of 80.3% percent who are eligible for a free or reduced-price school lunch which meets the high-need school definition included in the NIA. Our MHSPD grant expands the capacity of iEmpire and consortium LEAs by establishing a partnership with the University of Redlands, a designated Minority Serving Institution (Competitive Priority #3). This partnership was established to place graduate students of their academic programs into schools served by the Consortium to complete required fieldwork and credit hours for a social work degree. (Absolute priority). Project activities and goals (in bold) include: (1) Partner with IHEsto expand the pipeline of mental health providers into high-needs schools; (2) Increase the number of qualified school-based mental health providers (57 over the five-year grant period) by hiring graduate students to complete their field learning experience in participating school sites and hiring IHE graduates (7) to be assigned to high-needs schools; (3) Increase access to school-based mental health services; (4) Increase the number of school-based mental health providers who are from diverse backgrounds (Competitive Priority #1); and (5) Promote inclusive practices that include evidence-based cultural and linguistic pedagogical practices in provider preparation (Competitive Priority #2). We have 22 corresponding objectives related to these three goals, including the six GPRA measures. Details are included in the Narrative.
Michigan Department of Education (MI) $913,475
The primary objective of the Michigan Department of Education’s (MDE) proposed Michigan Earn, Learn, and Serve in Schools (Mi-ELSiS) project is to meet the Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) Program’s Absolute Priority by expanding the capacity of four high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) serving 298,221 students in partnership with five institutions of higher education (IHEs) to train school-based mental health services providers. Mi-ELSiS plans to place a total of 165 graduate-level school psychologists, school counselors, and school social worker trainees during the 60-month project period in a practicum or internship to address the shortage of school-based mental health services providers in high-need schools. The project’s target is to hire half (83 of 165 graduate trainees) for employment as mental health services providers after they complete a 52-week service obligation in a high-need school. The project’s other two objectives are to meet two MHSP Program competitive preference priorities. To meet Competitive Preference Priority 1, the project will place 95 graduate trainees from diverse backgrounds or communities served by high-need LEAs in a practicum or internship and hire over half (50 of 95 graduate trainees). To meet Competitive Preference Priority 2, Mi-ELSiS will provide implicit bias professional development training to 165 mental health services providers serving as graduate trainee supervisors.
Mercy College (NY) $887,088
Mercy College, a federally designated HSI, has designed an MHSP project, Helping Evidence-Based Advocates with Responsive Training (HEART), to train pre-service and certified school counselors to provide inclusive and evidence-based mental health services to K-12 students in partnership with the Mount Vernon City School District, a high need, high demand LEA located in Mount Vernon, New York that enrolls 8,438 students. In addition to field placement opportunities and stipend support for 15-25 MHSP project interns annually, interns will receive experiential training through a service-learning project. Interns will also earn designation as a Mental Health Specialist and as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist through programming developed and offered by the American School Counselor Association. Intern supervisors (24 annually) in the district will receive multicultural supervision training to meet the needs of interns. Project goals include increasing the number of school-based mental health services providers to provide school-based mental health services in high-need LEAs, increasing the number of school-based mental health services providers placed in a practicum or internship in high-need LEAs, and increasing the cumulative number of school-based mental health services providers hired by high-need LEAs to provide school-based mental health services. Project objectives include: For each year of five years, we will train at least 15 participants as school-based mental health services providers (Objective 1); in years 1-5, we will place at least 85% of the school counselor graduate students in a practicum or internship in the Mount Vernon School District to provide school-based mental health services (Objective 2); by the end of year 5, at least 30% of school counselors trained will be hired by the Mount Vernon School District or other high-need LEA to provide school-based mental health services (Objective 3); and by the end of year 5, at least 75% of participants trained as school counselors will be from diverse backgrounds and abilities to provide school-based mental health services (Objective 4). Competitive Preference Priorities 1, 2, and 3 are also addressed.
53 Northern Illinois University (IL) $961,629
Preparing Educators as School Psychologists in Northern Illinois (PESP-NI) PESPNI is a partnership between Northern Illinois University (NIU) and four high-need LEAs (including 14 school districts) to prepare 24 licensed school psychologists over five years (Absolute Priority). Working educators will engage in a three-year training program resulting in the Illinois school psychologist licensure and the National Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) credential. PESP-NI objectives include: (1) recruiting and selecting high-quality trainees with a focus on trainees from underrepresented backgrounds and/or who reside in high-need districts (Competitive Priority 1); (2) training evidence-based practices to enhance mental health outcomes for all students including students from diverse racial, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds (Competitive Priority 2); (3) supporting evidence-based identification, assessment, and mental health intervention with students and families; (4) raising awareness of services available and connecting students to services; (5) graduating 24 new school psychologists who will and serve over 12,000 students each year and commit for five years to fill shortages in high-needs districts; and (6) sustaining outcomes via NIU programs continuing placement of students in the high need districts for practicum and by expanding PESP-NI to additional districts. These objectives will be met by reducing barriers through staffing the program and fully funding students’ program coursework, ensuring high-quality training through faculty and NCSP consultants, placing trainees in high-need schools for practicum and internship, supporting supervisors of those field placements, supporting the district with internship salary support to reduce financial barriers, and partnering with the Illinois School Psychologists Association and the Illinois State Board of Education to plan for expansion and replication of this training model.
The Research Foundation for The State University of New York (NY) $524,426
SUNY Oswego, a comprehensive, four-year institution located in central New York, respectfully requests support from the Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) Demonstration Grant Program in the Department of Education to establish a project entitled “Cultivating Representation in School Psychology” (CRISP). The university will partner with Syracuse City School District (SCSD), a high-need school district located in Syracuse, New York, to increase the quantity and quality of mental health services provided to students in the district and to establish a stronger recruitment pipeline to prepare more graduates for positions working as school psychologists in Syracuse City schools. The goals of the project will be to (1) increase the number and diversity of highly trained mental health providers in SCSD or other high-need LEAs and (2) increase the capacity of SCSD to provide support for students with mental health needs. The project leadership will seek to recruit 3-5 additional students per year from underrepresented backgrounds into the School Psychology graduate program at SUNY Oswego to increase the proportion of students from underrepresented backgrounds from 23% to 45%. In pursuit of these goals, SUNY Oswego will create a scholarship program designed to attract and recruit a larger and more diverse population of students this program. That scholarship program will be paired with new outreach efforts to prospective student populations, including those in the SCSD. Additionally, new clinical experiences based in the SCSD and ongoing professional development opportunities for graduates will serve to both better prepare graduates for success and provide additional support for students in the SCSD
Illinois State Board of Education (IL) $1,201,072
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will partner with Southern Illinois University’s Department of Social Work (SIU). Additionally, National Louis University’s Department of Counseling and Department of School Psychology (Minority Serving Institute) will partner with SIU, and these strategic partnerships will work to expand capacity across multiple high-need Local Education Agencies (LEAs) including schools in the southern and northern areas of the state. This application achieves the Absolute and Competitive Preference Priorities 1, 2, and 3 through four overarching goals with related objectives to increase the capacity of School-Based Mental Health Services Providers (SBMHSPs) providing services within high-need LEAs: 1. Increase training of SBMHSPs and graduate students in high-quality service delivery; 2. Increase SBMHSP graduate students placed at LEAs for field placement or internship; 3. Increase SBMHSPs working within LEAs through recruitment and retention; and 4. Increase SBMHSPs from diverse backgrounds or communities served by the LEAs. Training, consultation, support, supervision, and respecialization opportunities to graduate students and SBMHSPs in the fields of School Psychology, School Counseling, and School Social Work. The proposed project will seek to have 30 students placed in practicum/internship, 15 respecializing professionals, 20 staff, and 10 supervisors annually to increase capacity and lower the SBMHSP ratios to 50% less than the state average by year five. These ambitious priorities will all be sought after with an overarching goal of diversifying the field with professionals who are from the local communities that house the LEAs, or with professionals coming from diverse backgrounds.
Lewis University (IL) $466,308
Lewis University, a non-profit institution of higher education (IHE) and Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution, will partner with the Joliet Township High School (JTHS) District 204, a high-need Local Education Association (LEA) in Illinois with three high-need schools, to train 43 graduate students as school-based mental health professionals. Graduate students enrolled in the Master of Arts in School Counseling (SC) or pursuing school social work licensure within the Master of Social Work (MSW) program will be placed as school counseling or school social work interns within JTHS 204 and assigned to work with their respective JTHS school-based mental health clinicians. Lewis will provide continuing education and training to the relevant workforce at JTHS in best practices to address critical issues such as trauma responsiveness and restorative practices. The Joliet-Lewis Partnership will collaborate with national and state associations as well as community organizations to provide new resources for capacity building and infrastructure development within and around the JTHS community. The Partnership will collaborate with elementary and middle schools that feed into JTHS and other high-need LEAs across the region to employ trainees upon their graduation. By the end of the five-year project period, 43 graduate-level Lewis students will have received training, licensure, and employment as school mental health providers.
Troy University (AL) $226,555
Troy University’s multi-campus Trojan School-Based Mental Health Counselors Initiative aims to collaborate with three (3) local education agencies (LEAs) to increase the number and diversity of high-quality, trained counselors available to address the shortages of mental health service professionals in schools that are served by high-need LEAs located in the catchment areas of each Troy University Alabama campus (Troy, Dothan, Montgomery, and Phenix City). Over the five-year grant period, a minimum of 30 school counseling trainees, who will be provided full tuition and expense scholarships, will earn Master’s degrees in School Counseling from Troy University’s CACREP accredited program. A minimum of 85% of the requested budget will be designated for the students. A total of 34,789 students will be served through this grant initiative. The School Counseling Education Program will prepare school counselors in training to serve in the K-12 school system and build collaborative relationships across related disciplines. School counselor trainees will receive coursework focused on evidence-based counseling practices to support students’ mental well-being and academic success. In addition to the core curriculum, the Program includes additional training in the birth to five and DC:0-5 certification approved by Zero to Three and the Alliance for Infant Mental Health. Moreover, school counselors earning this degree will be eligible for licensure as Licensed Professional Counselors in Alabama. The School Counseling Program’s coursework is accessible and cost-effective and will be offered on-campus, online, and in a blended format. The dissemination of the Program in terms of its refined model, curriculum materials, and exemplary practices will have a long-term regional and national impact on the employment of people from diverse backgrounds by training highly qualified school counselors to serve K-12 students within the State school systems in Alabama.
Minnesota State University Moorhead Foundation (MN) $770,369
MH Demonstration Project Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) was founded in 1989. The University serves 5,547 students through 80 undergraduate programs and 12 graduate programs. The university is committed to increasing highly qualified professionals working in schools who can address the mental health needs of students and improve the quality of services provided to establish and sustain evidence-based practices for at-risk students. Objective 1- By December 31, 2027 increase the number of graduate students enrolled in MSUM SBMH graduate programs from 30 to 45, for a 5-year cumulative total = 205. Objective 2 – By December 31, 2027 increase the number of SBMH providers trained to work in high-needs schools from 8 (baseline) to 53 per year for a 5-year cumulative total=200. Objective 3 – By December 31, 2027 increase the number of SBMH providers placed in a high-needs school field experience from 16 (baseline) to 106 per year for a 5-year cumulative total =400 Objective 4 – By December 31, 2027 increase the number of SBMH providers hired by high need LEAs from 8 to 39 per year for a 5-year cumulative total = 145 Objective 5 – By December 31, 2027, increase the number of diverse SBMH providers trained to work in high needs schools from 1 (baseline) to 19 per cohort for a 5-year cumulative total=57 and an increase from 12% to 30% of students. To accomplish these objectives, the project design addresses multiple strategies including the involvement of families. Through this project:_19 LEAS will be served, 200 Graduate students will be served, 400 high-need placements, and 100 Mental Health providers will be hired by qualified LEAs.
The Regents of the University of California, Santa Barbara (CA) $832,677
The JEDI Project is designed to prepare highly qualified school psychology professionals from diverse backgrounds to contribute to school-based mental health services for culturally, linguistically, and racially minoritized students. These school psychologists will be prepared to advance and contribute to (a) school-wide methods for identifying and supporting student mental health and wellbeing, with a focus on the mental health and wellbeing of diverse students; (b) evidence-based interventions for supporting students with emotional, behavioral, and mental health disorders (EBMHDs), and enhancing mental wellness in all students; and (c) the interaction of school, family, and community service systems engaged in supporting student mental health. We argue that these school psychologists will be crucial for addressing the complex challenges facing the field of education, and their preparation will help to promote school-based mental health services. Graduates will be school-based mental health experts, who are prepared to lead interdisciplinary colleagues to deliver evidence-based interventions and inclusive practices to support the social, emotional, and mental health needs of diverse students (including race, ethnicity, culture, language, disability, and students who identify as LGBTQI+). JEDI Project Letters of Agreement and Support reveal collaborative partnerships between the UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) [a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI)] school psychology program and 4 high-need Local Education Agencies (LEAs) (Carpinteria Unified School District, Lompoc Union School District, Santa Barbara County Special Education Local Plan Area, and Santa Maria Bonita School District).
University of South Carolina (SC) $675,888
The overall objective of project PRISMs is to recruit and provide evidence-based training for 72 school-based mental health services providers (school counselors and school-based mental health counselors), including those from diverse backgrounds. Our objectives include: (a) increasing the number and diversity of school-based mental health service providers, (b) providing evidence-based, education in school-based mental health services that promote inclusive practices, and (c) placing graduate students in high-needs schools for their practicum and internship. We will meet these objectives through the following activities: recruiting diverse graduate students, providing evidence-based education and training, facilitating professional development opportunities, coordinating with LEA counseling coordinators to place graduate students in high-needs schools, and providing stipend support to graduate students. Number of LEAs to be Served: We will serve three high-need LEAs: Aiken County Public School District (ACPSC), Lexington School District One (LSCD1), and Richland County School District Two (RCSD2). We will serve 78,337 students across the three LEAs. Our partner districts plan to hire 21 school-based mental health service providers each year across the three LEAs. We will address Competitive Preference Priority 1 and Competitive Preference Priority 2 in this proposal.
University of Florida (FL) $868,338
A university-community partnership, Gator Connect, is designed to expand the capacity of ACPS’ SBMH services by leveraging university faculty to co-supervise 15 SBMH trainees in five high-need ACPS schools during the project’s five-year design. By increasing the number of opportunities for supervised postsecondary student pre-service practicum in the field, paired with opportunities for enhanced SBMH training, professional identity formation, and networking, we can grow the number of state-credentialed graduates prepared and socialized to fill chronically vacant positions in Alachua County. Additionally, by recruiting from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, enhancing training and supervision in culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices, and partnering with schools with large racially/ethnically minoritized student populations, we will promote diversification of the field and better address the mental health needs of marginalized students in local, high-need schools. Thus, the goals of Gator Connect (and their relation to the grant program’s priorities) include Goal 1: Grow and diversify the pipeline from application to the University of Florida’s School Psychology, School Counseling, and Mental Health Counseling Programs to graduation, credentialing, and retention in a high-need LEA (ACPS) to expand the capacity for SBMH services within five high-need ACPS schools and complete trainees’ fieldwork requirements (Absolute Priority, Competitive Preference Priority 1). Goal 2: Expand and sustain a university-community partnership to provide evidence-based, culturally and linguistically inclusive, and identity-safe SBMH services for students in high-need schools (Competitive Preference Priority 1 and 2). Goal 3: Create, deliver, and evaluate training in evidence-based, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed SBMH service delivery for Gator Connect trainees and all school-based mental health providers and supervisors in ACPS (Competitive Preference Priority 2).
The University of Texas at San Antonio (TX) $548,284
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA; a Hispanic-Serving Institution [Competitive Preference Priority 3]) is collaborating with Southwest Independent School District (SWISD) to implement Project BEAMS (Behavioral, Emotional, and Mental Support for schools), an innovative school-based mental health partnership intended to increase the number and diversity of school psychologists (Competitive Preference Priority 1) and to expand the mental health programming at SWISD. The project goals will be met by establishing intensive assistantships in which school psychology graduate students will implement a two-year, multi-tiered system of supports model of mental health and social-emotional programming at five high-need SWISD schools serving a total of 4,723 students. Project BEAMS school psychology students will implement a variety of evidence-based activities via the partnership to address student needs (e.g., differential reinforcement, positive response, parent conference and training, positive reinforcement, behavior education programs, counseling, self-management, and modeling). Project BEAMS school psychology students will also implement larger-scale social-emotional learning curricula, mental health cognitive skills programs, and positive personal and cultural identity development programming. The effectiveness and inclusivity of the project activities will be enhanced via the Project BEAMS Mental Health Institute, a professional learning community – consisting of school psychology graduate students, SWISD staff, and service providers from a local mental health agency – which focuses on inclusive and culturally responsive mental health services (Competitive Preference Priority 2). Over the duration of the project, 25 school psychology graduate students will complete the intensive assistantship, and each will be employed at high-need LEAs (including a significant proportion at SWISD).
Mississippi State University (MS) $163,870
The state of Mississippi presents a dire need for the increase and establishment of the number of mental health providers within educational systems. The combination of a history of pervasive poverty, underfunding of public education, limited rural opportunity, and the chronic shortage of mental health providers in the schools highlights the room for growth and improvement in this area. The investigators plan to address this issue by working towards the following goals within four high-need LEAs: (1) increase the number of school-based mental health providers across identified LEAs through graduate assistants, (2) recruitment of school psychology graduate students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds including minority-serving institutions, and (3) retention of school psychology graduate students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. Through the increased number of school psychology graduate assistants in high-need LEAs, investigators expect outcomes related to the increased strength of the relationships between future school-based mental health providers and high-need LEAs (which could lead to an increased likelihood in the student remaining in the district as a full-time employee upon graduation), increased number of applications and enrollment of students from minority backgrounds in the school psychology graduate programs, an increase in the number of students who are able to access mental health services at school, and increased knowledge, training, and awareness of school faculty and staff regarding the provision of mental health services in the schools.
University of Utah (UT) $969,514
Purpose: The purpose of the proposed grant is to address documented shortages of mental health providers in Utah LEAs. More specifically, the proposed grant represents a partnership between the University of Utah School Psychology and Social Work programs and two LEAs with documented shortages of mental health personnel—Salt Lake City School District and Granite School District. In addition to increasing the number of program graduates that enter practice in these LEAs, the proposed grant also aims to provide specialized training to program scholars in meeting the needs of students from Latinx and Hispanic backgrounds through the provision of specialized coursework and applied experiences designed to promote the cultural and linguistic competence of scholars. Thus, in addition to the regular coursework completed by scholars in the school psychology and social work programs, scholars will take seven additional courses to enhance their competence in providing mental health services to Latinx and Hispanic students and communities. These courses will provide both theoretical and applied experiences, and offer intensive practicums supervised by project co-PIs, licensed psychologists and social workers, and experts in cultural and linguistic competence. The primary goals of the project include the overarching goal of increasing the number of licensed and qualified mental health personnel in the two partner LEAs. Subgoals to be achieved in route to the overarching goal include: increasing admissions of applicants from underrepresented groups, increasing total enrollment of the school psychology and social work programs, increasing the number of credit hours completed by program scholars via specialized grant coursework, increasing cultural and linguistic competence of scholars as demonstrated by supervisor ratings during practicum experiences, maintaining high licensure rates of school psychology and social work programs, and ensuring that scholars complete the service obligation that accompanies funding (i.e., two years of service in partner LEAs).
University of Mary (ND) $1,200,000
University of Mary, Bismarck, North Dakota, ACCESS project (Accelerating Counseling Education for Student Success) supports the diverse/rural/economically/and socially marginalized K-12 student population in ND. The goal of ACCESS is to increase K-12 counselor capacity in rural and urban high-need LEAs. The objectives to implement this goal are: (1) recruit graduate student participants from identified communities in need of mental health services providers in K-12 schools; (2) provide an educational opportunity for scholars from marginalized communities to enter the school counseling career path; (3) ensure retention of all participants in the graduate school counseling curriculum; (4) place candidates in high-need LEA in Practicum and Internship field experiences; and (5) offer custom degree pathways for participants to attain a Master’s degree in school counseling in response to educational diversity, equity, and inclusion. 6. Implement targeted training addressing inclusion (race, ethnicity, culture, language/linguistics, disability, homelessness, and gender identity) to ensure a safe zone for providing services. 7. Utilize payback obligation agreements which will be for a period of three contractual academic years within a rural/urban school designated as a high-need LEA for mental health services providers. ACCESS outcomes include: 78 participants recruited, 50% of candidates are from ethnically, economically, or geographically marginalized communities, retention of 95%, candidates placed in K-12 field experience in high-need LEAs for 700 hours, candidates are conferred a Master’s degree in school counseling, candidates develop professional dispositions (identity) with emphasis on multicultural social preparedness, and candidates enter into a three-year service payback obligation in an identified high-need LEA. The K-12 enrollment in ND is ~123K, thus our completers will enter the workforce to serve all students regardless of any disadvantage.
University of South Florida (FL) $449,685
Increased mental health needs of students, combined with a shortage of school-based mental health service providers have contributed to significant gaps in mental health services in schools. School psychologists are uniquely skilled and well-positioned to fill gaps in the provision of mental health services. However, the availability of services is limited by longstanding and significant shortages of school psychologists across the United States – conditions are more critical in Florida. There is a dire need to recruit and train more school psychologists to provide school-based mental health services and improve the mental health and well-being of K-12 students. Therefore, the overall goal of Project TIERS (Targeted and Intensive Emotional and Relational Supports) is to create an innovative, culturally and linguistically inclusive training partnership between the University of South Florida (USF) School Psychology Education Specialist (EdS) Program and Pinellas County Schools (PCS) to expand their capacity to provide school-based mental health services in high-need schools. Project TIERS participants will provide evidence-based preventive, targeted, and intensive services within the context of a multi-tiered system of support that is culturally and linguistically inclusive. To meet the MHSP Grant Program’s Absolute Priority, 21 participants of Project TIERS will receive two years of funding while they complete the required coursework, specialized training in school-based mental health services, and practica in PCS. For their practica in PCS, Project TIERS participants are supervised while providing evidence-based and culturally and linguistically inclusive school-based mental health services in 6 high-need elementary schools. Project TIERS participants will also complete a 1-year full-time internship before earning their EdS in School Psychology. Graduates funded by Project TIERS will have a service obligation to work as a school psychologist in a high-need school district for 4 years (i.e., 2 years of service for every 1 year of funding). Through this partnership between the USF School Psychology EdS Program and PCS, Project TIERS will increase the number of school psychologists who are trained as school-based mental health providers and reduce the shortage of school psychologists. Project TIERS is designed to meet the MHSP Grant Program’s Competitive Preference Priorities 1 and 2. For Competitive Preference Priority 1, Project TIERS will implement a comprehensive and evidence-based plan to recruit, mentor, and individuals who will contribute to the racial, ethnic, economic background, ability, and linguistic diversity of school psychologists in high-need school districts. Project TIERS will actively recruit individuals with underrepresented and marginalized identities, engage in community outreach, use practices that are culturally and linguistically inclusive, and raise awareness about school psychology. To meet Competitive Preference Priority 2, Project TIERS will use evidence-based, pedagogical practices for training school-based mental health providers as a foundation for creating a culturally and linguistically inclusive and identity-safe environment for project participants.
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (NC) $880,938
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) is prepared to implement a School-Based Mental Health partnership with Alamance-Burlington School Systems (ABSS) that builds from and extends our current, successful partnership (ACTIVATEPLUS) with Rockingham County Schools (RCS) to expand the pipeline of school mental health professionals into high-need public schools. The Department of Counseling and Educational Development (CED) at UNCG, in partnership with these two, high-need, rural school districts, can offer a high-quality program to place 48 university graduate student school counseling interns into these two high-need, rural LEAs, thereby meeting the Absolute Priority. Both ABSS and RCS meet the eligibility requirements for funding under the Rural and Low-Income School Program and have a high annual teacher turnover rate. Both RCS and ABSS have identified six high-need schools to be involved in the proposed partnership that meet the grant’s free and reduced-price meal thresholds (see “Need for project” section). SCALE UP meets Competitive Preference Priority 1 by both expanding recruitment activities and removing barriers to graduate school counselor training that will increase the number of students from diverse backgrounds and/or who are from communities served by ABSS or RCS. Recruitment activities also expand to postsecondary and secondary recruitment to the school-based mental health fields that will go beyond the LEAs served directly in this partnership. The partnership meets Competitive Preference Priority 2 by promoting inclusive practices through the additional infusion of the practical application of topics related to equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout both formal coursework and trauma-informed supervision. This proposal also meets Competitive Preference 3, as UNCG has been designated as a Minority-Serving Institution by the U. S. Department of Education.
Springfield College (MA) $576,212
The goal of Springfield College’s Holyoke-Springfield School Mental Health Pipeline Partnership is to increase capacity for mental health providers in high-need schools through three pipelines with a particular focus on increasing the number of racially and linguistically diverse professionals. The expected outcomes of the project are to (1) increase the number of qualified school counselors providing mental health services in high-need Holyoke Public Schools (HPS) and Springfield Public Schools (SPS). (2) an increase in the number of school counseling students placed in a practicum or internship in high-need HPS and SPS schools, and (3) an increase in the number of BIPOC school-based mental health services providers hired by HPS and SPS to provide school-based mental health services (Competitive Preference Priority 1). The population to be served are students and staff at HPS and SPS. There are 11 schools in Holyoke, serving 5,102 students in seven elementary schools, one Kindergarten through Grade 8 school, two middle and two high schools as well as alternative programs. There are 62 schools in Springfield, serving 23,799 students in 33 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, five middle/high schools, and eight high schools as well as alternative schools with a large number of low-income (87% in both HPS/SPS), African-American (18% in SPS), and Hispanic/Latino students (81% in HPS and 68% in SPS). The project will expand the College’s School Counseling program and leverage existing resources to support students in becoming licensed professional school counselors. The project’s three objectives are to expand and develop three pipelines: (1) The traditional two master’s degree program, (2) a School counseling certificate training program for professionals with a master’s degree, (3) A “grow our own” model to support high school students from Springfield and Holyoke through college readiness and behavioral health career exploration. A secondary objective of the project is to enhance HPS and SPS capacity to support a trauma-sensitive, comprehensive mental health system. This innovative and ambitious three-pathway model will contribute to the body of knowledge of best practices in developing school counselors and could be replicated in other communities. In addition to expanding the current school counseling program, the project will enhance counselor preparation in two ways: (1) Provide Spanish instruction in counseling skills and clinical supervision to Spanish-speaking or bilingual students (Competitive Preference Priority 2), (2) Promote our new Play Therapy certificate program to support elementary counselors in developing skills to engage students through play. Lastly, to meet the Absolute Priority the project will work with the Massachusetts School Mental Health Consortium to enhance HPS and SPS capacity to support a trauma-sensitive, comprehensive mental health system by providing professional development that can identify students to be served (screening), to build high functioning mental health teams and to identify the impact, effectiveness and ensure continuous improvement of counseling programs. To that end, the project will engage an independent program evaluator, Jessica Payne of Broadsight, to conduct a mixed-methods evaluation that focuses on continuous improvement and system change.
University of Texas at Tyler (TX) $262,537
The project seeks to accomplish: Absolute Priority 1 of increasing the number of mental health professionals to address the lack of mental health services in high-needs schools by achieving the following objectives: (1) Engage in intentional recruitment of culturally and linguistically diverse students from the community and high needs schools to expand the pipeline and diversify the pool of qualified mental health professionals; (2) Place graduate students in high needs schools to complete their required fieldwork, and upon graduation obtain employment to lower the student to LPC and CSC ratios; (3) Enhance the quality of mental health services provided to students by training grant participants on culturally and linguistically appropriate trauma-informed school interventions, and (4) Provide community and parent training to support student’s social and academic development through the use of evidence-based models. Proposed Project Outcomes. Fifty-six counselors will graduate and enter mental health positions in high-needs schools. At a minimum, 15 schools in Brownsboro, Winona, and Tyler Independent School Districts will be served. Number of Students to be Served. Sixty-one graduate students and 21, 367 K-12 students. Number of Providers to be Hired. Districts are estimated to hire five mental health providers per year, including other high-needs schools that currently have vacancies. Priorities. The proposed project meets Absolute Priority 1 to Expand the Capacity of high-need LEAs. We would like to be considered for Competitive Priority 1 Increase the Number of Providers in High-Need LEAs who are from Diverse Backgrounds or from Communities Served by the High-Need LEAs and Competitive Priority 2 Promotes Inclusive Practices and Competitive Priority 3 Partnerships with HBCUs, TCUs or other MSIs.
Marshall University Research Corporation (WV) $1,660,220
Marshall University Research Corporation’s (MURC) Center of Excellence on Recovery (COER) in partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) is proposing a school-based mental health training program on behalf of high need local education agencies (LEA) throughout West Virginia. The objective of the MU School-Based Mental Health Scholars Program (Scholars Program) is to increase the number of qualified school-based mental health providers working in high-need LEAs. To reach this goal, this partnership will provide a three-phase supportive training program. Phases include (1) Scholarships for one academic year for graduate students enrolled in School Counseling, School Social Work, and School Psychology programs (2) Paid field placement experiences in high-need LEAs, including transportation, and living allowance for those placed in rural locations, and (3) Signing bonuses for those accepting positions after graduation in those LEAs. Each year, 20 graduate students will be accepted into each phase across all three disciplines. For a total of 60 students per year across all three phases. Additional Partners in the Scholars Program, include the WV chapters of the National School Counselors Association, National Social Work Association, and the National Association of School Psychologists. Due to the rural nature of many of the high-need LEA, these organizations will help to identify qualified placement supervisors for those placed in communities without an existing school counselor. It is anticipated by the end of the 5-year grant period, 100 qualified school-based mental health providers will have completed their field placement and be employed or eligible for employment in high-need LEAs.
Texas Woman’s University (TX) $228,111
Project Uplifting School-Based Mental Health (USBMH) will recruit Texas Woman’s University (TWU) Counseling and Development students who are in Practicum or Internship during fall and spring semesters for placement within selected schools from the 45 within the Uplift charter system; additionally, USBMH will collaborate with up to 10 site supervisors from Uplift schools. These TWU counseling students will complete their required clinical experiences in school placements determined by the Uplift Education charter school system. Their clinical experiences help students become highly skilled and well-prepared to address the mental health concerns and needs of clientele from an inclusive and multiculturally competent perspective. Students taking part in project USBHM will receive additional training on evidence-based practices addressing mental health needs in school-based programs focusing on building culturally sustaining programs and trauma-informed practices. Uplift supervisors will also receive similarly focused training in supervisory best practices. Project USBHM will use a mixed-methods approach to program assessment and evaluation. This project will be evaluated using multiple perspectives, including TWU participants, Uplift clinical supervisors, and campus administrators; multiple data sources, including attendance and discipline referral reports, will be collected to determine the program’s impact on students and schools. This research collected will focus on three specific aims: (1) Determine in what ways focused training and programming impact scholars’ performance in providing school-based mental health services; (2) Determine in what ways focused training and programming improve supervision of clinical scholars; and (3) Determine how attendance and discipline referrals and reporting are impacted after provision of school-based mental health services from TWU grant project scholars.
The Florida International University Board of Trustees (FL) $1,200,001
Florida International University (FIU), a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), in collaboration with Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), a high-need LEA, proposes to support and expand the training and credentialing of culturally and linguistically diverse school psychologists and school social workers in 243 high-need schools serving 173,347 students from majority Hispanic and Black or African American backgrounds. At least 145 graduate students, including 80 practicum students and 65 interns, will be supported by the grant through coursework, fieldwork, specialized workshops and seminars that focus on culturally responsive and inclusive practices, multilingual and culturally responsive assessment, prevention, and intervention training within multi-tiered systems of support, collaboration with local and state associations, training in evidence-based mental health care, and mental wellness and behavioral healthcare. The project aligns with the absolute priority and all three competitive preference priorities: (1) increasing the number of culturally and linguistically diverse school-based mental health providers in a high-need urban LEA, (2) implementing evidence-based and inclusive practices in high-need schools, and (3) establishing a partnership with an HSI. As part of this initiative, program faculty from the School of Psychology and School of Social Work will collaborate with school leadership and district directors in M-DCPS to improve recruitment, training, effectiveness, and provider-to-student ratios to meet the mental health needs of PK-12 students. Upon completion of the grant project, it is estimated that on average 13 graduate students will be employed in high-needs schools at M-DCPS on an annual basis, or a total of 65 school-based mental health services providers after completing their internship.
College of St. Scholastica, INC. (MN) $370,523
The proposed grant to the College of St. Scholastica (CSS) will prepare Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) students to practice in high-need Local Education Agencies (LEAs) as mental health providers. Project activities and Objectives. CSS will recruit trainees, disburse stipends, update the curriculum, collaborate with agency partners to develop and monitor new fieldwork placements, and deliver training around key practice areas. An RCQI model will ensure continuous program improvement; an evaluation plan will ensure that logic model outcomes are achieved and disseminated. This application addresses Absolute Priority and Competitive Preference Priorities 1 and 2. Project objectives: (1) Increase the number of school-based mental health service providers trained by the grantee by 10 MSOT students in Year 1, 20 MSOT students per/year in Years 2-5, and 5 Fellows per/year in Years 3-5, equaling 105 MSOT and Fellowship students qualified to work as licensed mental health providers by the end of the grant period. (2) Increase the unduplicated, cumulative number of school-based mental health services providers from 0 to 105 MSOT and Fellowship students placed in a practicum by the grantee in high-need LEAs to provide school-based mental health services. (3) Increase the number of unduplicated, cumulative school-based mental health services (occupational therapy) providers hired by high-need LEAs to provide school-based mental health services by 20 by 2028 (1 in Year 1; 4 in Year 2; and 5 per/year in Years 3-5). (4) Increase the number of prospective underrepresented school-based mental health providers (i.e., Native American/Alaskan, Black, Asian, Hispanic, male (underrepresented in the OT profession), low-income, first-generation, and people that identify as LGBTQIA2S+) by 3 MSOT/Fellowship students per/year (CPP1).
The Howard University (DC) $540,102
The Howard University School of Social Work (HUSSW), in partnership with the school and community-based organizations (CBOs), proposes to expand mental health services in high-need school settings by providing meaningful, longitudinal training to Master of Social Work (MSW) interns placed in the identified elementary, middle, or high school setting in Wards 7 and 8 located in Washington, D.C. The project responds to Preference Priority 1 – increase the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers in high-need LEAs who are from diverse backgrounds, by training 60 students interested in pursuing school social work, four cohorts of 15 second-year or advanced-standing students, in trauma-informed care, social work practice in educational settings, theoretical approaches to social work practice, racial and gender-responsive social work practice, social work practice with sexual minority youth, technology, and assessment and diagnosis. Via lectures, virtual reality simulations, webinars, workshops, conferences, and supervision, students will engage in the following activities: (1) Summer Graduate Students Training Fellowship; (2) Association of Black Social Workers Mentorship Program; (3) Required course work for students with a Direct Practice concentration; (4) Focused didactic and experiential training; (5) Virtual Simulation; (6) Monthly webinars, and (7) School Social Work Association of America National Conference. As a result of this training, it is expected that the number of qualified school-based mental health professionals will increase, which may have a substantial impact on the social worker-to-student ratio in schools.
Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc (GA) $1,430,886
The current project will leverage and build upon an existing School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) Program in Georgia and its pilot internship program to strengthen the capacity and diversity of the mental health workforce in Clayton County Schools by providing school-based supervised training for a diverse group of graduate-level social work interns. Activities include collaboration between Clayton County Schools, Georgia’s mental health authority, and Institutes of Higher Education with diverse student populations; provision of services in schools to address students’ mental health needs and awareness; and training/education in areas related to service delivery in schools. Proposed Project Outcomes: Proposed outcomes include an increase in the number of students provided mental health services within Clayton County schools; an increase in the number of Tier 1 prevention activities held in schools; an increase in the number of training on providing culturally responsive care; a more robust workforce pipeline, with an increase in number and diversity of graduate level social work students trained to deliver mental health services within high need schools. Number of LEAs to be Served: The current project will initially focus on one LEA, the Clayton County School District which includes 69 elementary, middle, high, and alternative schools. As the project progresses into years 2-5, additional LEAs may be identified, including in rural areas. The initiative proposes a goal of 200 unique children and youth served in the first year of funding, 400 in the second year, and 600 in each of years three, Advancing Innovative Partnerships and Pathways to Address Mental Health Workforce Shortages in Georgia Schools four, and five. In addition to students receiving individual or group services, Tier I prevention activities will target all students and staff, reaching 85-90% of students in Clayton County schools (51,400) and other districts. Number of Providers to Be Hired: The project will hire up to 10 graduate-level social work interns per year from each of the three universities (~ up to 30/year), starting gradually in year 1 and increasing over time. In addition, 2-3 provider agencies will provide mental health services for students within the schools as part of the SBMH Program, with three full-time supervisors hired to oversee the interns.
Santa Paula Unified School District (CA) $635,875
Santa Paula Unified School District (SPUSD), serving 5,148 students in grades K-12 in Santa Paula, CA, seeks funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program (MHSPD). The Santa Paula Unified School District is rich in culture and celebrates the diversity of our students. The majority of our student population is Hispanic (98%). The district meets the high-need school definition included in the NIA. The percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-price meals under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act at the 11 participating schools is 80.9%: each of the elementary schools has rates over 60%, and the other schools exceed the established threshold of 45%. Our MHSPD grant expands the capacity of SPUSD by establishing partnerships with California Lutheran University and the University of California, Los Angeles. These partnerships were established to place graduate students of their academic programs into schools served by SPUSD to complete required fieldwork and credit hours for a social work degree. (Absolute priority). Project activities and goals (in bold) include; (1) partner with IHEs to expand the pipeline of mental health providers into high-needs schools; (2) Increasing the number of qualified school-based mental health providers (60 over the five-year grant period) by hiring graduate students to complete their field learning experience in participating SPUSD school sites and hiring IHE graduates to be assigned to high-needs schools; (3) Increase access to school-based mental health services; (4) Increase the number of school-based mental health providers who are from diverse backgrounds (Competitive Priority #1), and 6) Promote inclusive practices that include evidence-based cultural and linguistic pedagogical practices in provider preparation (Competitive Priority #2). We have 22 corresponding objectives related to these four goals, including the six GPRA measures. Details are included in the Narrative. Our MHSPD grant program also meets Competitive Priority #3 as California Lutheran University is a federally designated Minority-Serving Institution (MSI)/ Hispanic-Serving Institution (HIS). Furthermore, UCLA has set a goal of reaching federally recognized status as a HIS by 2025, which would cover three of the five years of our grant program.
Auburn University (AL) $352,526
The School Counseling Integrated Program (SCIP): Increasing Mental Health Services in Rural Alabama Schools through Collaboration between School Counselors, School Nurses, and ESOL Teachers assists school systems serving rural and medically underserved children, families, and communities in Eastern Alabama and surrounding counties. SCIP is an integrated cutting-edge approach to further increase mental health services in schools through a unique collaboration to prepare future school counselors to enter the workforce in Alabama. Program objectives and activities further develop the school counseling students’ skills, knowledge, and attitudes to work collaboratively with others in the school system by expanding and sustaining mental health support in high-needs schools within rural Alabama. The goals of the proposed project include: (a) recruiting school counseling master’s students from underrepresented populations, and (b) restructuring the school counseling master’s program curriculum in response to the post-COVID era. The proposed outcomes of the project include: (a) increase the number of school counseling master’s students from underrepresented populations, (b) identify evidence-based strategies to apply within the comprehensive school counseling programs to enhance mental health services, (c) strengthen counseling students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes to work collaboratively through integrative care with school nurses, ESOL teachers, and community agencies to address mental health challenges of students in K-12 schools, and (d) boost counseling students’ opportunities for employment in high-need LEAs to sustain mental health supports. The estimated number of Local Education Agencies (LEAs) served is six with proposed expansion based on school counseling enrollment numbers. All k-12 students enrolled within the identified LEAs will be provided comprehensive school counseling programs developed for SCIP with an additional graduate assistant hired to assist with recruitment and program infrastructure. The goal is for SCIP Fellows to be gainfully employed within these six districts post-graduation.
Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (OK) $909,048
Project Rural Innovation for Mental health Enhancement (PRIME) is a collaboration between high-need rural schools, the University of Oklahoma (OU), Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), professional organizations, and a network of non-profits designed to address state-identified shortages for highly qualified mental health personnel, specifically within the context of rural settings, an area where critical shortages have been identified. Objectives and Activities: PRIME will prepare 64 mental health professionals capable of delivering evidence-based mental health screening and intervention in rural schools, thus increasing 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 Oklahoma LEAs. PRIME will build a networked rural Community of Practice (CoP) using a Grow Your Own model to collectively provide credit hours, internships, and field experiences related to training in high-need schools that will afford graduates the knowledge, dispositions, and skills needed to remain in service to rural high-need schools after being fully credentialed. To accomplish this goal, PRIME will recruit a diverse cohort representative of the rural communities served, provide culturally responsive and trauma-informed education inclusive of coursework necessary for state certification, develop and provide access to a comprehensive open-source review for credentialing exams, and provide supervision and mentoring. PRIME will establish and enhance existing partnerships with community organizations and rural school districts for continuous professional development, training, and placement.
Multicultural Learning Center (CA) $820,058
The Multicultural Learning Center (MLC) is the lead Local Education Agency (LEA) for a consortium of six (6) Local Education Agencies applying for the U.S. Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program (“MHSPD”) and will be responsible for oversight of activities performed under the MHSPD grant. Each of the LEAs and participating school sites meets the definition of high-need included in the NIA. Consortium schools are in Los Angeles County, California, serving 5,192 students in grades K-12. As the lead LEA, Multicultural Learning Center (MLC) will work closely with 5 other LEAs serving eleven (11) school sites to implement our MHSPD grant program. The percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-price school lunch in our Consortium schools is 84%. (Poverty indicator under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act). Our MHSPD grant program includes hiring 143 mental health providers who are either recent graduates of Pepperdine University or graduate students enrolled at Pepperdine University to complete the required fieldwork for graduation. Our MHSPD grant expands the capacity of the Consortium’s high-needs schools by establishing a partnership with an Institution of Higher Education (IHE), Pepperdine University. This partnership will expand the pipeline of mental health professionals into our high-need schools to address the shortage of school-based mental health service providers. (Absolute Priority). Project activities include (1) partnering with an IHE (Pepperdine University)to expand the pipeline of mental health service providers into high-needs schools; (2) increasing the number of graduate student candidates completing their field learning experience in participating Consortium school sites; (3) increasing the number of IHE graduates employed and assigned to our high-needs schools; (4) increasing access to school-based therapeutic mental health services; (5) increasing the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers who are from diverse backgrounds (Competitive Priority #1), and (6) promoting inclusive practices and provide training that includes evidence-based cultural and linguistic pedagogical practices in mental health services provider preparation (Competitive Priority #2). Our MHSPD grant program includes the following goals: (1) Expand the pipeline of mental health providers into school-based services; (2) Increase the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers hired under our MHSPD grant program; (3) Increase access to school-based mental health providers, especially for underserved student populations; (4) Promote Diversity and Inclusive Practices, and (5) Encourage and Increase Respectful Interactions.
Portsmouth Public School Board Office (VA) $211,338
The purpose of this partnership between Portsmouth Public Schools and Norfolk State University is to increase the representation of minority professionals in school-based mental health positions, particularly in Professional School Counseling. Interns from Norfolk State University will be granted scholarships to receive necessary funding while they complete their required internship placements within Portsmouth Public Schools. All nineteen schools within the LEA, consisting of approximately 14,000 students, will have the potential for Professional School Counselor internship placements with the highest priority being given to the schools with the highest needs in relation to socioeconomic status, counselor-to-student ratios, and school accreditation measures. By placing additional, Professional School Counseling interns within our LEA we hope to improve students’ access to mental health services; thereby improving dropout rates, increasing graduation rates, lowering the rate of chronic absenteeism, and improving student behaviors that result in out-of-school suspensions. At present, there are only two Professional School Counselor vacancies within the LEA, but through attrition and retirement, the goal will be to hire interns into full-time positions as this partnership progresses.
Wichita State University (KS) $331,806
This proposal outlines a project that has the primary objective of increasing the number of qualified School Psychologists with training in evidence-based practices in rural, high-need Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and expanding upon the training experiences of school psychology graduate students during their field experiences through placements in LEAs. This project also seeks to increase the number of school psychologists from diverse backgrounds in high-need LEAs across the state of Kansas. This proposal outlines the proposed partnership between an Institution of Higher Education (IHE), Wichita State University, and three high-need LEAs in rural Kansas. This proposal includes a scaffolded model in which one LEA will be supported in year one of the grant, two in year two, and three LEAs in years three through five. With the support of school psychology graduate students at Wichita State University in year one of the grant, there is the capacity to support 863 K-12 students with social, emotional, behavioral, or mental health. Additionally, the graduate students would work closely with LEA partners at the systems level to provide indirect support to each student in the LEA. The project will place up to 96 graduate students training in the field of school psychology and will be taking school psychologist positions during or shortly after the grant term. The travel funding outlined for this project is a critical component to achieving the project goals. The primary goal of the project is to increase the number of quality school-based mental health service providers in high-need rural schools by placing School Psychology (SP) graduate students at the rural LEAs to complete their fieldwork hours. The proposed outcomes of the project are to increase WSU school psychology students from diverse backgrounds in high-need LEAs, increase the number of students from diverse backgrounds in higher education programs for training in school-based mental health fields, increase awareness of school-based mental health career options to secondary students, and decrease the number of mental health referrals in the three partnered high need LEAs.
San Antonio Independent School District (TX) $294,548
The Con Cariño project will enhance the current San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) internship to employment pipeline for Licensed Master Social Workers (LMSWs) and expand to include a newly developed pathway for counseling interns. SAISD will employ new LMSWs at elementary campuses and School Counselors at academies (PK-8). SAISD will ensure the successful implementation of grant activities through the following objectives: (1) increase the number of LMSW & Counselor interns at SAISD elementary and academies (PK-8), (2) expand support services for LMSW & Counselor interns to ensure successful completion of university requirements and completion of their required licensure exams, and (3) increase the number of LMSW & Counselor full-time employees supporting SAISD elementary and academies (PK-8). The goal is to decrease the estimated 19% school counselor turnover rate and increase the number of licensed master social workers in SAISD by December 2026. Proposed Project Outcomes: Fourteen newly credentialed mental health professionals will be hired to increase the network of support for SAISD students to receive comprehensive mental, social, and emotional wellness care. Spanish-speaking professionals will be highly sought. This project will support one LEA, SAISD, and will target 14 high-needs campuses. 5,663 students will be served through increased access to mental health professionals. Number of Providers to be Hired: Fourteen mental health services providers, 10 LMSWs, and 4 Counselors will be hired because of this grant program.
University of Northern Colorado (CO) $235,011
On both a national and state level, there is a shortage of school psychologists (NASP, 2021). These shortages have led to a variety of unmet mental health needs within youth populations. The School Psychology program at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) seeks to remedy this issue by increasing the number of fully trained school psychology graduates working within Greeley-Evans School District 6 (District 6). District 6 is the 13th largest school district in Colorado, serving more than 22,000 P-12 students. The district is home to a diverse student body made up of children from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Of the total students enrolled, 13,994 (61.7%) are Hispanic or Latino. In order to best support District 6, UNC plans to recruit and train students from diverse backgrounds, specifically bilingual (Spanish and English) students. The cost of tuition and additional fees related to program attendance has been established as one of the largest barriers for prospective students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. To address these barriers and expand upon the number of underrepresented populations within the field of school psychology, UNC aims to cover 66% of tuition costs and provide an $8,000 stipend for eligible students for two years of the Ed.S. school psychology program. In addition to this funding, training related to school interventions, as well as access to two additional classes focused on practices related to school-based mental health, will be provided to the students at no additional cost to them. The goal of this program is to increase support and supervision opportunities within a high-need community (ie., Greeley, Colorado), while simultaneously reducing barriers to mental health education for underrepresented graduate student populations. These students, in turn, will commit to working in District 6 for three years following graduation, creating an opportunity for them to implement their training and act as mentors for subsequent grant recipients, ultimately producing a source of sustainable, high-quality service providers within the Greeley/Evans community.
FY 2021 Continuation Awards
| PR/Award No. | Grantee Name | Year-Three Funding |
| Arizona | ||
| S184X190046 | Peoria Unified School District 11 | $486,571 |
| California | ||
| S184X190024 | Del Norte County Office of Education | $462,267 |
| S184X190013 | Eureka City Schools | $474,880 |
| S184X190044 | New Vision Middle School | $498,970 |
| S184X190020 | Pasadena Unified School District | $392,959 |
| S184X190041 | Tulare County Office of Education | $500,000 |
| Florida | ||
| S184X190028 | School Board of St. Lucie County | $431,077 |
| S184X190003 | School Board of Broward County | $500,000 |
| Illinois | ||
| S184X190031 | Board of Education of the City of Chicago | $490,128 |
| Indiana | ||
| S184X190033 | Richland Beanblossom Community School District | $498,495 |
| Iowa | ||
| S184X190016 | Green Hills Area Education Agency | $181,299 |
| Kentucky | ||
| S184X190005 | Corbin Independent Schools | $285,000 |
| Louisiana | ||
| S184X190036 | LA Division of Administration/LA Department of Education | $500,000 |
| Maryland | ||
| S184X190037 | Board of Education of Prince George’s County, MD | $262,711 |
| Montana | ||
| S184X190038 | Montana Office of Public Instruction | $499,789 |
| Nebraska | ||
| S184X190032 | Educational Service Unit #2 | $500,000 |
| New York | ||
| S184X190043 | John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School | $497,726 |
| S184X190027 | Niagara Falls City School District | $500,000 |
| S184X190026 | Sodus Central School District | $500,000 |
| New Jersey | ||
| S184X190029 | Newark Board of Education | $423,472 |
| S184X190025 | Pennsauken School District | $322,266 |
| North Carolina | ||
| S184X190021 | Ashe County School District | $501,796 |
| S184X190012 | Public Schools of Robeson County | $499,200 |
| S184X190008 | Rockingham County Schools | $485,334 |
| Oklahoma | ||
| S184X190011 | Osage County Interlocal Cooperative | $499,228 |
| Texas | ||
| S184X190035 | Educational Service Center Region 5 | $499,037 |
| Virginia | ||
| S184X190023 | Virginia Department of Education | $500,000 |
FY 2020
Year Two Continuation Awards (PDF)
FY 2019
Grant Awards (PDF)
Abstracts for 2019 Awards (PDF)
