Awards
FY 2023 Award Recipients
Regents of the University of Minnesota (MN) $1,042,943.00: Project LIME leverages an innovative partnership between the University of Minnesota School Psychology Program and one of Minnesota’s largest high-need districts, St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS). Through Project LIME, we will increase the number and diversity of fully qualified school psychologists who can significantly expand the capacity of SPPS through enhanced implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to support youth mental health. We will accomplish this goal by implementing a five-phase capacity-building and workforce development model, including twelve 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 in order to achieve project 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.
San Francisco State University (CA) $1,125,088.00: A five-year project (2023-2028) designed to address the shortage of school-based mental health (SBMH) professionals by increasing the supply of master’s level SBMH providers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds who are qualified to provide comprehensive services that support K-12 students in high-need schools. Our proposed Equity and Justice-Focused School-Based Mental Health Training Project is an innovative partnership between SFSU, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), and San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), and is a direct response to Governor Newsom’s legislative (Quirk-Silva Pupil Services: Educational Counseling, 2022) commitment to “rebuild California’s mental health system.” Our project meets the grant’s absolute priority and the three competitive preference priorities by a) expanding the SBMH training and workforce capacity in high-need LEAs (absolute priority) with 350 years of SBMH fieldwork and 300 years of SBMH service payback by qualified SBMH professionals from CLD backgrounds. This partnership between SFSU – a Minority-Serving Institution (competitive preference priority 3) and two high-need LEAs, will recruit, train, and graduate SBMH professionals who reflect the communities, identities, and cultures of the students in (or served by) our high-need schools – including underserved students (competitive preference priority 1), prioritizing culturally inclusive, evidence-based SBMH pedagogical practices that foster identity-safe environments (competitive preference priority 2).
University of Houston-Clear Lake (TX) $143,773.00: This five-year project aims to expand the capacity of high-need middle schools (grades 6-8) to improve students’ access to culturally responsive tier II modular school-based mental health treatment in Galena Park, Texas. Leveraging a service-learning partnership between Galena Park Independent School District and the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL)’s Specialist in School Psychology, School Counseling, and Clinical Mental Health graduate programs, the project uses an evidence-based group instrumental school-based mentoring framework (McQuillin et al., 2014; Strait et al., 2020) for training, supporting, and embedding underrepresented graduate students and paraprofessionals in schools. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution, UHCL’s Empowering Horizons Program addresses common barriers to underrepresented populations’ participation in mental health graduate programs by offering culturally responsive training and positive work experiences within a high-need school setting along with financial assistance. Expected outcomes of this project include: providing evidence based and culturally responsive tier II mental health treatments to approximately 720 sixth through eighth grade students; increasing the representation of UHCL Hispanic/LatinX and Black/African American graduate students from approximately 40% to 60%; training 45 paraprofessionals and 50 first-year graduate students to implement a modular school-based mental health treatment; training 40 second-year graduate students to support paraprofessionals’ implementation of this treatment; and increasing underrepresented graduate students’ practicum, internships, and early career placements in high-need Local Educational Agencies.
The University of Alabama (AL) $705,200.00: Project Promoting Mental Health Services and Equity (PROMISE) is a collaborative partnership with Tuscaloosa City School (TCS) system — a high-need local educational agency (LEA) — to train and place 40 master-level school counselors and social workers and hire at least four Project PROMISE graduates in TCS. The project objectives, activities, and outcomes are: Goal 1: To recruit, graduate and place diverse masters-level school-based mental health scholars to support the mental health needs of K-12 students in high-needs schools at TCS.
Objectives: Recruit and matriculate 40 diverse scholars; increase diversity of students in school-based mental health professions by at least 20%; 100% of the scholars will successfully graduate from their respective training programs; place 4 program graduates as school-based mental health providers (SBMHP) at TCS high-need schools; at least 80% of scholars obtain employment as SBMHP at TCS or qualifying school districts within one-year after graduation. Goal 2: To provide high-quality training and practical field experiences to program scholars relevant to providing inclusive, evidence-based mental health services to K-12 students in high-needs schools. Objectives: Offer a curriculum that meets specific program accreditation standards; 100% of project scholars will undertake field-experience at high-needs schools at TCS; offer supervision and mentorship to project scholars; ensure project scholars provide evidence-based and culturally competent services; increase competencies for interdisciplinary evidence-based coursework; project scholars will provide mental health training to stakeholders; provide project development opportunities to scholars and stake holders. Goal 3: To conduct an annual program evaluation to measure performance on project objectives and performance measures, and quality assurance. Utilizing the Context, Input, Process, and Product approach, evaluates the quality of the project using an advisory board to implement feedback from stakeholders. Goal 3 outcomes are published survey data, stakeholder reports, and feedback.
University Corporation at Monterey Bay (CA) $1,199,177.00: California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) serves a majority-Hispanic student population of almost 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students in the tri-county area of California’s Central Coast. Children in the area are severely underserved and exhibiting rising needs for mental health services, all while attending schools in high-need LEAs that have chronic shortages of essential school social work and school psychology professionals. Project REACH — Responsive Educators and Advocates Committed to Mental Health —combines strong master degree programs in School Social Work (SSW) and School Psychology (SPSY), established partnerships with local schools and organizations, and the best available research into a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to addressing the critical problems undermining the mental health of youth in our service area. Project Objectives are measurable and meaningful, designed to guide project evaluation and ongoing improvement to ensure that all goals are successfully achieved: Increase by 50% the annual number of graduates of SPSY and SSW; Provide 20 annual scholarships for graduate students in SPSY and SSW programs who will work in high-need LEAs; Increase the number of CSUMB mental health graduate students that are placed in related internships at high-need LEAs; Increase the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers hired by high-need LEAs who are from diverse backgrounds or from communities served by the high-need LEAs; Develop a supportive regional, collaborative and interdisciplinary Mental Health Support Network (MHSN) that will include participants from CSUMB, partner LEAs, local government and community-based groups, and mental health industry related partners The project will utilize evidence-based strategies that work in concert with one another to address all three Competitive Preference Priorities (CPPs)
University of South Florida (FL) $758,219.00: The goal of the Project MABAS is to enhance the promotion of mental health wellbeing of children and youth with or at risk for behavioral and mental health challenges by preparing 40 high-quality school-based behavior analysts and social workers from diverse backgrounds to promote inclusive practices in high-needs LEAs. MABAS addresses the Absolute Priority and Competitive Priorities 1 and 2 through partnering with 3 LEAs. Project activities include additional coursework resulting in a graduate certificate in Children’s Mental Health, training in mental health services in schools, inclusive and culturally responsive practices, interdisciplinary collaboration, and trauma-informed care via monthly seminars, a summer institute, shared coursework, coordinated fieldwork, thesis or case studies in high need schools, and other professional development activities. Expected outcomes include employment of 40 graduates by partnering or other LEAs, increased supply and retention of school-based mental health service providers (MHSPs), and positive outcomes for children/youth, teachers, and related service professionals served by the project trainees. It is estimated each scholar will serve 25 to 60 children/youth with mental health challenges during their internship in high needs schools and over 20,000 (social worker) and 50,000 (behavior analyst) during their career as a school-based MHSP. The project process and outcomes will be disseminated via conference presentations and publications to contribute to the scientific evidence on best practices for school-based mental health services. The school-based MHSPs prepared by the project will positively impact the practices of their future employers (high-need LEAs) and contribute to changes in national or state policies to increase funding for preparing, hiring, and retaining school-based MHSPs.
Karnes City Independent School District (TX) $1,685,068: Rural Area Mental Health Professional Enhancement and Development (RAMPED) Program includes five high-need local education agencies operating 12 high-need school campuses who have partnered to create the Rural Area Mental Health Professional Enhancement and Development (RAMPED) program. Working collaboratively with two Institutions of Higher Education, the RAMPED program will increase the number of school counselors, social workers, and psychologists working in rural and low-income communities, thereby meeting the Absolute Priority of this grant program to expand the capacity of high-need LEAs. The RAMPED program has five distinct phases. The phases are (1) Filling the Gap, (2) Growing Our Own, (3) Community Re-Specialization, (4) Building Capacity, and (5) Sustaining the Program. The first phase, filling the Gap, involves recruiting school mental health professionals seeking to complete their fieldwork to work in RAMPED schools. This is an essential requirement as it will take up to two years for the program to develop its own school mental health professionals. The second phase, Growing Our Own, will open the RAMPED program up to local area school staff, focusing on schoolteachers and counselors wishing to re-specialize by securing a credential as a school mental health professional. If there are not enough schoolteachers and counselors to fill the available slots in the RAMPED program, then phase three will be initiated. In phase three, Community Re-Specialization, of the RAMPED program will be initiated. During this phase, the program will accept referrals from community members willing to re-specialize and obtain a school mental health credential. The focus will be on community members with a teaching certificate or local area mental health professionals willing to work in the school district. Phase four, Building Capacity, involves ensuring school mental health professionals are always available in the community to fill open positions. Thus, the RAMPED program will provide slots for up to 56 individuals to secure their school mental health professional certification. Finally, phase five, Sustaining the Program, will utilize the results of the RAMPED program’s rigorous evaluation to help secure local and state funding to sustain those components of the program that are deemed effective. Thus, the RAMPED program will meet the requirements of Competitive Preference Priorities [CPP] 1, 2, and 3.
Kennesaw State University (GA) S707,645.00: The purpose of the School Based Mental Health Professional Pipeline (SMHPP) is to target five high need school districts in underserved and rural counties in Northwest Georgia (Paulding, Gordon, Polk, Bartow, Floyd), that serve over 66,000 students. As the need for mental health services has grown during COVID, data shows tremendous paucity of trained mental health professionals, with expertise in serving children in schools and the community. The main purposes are to: 1) improve youth mental health by enhancing the pipeline of competently trained master social workers (MSW) students in five counties, 2) train MSW students and preservice teachers, from diverse backgrounds, in interdisciplinary, evidence-based trauma informed practices that are culturally and linguistically responsive, and 3) train practicing teachers and public safety officers in the school systems in trauma-informed practices and teaching modalities. These purposes will be accomplished by recruiting and training a diverse group of MSW (10 – 15) students each year in clinical school social work practice, who will also work collaboratively with 20 preservice teachers, each year. Over 5 years, 50 MSW students and 80 PST will be trained collaboratively to provide a pipeline of competent professionals to implement trauma-informed practices in high need schools. The specialized school based clinical MSW curriculum will include training in intercultural competency practice modalities, inter-professional collaboration, clinical social work practice in schools, and working with children that have been abused or neglected and are experiencing emotional challenges. Additionally, MSW and PST students will receive over 30 hours of out-of-class training in community resiliency, mental health first aid, and in trauma informed school-based practice modalities, where they will also learn to practice in inter-professional dyads. Targeted recruitment strategies will include working with school districts and communities in the 5 high need LEAs to select students that reflect the diversity and the lived experience of the populations they will serve. Additionally, practicing teachers and other school staff will receive specialized training in culturally responsive trauma-informed practices. All 50 MSW students in the SMHPP program will sign a commitment letter to serve for at least one-year, post-graduation, in the LEA district or other agencies that serve children in the high need LEA.
Los Angeles Unified School District (CA) $1,200,000.00: The LAUSD Mental Health Career Pathway Demonstration Project will expand access to mental wellness services for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students through training and placement of 30 Master of Social Work (MSW) interns in sixteen schools each year. As well, 240 students each year will enroll in a mental health Career Technical Education (CTE) pathway. The program is applying for Competitive Preference Priorities 1, 2, and 3 for 12 points. Project objectives and activities include: 1) MSW intern activities promote trauma-informed schools within multi-tiered systems of support. Objective 2) implement high quality mental health CTE pathway that prepares students for future careers in behavioral health. Activities include MSW intern placements for mental health, professional development, CTE classes that develop 17 core competencies, peer mentoring, and certification preparation. Performance Measure (PM) 1: 30 MSW Interns and 240 CTE pathway students trained each year (270 unduplicated totals each year) to provide school-based mental health services in high-need LEAs. PM 2: 30 school-based MHSP will be placed in an internship each year (150 totals). PM 3: 30 school-based MHSP will be hired each year. PM 4: The program will increase diversity of school based MHSP by five percentage points each year. Outcome 1: 8% increase in SEL competencies by students in target schools. Outcome 2: Increase pass rate with a C or better on A-G courses required for college by 10% from baseline for students in target schools. Outcome 3: 90% of CTE pathway students graduating from pathway earn Peer Support Specialist Certification. Outcome 4: Increase graduation rates at target schools by one percentage point annually or until a school reaches 95% graduation rate.
Fort Wayne Community Schools (IN) $1,999,242.00: Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS – applicant and fiscal agent) in partnership with Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW – Institution of Higher Education [IHE]) and Indiana University Fort Wayne (IFW – Institution of Higher Education [IHE]) proposes EACH: Expanding Access to Critical Mental Health Supports, a Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Grant partnership that will expand mental health capacity in 16 high-need secondary schools serving 14,665 students (Absolute Priority) by: (a) training current elementary therapists/case managers to provide therapeutic counseling / crisis intervention / restorative practices and advanced supports on Crisis Intervention Teams; (b) creating a “grow your own” and “pre-service” pipeline of future school-based mental health professionals by offering fellowships to existing educators and internships to PFW and IFW students who agree to serve in FWCS secondary schools with priority placement upon graduation; (c) utilizing the existing biomedical pathway at Snider High School to create a mental health pathway for students, including the opportunity to earn dual credits toward the undergraduate Bachelor of Social Work degree at Indiana University Fort Wayne; and (d) providing students, families and educators with greater access to high quality mental health supports through Neighborhood Health, Parkview Behavioral Health, Bowen Center and Park Center. Implementation of EACH will help FWCS and partners meet Competitive Priorities 1, 2 and 3 as well as meet and exceed the following: EACH will ensure that service providers are well-trained in inclusive practices for all students, including English learners and special education. An external evaluation team will provide meaningful feedback needed to support continuous improvement and achievement of the goal, objectives and anticipated outcomes of the project. An increase of 60 FWCS mental health providers is anticipated during the next five years, decreasing the ratio of mental health providers in FWCS middle / high schools from 1:2,933 to 1:244.
West Virginia University (WV) $990,226.00: Mountaineer School-Based Mental Health Fellows Program aims to address a critical need for qualified school-based mental health professionals through the creation of the Mountaineer School-Based Mental Health Fellows Program. This Program is a partnership between West Virginia University’s master’s in counseling program (the institution of higher education) and the Harrison County Board of Education (the high-need local educational agency). Each year during the proposed project’s five-year duration, six master’s in counseling program students will be selected as second-year fellows, and will each complete an academic year-long (i.e., fall and spring semesters) fellowship in identified high-need schools (as defined in the grant notice) in Harrison County, West Virginia. Second-year fellows will render comprehensive, evidence-based school-based mental health services at their assigned site(s) for at least two days per week during the fall semester, and five days per week in the spring semester. Throughout the program’s lifespan, it is estimated that over 10,000 students will be served and. By the end of the five-year grant, 30 fellows will be hired to work in Harrison County Public Schools or a similar high-need LEA, and the remaining six fellows will be hired to work in Harrison County Public Schools or a similar high-need LEA the year after the grant ends. Competitive Preference Priority 1, 2 and 3 are met.
University of the Incarnate Word (TX) $1,059,759.59: The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program (OTD), in collaboration with the Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) School of Psychology (SP) program, will establish partnerships with Southside Independent School District (SISD) and South San Antonio Independent School District (SSAISD) to expand the capacity of the high-need local education agencies (LEAs) to meet the mental health needs of LEA students through individual and systematic strategies conceptualized from a thorough literature review. These strategies aim to accomplish this goal by increasing the number of mental health providers available, creating evidence-based trainings, providing Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), increasing the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, and creating sustainability of the programs after the completion of the grant. Embedded in the programs and initiatives of the grant are three competitive priorities. To address competitive priority one of increasing the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, the UIW OTD and OLLU SP programs will recruit undergraduate students from surrounding Hispanic Serving Institutions and from colleges within 50 miles of the LEAs and maintain a 40% or higher ratio of Hispanic applicants to the OTD and SP programs. Additionally, two LEA high school “Pathways Programs” with 5 student participants per year will receive training and explore mental health professional careers to create opportunities for students in the LEAs to become mental health providers. The competitive priority two for promoting inclusive practices and preparing mental health service providers to create culturally and linguistically inclusive and identity safe environments is upheld with several approaches at UIW and OLLU at the university level, program level, and faculty level supporting the graduate students and preparing them to support LEA students. Addressing competitive priority three, UIW and OLLU are minority-serving institutions (MSIs) further categorized as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) attending to the needs of underserved populations within San Antonio, Texas.
University of Central Florida Board of Trustees (FL) $991,457.00: Systemic School Treatment and Response Project (Project STAR)will be led by the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees (UCF), a federally designated HSI, will partner with four high-need LEAs (i.e., Orange County Public Schools, Seminole County Public Schools, School District of Osceola County, and Volusia County Schools) throughout Central Florida to meet all MHSPD Grant priorities, including (a) the Absolute Priority, and (b) Competitive Preference Priorities 1, 2, and 3. The four identified LEAs together serve approximately 405,800 students within 473 schools, including student populations ranging from 24.2% to 43.6% economically disadvantaged, and 50-80% racial/ethnic minorities. The project proposes the following objectives: to significantly expand the capacity of high-need LEAs by placing 220 unduplicated, highly trained counseling and school psychology graduate students in school-based mental health practicum and/or internship experiences; to
increase the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers from diverse backgrounds or communities; and to fulfill the unique mental health needs of students in participating LEAs by providing evidence-based and inclusive pedagogy in school-based mental health services and Multi-tiered Systems of Support for Project STAR trainees. These objectives will be reached through the following project activities: placing counseling and school psychology students in supervised school-based practicum and internships in high-need LEAs, intentionally recruiting trainees from diverse backgrounds (with a target of 60% of trainees being from underrepresented backgrounds), providing evidence-based coursework and trainings, providing stipend support for trainees, and ongoing program evaluation and dissemination of findings. Through these activities we aim to see a measurable increase in number and diversity of high-quality, mental health service providers in high-need LEAs.
Long Island University (NY) $866,498.00: The Long Island Mental Health Professional Expansion Project (LI MHPEP) is a collaboration between Long Island University (LIU) and three Local Educational Agencies (LEAs), specifically Brentwood Union Free School District, Freeport Union Free School District, and Uniondale Union Free School District that will directly increase the number and diversity of school-based mental health service professionals, to increase access to mental health services for students in communities located in Nassau and Suffolk Counties in New York State (NYS). A total of 16 individuals from the communities served by the three LEAs will be recruited as recipients of scholarships to enroll in graduate programs in the Departments of Counseling and Social Work at LIU Post over the five-year project period. These 16 interns will conduct all of their supervised practicum hours within the three school districts. Simultaneously, project personnel will work collaboratively with school personnel in the development of Technical Assistance Teams to ensure the implementation of evidence-based practices within a Multi-tiered Systems of Support Framework in four high-needs high schools within the three partnering LEAs, resulting in each of the 16 diverse Mental Health Services Professionals gaining employment in high needs ELAs.
Santa Ana Unified School District (CA) $921,500.00: Through this Mental Health Services Demonstration Program Proposal, SAUSD is seeks to partner with California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) and CSUF, Long Beach (CSULB) as well as Santa Ana College (SAC), our local community college, in order to increase the number of qualified school based mental health providers available for high needs schools through the development of a strong intern program targeted to recruit from racially and ethnically diverse University programs. to that end, the project will implement three key strategies which include provide interns with access to evidence-based experiences that address diverse backgrounds and mental health needs; remove barriers to intern participation for individuals with diverse backgrounds; and comprehensive professional development plan. Project Goals are to increase the number of qualified Social Workers from diverse backgrounds available to serve high needs schools, establish a high school to Social Worker Degree Pathway, and promote inclusive practices. Social worker interns will be placed within SAUSD where there is a strategic focus of prevention and intervention support in alignment with California’s Community School Partnership Plan. This plan highlights the need for increased student and family access to fundamental resources to ensure that the whole child is addressed in the educational setting creating stronger healthier families and communities. In response, SAUSD aims to establish schools as community resource hubs and pillars of support for access to resources. MHSP interns will gain a diverse set of experiences in mental health through SAUSD’s integrated support services (health, mental health, social emotional learning), family and community engagement (wellness centers).
The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (GA) $877,155.00: This project will increase the number and diversity of mental health providers from the University of Georgia’s School Counseling and School Psychology programs who will provide contextualized mental health services in five high-need schools in a high-need LEA in rural northern Georgia. In collaboration with these schools and community partners, this project will provide a diverse group of trainees didactic and experiential training to prepare them to administer evidence-based mental and behavioral health services to K-12 students that are inclusive in terms of race/ethnicity, culture, language, and sexual self-identity. The project’s primary outcomes are the: (1) #s and demographics of students trained and placed in high-need LEAs; (2) #s and demographics of trainees hired by high-need LEAs and schools; (3) #s and demographics of students and families served; and (4) trainees’ abilities to provide culturally-contextualized treatments to students from diverse groups.
Number of LEAs to Be Served: One high-need LEA with Rural and Low Income School status (Madison County GA School District) and five high-need schools will be served (3 elementary, 1 middle school, and 1 high school). All are economically-impoverished, have high participation rates in free/reduced school lunch programs, and have zero mental health professionals on staff. Across the participating high school, middle school, and three elementary schools, this project has the potential to interact with as many as 4,200 K-12 students. This project will train 50 graduate students in the University of Georgia’s School Counseling Program and School Psychology Program. All trainees will be mentored to obtain employment as mental health professionals in high-need LEAs and high-need schools in Georgia or other states upon graduation.
Illinois State Board of Education (IL) $1,201,072.00: The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is applying for the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration (MHSP) Grant Program through a partnership with an institute of higher education (IHE) – 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 capacity of School Based Mental Health Services Providers (SBMHSPs) providing services within high need LEAs. Training, consultation, support, supervision, and re-specialization 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 re-specializing professionals, 20 staff, and 10 supervisors annually to increase capacity and lower the SBMHSP ratios to 50% less than 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.
Riverside County Office of Education (CA) $1,149,984.00: Riverside County Wellness Collaborative (RCWC) project includes 3 primary objectives and activities: increasing the number of School Based Mental Health service providers in high need LEAs; increasing the number of service providers from diverse backgrounds or from the communities they serve; and ensuring that all service providers are trained in inclusive practices, including ensuring access to services for children and youth who are English learners. RCWC outcomes are as follows: The unduplicated, cumulative number of school-based mental health services providers trained by the grantee under the project to provide school-based mental health services in high-need LEAs; the unduplicated, cumulative number of school-based mental health services providers placed in a practicum or internship by the grantee in high-need LEAs to provide school-based mental health services; the unduplicated, cumulative number of school-based mental health services providers hired by high-need LEAs to provide school-based mental health services; and increasing the diversity of school-based mental health services providers. Over the course of the five year funding, we will work with at least seven high need LEA’s on a Residency Program to educate and place 76 School Based Licensed Mental Health (SBLMH) services providers. We estimate at least 43,990 students will receive either Tier 1, 2, and/or 3 mental health supports over the 5 years of the grant. We partnered with three high needs LEAs to develop a Residency Program which will educate 76 SBLMH providers with a projection of 44 of the 76 SBLMH providers being from diverse backgrounds. These 76 SBLMH providers will be available for hire within the 23 LEAs in Riverside County.
Absolute Priority 1, 2 and 3 are addressed.
University of Nebraska Medical Center (NE) $1,200,000.00: The purpose of this project is twofold: (a) to expand the number of diverse school mental health providers in high-need LEAs, and (b) to improve the capacity of educators to meet the mental health needs of students in high-need LEAs in NE. This project will expand the certified and licensed workforce, therein reducing provider shortages leading to increased access to student services in high-need LEAs. Through these objectives and activities, we will address the absolute and all competitive preference priorities for this grant. Eighty total trainees will complete the program over the next 5 years with 45 funded through this grant and 35 covered through additional funds. One hundred and four educators will become certified behavioral health technicians and 500 more will receive professional development in school mental health. This project will expand NE’s workforce and educator capacity for addressing students’ mental health in high-need schools. Four high-need LEAS will be served including ESU #3, Omaha Public Schools, Nebraska City Public Schools, and Umon Hon Nation Public Schools. Roughly 9,090 students will be served via tiered school mental health support; 142,572 students will be impacted by improved mental health programming in LEAs. We anticipate 30% – 40% of trainees (30 – 32) will be retained and employed in our state. Thus, this project will have significant impact in high-need LEAs in Nebraska.
Del County Norte County Unified School District (CA) $611,258.77: Del Norte Unified School District (DNUSD) proposes to improve students’ resilience, mental health, academic achievement, and life skills. Project and Program Goals are to: Increase the number of school-based Mental Health Service Providers (MHSPs) trained to provide school-based mental health services in high-need schools; Increase the number of MHSP graduate students placed in practicum or internship in high-need schools to provide school-based mental health services; Increase the number of MHSPs hired to provide school-based mental health services. DN will have 5 cohorts of five MA candidates for a total of 25 additional MHSPs that are credentialed with a PPS in Psychology, Counseling or Social Work; increase the number of trainings and number of school-based individuals trained in research-based strategies including Trauma-Informed Practices, Youth Mental Health First Aid, and Sources of Strength; and to sustain the to-be-trained MHSPs beyond the grant using local district funds (LCAP), California Department of Education, Education Foundations, and MediCal funding. These objectives and activities will improve the ratio of MHSPs in our local high needs schools, increase face-to-face services provided on-site, increase the number students receiving on-site mental health services, increase the number of classified and certificated personnel trained in research-based mental-health strategies, and further deepening the quality and impact of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in our local schools.
University of Alaska Anchorage (AK) $354,586.00: The School-Based Social Work Education and Network Development (SSWEND): Anchorage School District Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant program proposes an innovative partnership between the University of Alaska Anchorage and the Anchorage School District (ASD). ASD is ranked as one of the most diverse school districts in the United States, serving 44,228 students across 111 schools in Anchorage, Alaska. Among these students, 23,344 (52.7%) receive free or reduced lunch and more than 50 languages are spoken.
The proposal meets three competitive preference priorities: Competitive Preference Priority #1, Competitive Preference Priority #2, and Competitive Preference Priority #3. The proposed project will increase the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers from diverse backgrounds within the communities served and allow the district to promote inclusive and empirically supported practices within the district. UAA is a waiver recipient under the FY2022 Minority-Serving Institutions designation process. Program objectives are to: 1) train 31 SSWEND fellows to provide a positive impact on inclusive practices and child outcomes in high-needs schools and 2) meet ASD identified needs for mental health service professionals. Program activities include: placing MSW students in practicums in ASD high-need schools, advising fellows through the required coursework, enhancing fellows’ networks and education through professional organizations, and assisting SSWEND graduates in acquiring their Type C Certification and becoming employed as a school-based provider. Project outcomes include: 1) 100% (n=31) of fellows qualifying for Type C Certification, 2) 28 fellows (90%) are employed in a high-need school as a school-based mental health services within one-year post-program completion. ASD anticipates 3-5 FTE positions annually; community partners anticipate additional positions as their programs grow.
DePaul University (IL) $343,886.00: Project STRIDE: School-Based Trainee Recruitment and Retention through Innovation and Diversity Enrichment. The current project proposes to expand the capacity of the Chicago Public School (CPS) District, the fourth largest district in the United States, to train mental health counselors in high-need elementary schools, by partnering with the DePaul University’s Counseling program. The proposal meets Competitive Preference Priority 1 by prioritizing the training of Counseling graduate student trainees who a) are of African American and Latinx backgrounds and/or who match the cultural and linguistic characteristics of CPS students; and b) have as a goal to establish a career working as a school-based mental health provider in high-need schools. The proposed project also meets Competitive Preference Priority 2 by promoting inclusive practices. The high-need schools to be selected for this ambitious and innovative partnership will be those with 60% or higher enrollment of African American and/or Latinx students, and/or 25% or higher English Learner enrollments. In addition to receiving excellent training in diverse and multicultural practices during their coursework and service-based courses, this proposal aims to train Counseling interns and practicum students and support their delivery of Act & Adapt, an evidence-based group coping skills intervention that was developed and tailored for ethnic minority early adolescents and that has been evaluated and found to be efficacious among CPS students and has been widely disseminated to 120 CPS schools. Using a scaling up strategy, we anticipate supporting the training of 96 school-based Counseling trainees over the next five years with an expectation that they will be employed by CPS or another high-need educational agency and be well equipped to serve students of diverse backgrounds.
University of the Pacific (CA) S1,082,192.00: We propose the Pacific and Central Valley Schools (PACS) Partnership to increase the capacity of 11 mostly rural Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to provide mental health services to their 47,087 preK-12 students by training and placing upwards of 20 school psychology fieldwork and internship graduate students and 20 counseling psychology practicum students within high-needs schools within these LEAs with the ultimate goal of filling the LEAs vacant and chronically unfilled positions. The program will increase the number of qualified school-based mental health service providers in high-need rural areas who are from diverse backgrounds or from the communities served by the LEAs (Competitive Preference Priority #1) by identifying current school personnel or members of the community who are interested in becoming mental health service providers. Grant funding would cover costs for these individuals to attend graduate school, including fieldwork, internships, and practicums and receive an advanced degree in mental health services. There is a strong counseling and crisis intervention component to our school psychology training program that promotes inclusive practices (Competitive Preference Priority #2), allowing school psychologists that graduate from the program to provide comprehensive school-based mental health services. We also have a strong school-based training component for the counseling psychology program. Our evaluation plan includes the use of a variety of surveys, as well as reporting the unduplicated cumulative number of school-based mental health service providers, including the numbers of diverse providers, that are trained, placed, and hired to provide school-based mental health services in high-needs LEAs.
Miami University (OH) S626,360.00: School-based mental health services are in high demand as students, caregivers, and school personnel report insufficient capacity to provide critical treatment to students with symptoms of mental, emotional, and behavioral health disorders. High-need Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) are disproportionately plagued by long wait lists and significant gaps in available services. The number of qualified school-based mental health professionals is not keeping up with demand across Ohio, especially for those in traditionally marginalized communities. The goals and objectives of the Miami University Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) Workforce Development Project will address the MHSP program’s absolute priority and three competitive preference priorities. This demonstration project will adapt the Grow Your Own recruitment model to recruit, train, and graduate 150 Master’s level graduate social work students (MSWs) to serve as SBMH service professionals in high-need LEAs throughout southwest Ohio. Specialized curriculum, training on inclusive evidence-based practices, mentoring, and financial incentives will enable the MSW students to provide mental health services throughout three high-need districts (Dayton Public Schools, Hamilton City Schools, and Northridge Local Schools) in a systematic and equitable manner, while alleviating financial burdens and excessive school loan debt. Each MSW student will serve a minimum of 50 K-12 students through individual, family, or group interventions, thus directly impacting over 7,500 Ohio students and their families. Pipeline connections are with Central State University (Ohio’s only Historically Black University) and the Miami Regionals campuses (which serve primarily low-income, first-generation students in Hamilton and Middletown) will increase the diversity of MSW-trained professionals who are prepared to boost local SBMH service capacity.
The Johns Hopkins University (MD) $693,004.00: Recruit Educate Support Evaluate and Train (RESET) Initiative. The project will: 1) Create a sustainable and systemic pipeline to educate and hire highly qualified school counselors to address mental health issues in high needs LEAs across three identified urban, suburban, and rural public-school districts; and 2) Create a systemic pathway to train current school counselor practitioners to address mental health needs of Pre-K – 12 students. The proposed partnership includes didactic graduate course credit hours, internship field experiences, and professional development opportunities that create a pathway for graduate students to provide direct and indirect counseling services that lead to credentialing as highly qualified school counselors. The initiative proposes to train 51 school counseling graduate students during the span of the RESET Initiative to complete a CACREP school counseling graduate program. School counseling interns will be placed in the identified 22 public schools in each of the project’s five years. A diverse group of 51 individuals will receive rigorous training that leads to credentialing as highly qualified school counselors. More than 20 additional school counselors will be better prepared to address student mental health needs. High-needs LEAs will be able to hire more than 50 well-trained counselors. The formative and summative evaluation will inform counseling training practices nationwide. Approximately 25,000 students in 22 schools over 5 years will be served. The unduplicated, cumulative number of school-based mental health services providers trained and placed in a practicum or internship by the grantee in high-need LEAs to provide school-based mental health services and then to be hired by high-need LEAs is 51.
Heritage University (WA) $1,171,783.00: The Project title is the Heritage University Consortium.
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 Heritage University Consortium of a MSI Higher Education Institution, High-Need LEAs, Yakama Indian Nation and ESD 105 will implement a grow your own model to address the shortages of mental health providers in our high-need rural schools. We will accomplish this by developing a pipeline of students recruited from local diverse high-need schools into Heritage University’s undergraduate programs and into the newly to be developed Master of Mental Health Counseling (MMHC) graduate program. Students will be placed in local diverse schools to conduct their field education hours/credits to attain their state requirement for credential 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 – Minority-Serving Institution As Applicant. The objectives are to train, certify and graduate master’s level Mental Health Providers/ Professionals with diverse backgrounds from local diverse communities to be placed and hired at local high-need schools; increase awareness and recruit for the MMHC program and to train 15 professionals with existing master’s degrees to obtain their mental health state certification to work in schools; and to hire diverse mental health providers/professionals to serve students in their schools.
San Diego County Office of Education (CA) $481,124.00: The San Diego County Office of Education’s Mental Health Service Pathways (MHSP) Program will address the Absolute Priority and Competitive Preference Priority 1, 2, and 3 while serving up to 3,173 TK-12 students at eight schools (with one LEA having 20 site locations due to the nature of serving homeless and juvenile justice involved students) in Years 1 and 2. The project will scale up services to include up to 12 LEAs by the project’s completion, potentially serving 12,692 students and placing up to 60 school social workers at high-need school sites. Objectives and activities will include: 1) Embed School Social Worker pathway into existing infrastructure as part of Teacher Effectiveness and Preparation department; 2) Recruit diverse post-graduate Master of Social Work (MSW) interns to be placed at high-need LEAs through collaboration with over 15 IHEs; 3) Retain MSWs through induction, stipends, high-quality professional learning, and coaching on employment opportunities; and 4) Provide technical assistance to LEAs to support proper identification of students by ensuring a multi-tiered system of support is inclusive of mental health service providers. Outcomes will consist of: 1) Increased number of diverse School Social Worker interns recruited, placed, and supervised at high-need LEAs throughout the region; 2) Improved access to mental health services at the school site level; 3) Increase of School Social Worker workforce pipeline; 4) Improved student learning experiences; and 5) Increased family involvement and engagement. The number of providers to be hired is estimated to be 50 at the project’s completion, which is spring 2028.
Eastern University (PA) $1,199,357.00: The project title is Eastern University (EU) Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration (EU MHSP). Competitive preference priorities addressed are one and two. (LEA and Number of Students Served) Three Pennsylvania LEAs are located within 25 miles of EU and within 40 miles north-west of Philadelphia: Chester Upland School District (CUSD), Norristown Area School District (NASD), and Pottstown School District (PSD), serving 25 schools and 13,800 students, with 43% being African American and 33% being Hispanic. Poverty rate for EU MHSP LEA students (ages 5-17) is 35.2% (CUSD), 21.7% (NASD), and 24.7% (PSD). Fifteen graduate students each year (75 over five years) from the EU College of Education and Behavioral Sciences M.Ed. School Counseling and/or M.A. Clinical Counseling programs. Three FTE site supervisors, with a master’s degree and PA counselor certification. EU MHSP has six outcome objectives. (1) Increase the number of state licensed/certified mental health service professionals (i.e., counselors) prepared for employment in EU MHSP LEAs, (2) Increase the number of state licensed/certified mental health service professionals (i.e., counselors) employed in EU MHSP LEAs; (3) Increase the number of diverse state licensed/certified school mental health service professionals (i.e., counselors), prepared for employment in EU MHSP LEAs; (4) Increase the number of students receiving school-based mental health services in EU MHSP LEAs; (5) Decrease violent, aggressive, and disruptive behavior in EU MHSP LEAs; (6) Increase student school engagement in EU MHSP LEAs. Graduate coursework (40-60 credits), including supervised practicum (100 hrs.) and internship (600 hrs.); National conference attendance (e.g., ACES, ASCA); childcare, tuition, books/supplies for graduate students; graduate student supervision during practicums and internships, mental health service provider pipeline for LEA seniors (CTE education and scholarships); project evaluation and continuous improvement.
William James College, Inc. (MA) $1,180,657.00: William James College strives to be a preeminent school of psychology that integrates rigorous academic instruction with extensive field education training. The College assumes an ongoing social responsibility to create academic programs that prepare behavioral health specialists to meet the evolving mental health needs of an increasingly diverse society. Competing for both Priority 1 and Priority 2, the primary objectives of this project (serving a total of 100 unduplicated graduate students, 100 paraprofessionals, and four LEAs) are to (1) provide field education experiences for 20 graduate students annually (100 students over 5 years) who are enrolled in graduate training programs at the College (e.g., Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Psychology); (2) offer professional development trainings in evidence-based, culturally responsive, and inclusive practices for school-based mental health services providers (SBHMPs), teachers, and other school personnel to foster identity-safe learning environments for children and adolescents in high-need schools; (3) create mental health career pathways for 20 paraprofessionals annually from partner LEAs (100 paraprofessionals over 5 years); and (4) conduct a robust program evaluation to assess project outcomes and measure the short- and long-term impacts on program participants. At the end of the grant period, 50% of participating graduate students are projected to be employed in school-based settings, and 100 paraprofessionals are projected to be hired/retained and work in the roles of SBMHSPs, all by the end of their training. The College’s proposed project will increase the number and diversity of high-quality, trained providers available to provide trauma-informed, evidence-based, and culturally responsive care in schools served by high-need LEAs and promote inclusive practices with regard to race, ethnicity, culture, language, disability, and students who identify as LGBTQIA+.
Research Foundation for SUNY at Binghamton (NY) $1,088,588.00: Binghamton University Community Schools (BUCS) proposes the Rural Mental Health in Schools Expansion Initiative as a way to bring social work services to rural high needs school districts in Broome and Tioga Counties in New York’s Southern Tier. This initiative will expand social work support to middle and high school students and families in four high-needs school districts and will serve seven schools. Approximately 3300 students will be served through this initiative. The project goals are to (1) expand access for youth and families to high-quality, equitable, and evidence-based mental health services in high-needs schools; (2) increase engagement of youth and families in the educational process showing improved academic outcomes; (3) diversify the number of trained social work candidates serving within partner schools; and (4) strengthen the school culture through trauma-informed, culturally responsive training for school leaders and staff to ensure the environment promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion for all members. The project activities include (1) providing training, supervision, and mentorship to social work candidates serving within partnering schools; (2) preparing social work candidates to use a tele-mental health approach to deliver needed services; (3) encouraging partnering schools to hire more school-based mental health providers to serve youth and families; and (4) providing professional development activities for school leaders and staff to support trauma-informed, culturally responsive practices. The expected outcomes are (1) yearly increases in the number of school-based mental health services providers trained by BUCS to provide school-based mental health services in high-need school districts; (2) yearly increase in the number of school-based mental health services providers placed in a practicum or internship BUCS in high-need school districts to provide school-based mental health services; (3) social work candidates participate in tele-mental health training for delivery in partner schools; (4) yearly increase in the number of school-based social work professionals hired by high-need school districts to provide school-based mental health services; (5) yearly increase in reading and math proficiency rates from the prior year for students including all student subgroups; and (6) yearly increase the recruitment of underrepresented students, and students that are multilingual, to participate in field placements in partner schools yearly increase in the proportion of school leaders, staff, families, and students reporting positive perceptions of school climate and safety at each school. It is anticipated that this initiative will place one new social work supervisor in each school district (four total) and up to four social work interns in each school (16 total).
Rowan University (NJ) S645,198.00: Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant-SEA (84.184X) Rowan University (IHE) and Millville Public Schools (LEA) are collaborating for the Mental Health Demonstration Grant to address the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant’s Absolute Priority and one Competitive Preference Priority. The collaboration aims to implement a comprehensive dual supervision in school psychology internship and to retain 35-50% of the students trained for employment in high-need LEAs. It proposes to establish of a scholarship program to diversity school mental health professionals who will ultimately provide support services to students in high-need LEAs. In collaboration with professional organizations and agencies, high quality professional development will benefit almost 50 mental health professionals and more than 100 school psychology graduate students. Project Goals are to: expand the capacity of a high-need LEA in partnership with an IHE to train school based-mental health services providers; increase the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers who are from diverse backgrounds or from communities served by high-need LEAs; to establish a sustainable evidence-based problem-solving process of identifying students for mental health support services; to strengthen capacity of current and prospective school-based professionals to provide mental health services to students in high-need LEAs; and to : collaborate with federal, state, and local professional organizations and agencies in promoting well-being and addressing mental health needs of students in high-need LEAs.
The Renaissance Charter School (NY) $862,037.00: The NYC Charter School MHSPD Consortium (consortium) seeks the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant (MHSPD) to implement a high-quality program designed to support and demonstrate innovative partnerships to train school-based mental health service providers for employment in schools and local educational agencies (LEAs). Our MHSPD grant program meets the absolute priority, as well as all competitive preference priorities. Our strategy will use evidence-based interventions designed to achieve three goals which include expanding the Pipeline of Mental Health Providers into School-based Services; increasing access to school-based counseling and promoting inclusive practices. The corresponding objectives related to these three goals include six performance measures. The consortium includes eight (8) public charter schools who each meet the eligibility requirements under this solicitation and the definition of a high-need local educational agency. Consortium schools are in New York City with 6,095 students in grades K-12, and The Renaissance Charter School will serve as the lead LEA for the consortium. A total of forty-five individuals will be hired throughout our five-year grant period. Our MHSPD grant expands the capacity of our Consortium by establishing a partnership with the Hunter College of the City University of New York, School of Education, Department of Educational Foundations and Counseling Program (“Hunter”) with the goal of expanding the pipeline of mental health professionals into high-need public elementary and secondary schools. Hunter College is a Minority Serving Institution (competitive priority #3).
Southwest Center for Educational Excellence (MO) $824,504.00: The Southwest Center, in partnerships with Lindenwood University (LU) and 41 SW Missouri rural high-need LEAs, proposes an ambitious and innovative project Missouri Mental Health Providers for Schools – MMHPS. The project will increase the quantity and quality of school-based mental health services providers to address the shortage LEAs in SW Missouri are facing. Fifty grant participants will obtain a Masters of School Counseling or LPC over the 5-year timeline. MMHSP will accomplish the following goals as well as the broader goal of developing trauma-informed and trauma-aware schools where every student has a safe and respectful school environment: We will increase the number of certified quality, school-based mental health services providers in the 41 partnering LEAs by recruiting/selecting 50 qualified participants with diverse backgrounds that reflect the community or live in the community they will serve to complete a Master’s degree in school counseling through LU; provide ambitious, sustained PD targeting pedagogical practices that support diverse learners and a mentorship with practicing school counselors that provides the methodology of implementation to prepare them to create culturally and linguistically inclusive and identify-safe environments for students. PD will be conducted by SWC and program staff and content experts; and expand partnerships for school-based mental health providers within each LEA community and provide Mental Health First Aid awareness for students and adults through Mental Health First Aid training. The activities included in the goals meet the mental health needs of the K-12 student population and those of the partnering high-need LEAs.
University of North Dakota (ND) $822,678.00: This application addresses our school-based mental health needs in Indigenous, First Nation, American Indian and rural school communities throughout North Dakota, while also facilitating unprecedentedly ambitious professional development opportunities for school counseling trainees and state-appropriately credentialed school counselors to be highly qualified. Project Objectives include for Subproject One, implementation of a School Health Hub program in one LEA to supplement and expand the existing school-based mental health services by placing in four school sites school-based mental health graduate students completing practicum, internship, and other degree requirements.
Subproject two will fully fund 36 school counseling training and ambitious professional development, prioritizing Indigenous, First Nation, American Indian and/or rural school communities in our state. Due to our state’s unique Provisional School Counselor Credential, coupled with our online since 2008 nationally and state accredited school counseling training program, these trainees will be eligible to work as a state appropriately credentialed school counselor within two semesters of beginning their graduate training. Subproject One Activities including inter-sectionally cultural responsive individual and group counseling, consultation, psychoeducation, and social emotional and holistic health initiatives. Subproject Two activities include funding school counseling training; credentialing; supervision, and state and national school counseling conference attendance. Proposed project outcomes include increased attendance and academic achievement, and decreased behavior incident reports. This project may serve up to 36 LEAs. Subproject One will serve 1,309 students through one LEA, and may serve up to 128,502 students through Subproject Two. This project will hire 72 providers. In reviewing this application, please consider Competitive Preferences 1, 2, and 3.
Winchester School Board (VA) $1,168,192.00: Winchester Public Schools, VA will serve as a single LEA applicant in partnership with James Madison University and George Mason University for the Mental Health Services Professional (MHSP) Demonstration grant program. Our MHSP program, WISH: Winchester Investing in Student Mental Health will address Absolute Priority 1 by creating a new pipeline to place our IHE partners’ school counseling and school psychologist graduate students into our high-need schools to complete their required field work, internships, and training to complete their degrees. WISH will target 4,277 students in our four Title I elementary schools, one intermediate school, one middle school, and one high school; place 8 graduate students annually in our high-need schools; and hire 2 graduates annually for employment. Our three goals are to 1) Enhance capacity to provide school-based mental health services to students in high-need schools by establishing a pipeline for continual recruiting and training (Competitive Priority 1); 2) Establish field placements in partnerships with IHEs to train and support graduate students from diverse backgrounds and our community (Competitive Priority 1); and 3) Provide evidence-based professional learning to graduate students and providers (Competitive Priority 2). Key objectives and activities include: increased providers trained to provide school-based mental health services, providers placed in an internship, providers hired by our division, number of diverse school-based mental health providers (Competitive Priority 1), students identified for school-based mental health services, student and family awareness of mental health services, and capacity to hire and retain school-based mental health providers; decreased discipline referrals, suicide, and suicide ideation; and improved student attendance, school engagement, and academic achievement. We will partner with two IHEs, three local mental health services providers, Department of Social Services, and a local branch of the American Counseling Association.
McCreary County School District (KY) $1,200,000.00: Through AUGMENT – Advancing University partnerships to include Graduate students in Mental health to Expand our capacity and the Number of Trained providers, McCreary County School District in partnership with Eastern Kentucky University and the University of the Cumberlands will recruit graduate students with a service obligation stipend for placement in our four high-need, rural schools and implement a Counseling and Mental Health Services CTE pathway. Retention strategies include paid supervision, stipends, and professional learning in best practices and evidence-based programs. The project will retain at least 50% of the certified MHSPs hired from prior year; 75% of teachers and staff report having the knowledge and skills to address mental health; decrease the number of risk assessments and crisis referrals by 30 over 5 years, the chronic absentee rate by a total 10-points, student discipline referrals by 50 per year, suicide ideation by 5% annually, Tier II care by 20 students and Tier III by 8 students annually; offer school-based therapy/telehealth instead of referrals; increase resources utilized by students by 80%, student engagement by 2 percentage points, parent engagement at parent night events by 5%, behavioral coping mechanisms for at least 60% of students served by MHSPs, and reading and math proficiency by 2 percentage points annually. This will result in improved behavioral coping mechanisms; decreased discipline referrals; improved academic achievement; decreased suicide and suicide ideation; and decreased number of students requiring Tier II and Tier III services.
University of Maryland, Baltimore (MD) $825,567.00: Recent research suggests nearly 143,000 children in the State of Maryland developed anxiety and/or depression because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the lack of access to and availability of quality mental health providers, especially in high-need LEAs in Central Maryland, has become a critical issue. Due to the severe shortage of mental health providers in schools, the primary outcome of this project is to help increase our partner LEAs’ mental health service provider talent pipeline. The Center for Restorative Change (University of Maryland School of Social Work, project lead), will partner with Coppin State University as well as the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to lead the recruitment, training, and placement (e.g., internships, field placements, full-time employment) of 105 social workers from diverse backgrounds that reflect the communities, identities, ethnicities, abilities, and cultures of the students in Central Maryland’s high-need LEAs over the next five years. Our program seeks to improve the mental health provider workforce shortage in high-need LEAs by supporting the capacity of the current mental health provider training paradigm through our intensive and collaborative program, School-Based Mental Health. The four key pillars of our program are: (1) creating new pathways for students, (2) collaboration & collective impact, (3) mitigating financial barriers & increasing workforce diversity, and (4) intensive & immersive learning experiences for our Fellows.
Northeastern Illinois University (IL) $728,720.00: Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) proposes the NEIU MHSP project to addresses the Absolute Priority – Expand capacity of High-need LEAs, by placing school counseling graduate students into a high-needs LEA, specifically Chicago Public Schools (CPS), for their internships. The NEIU MHSP team proposes a unique training program, including a stipend for school counseling internships in high-need LEAs, as well as a series of trainings/workshops for the graduate students. The project’s objectives are, by the end of the grant term: 1) To increase the number of NEIU school counseling interns placed in high-needs LEAs by 50% (i.e., from 37% to 87%); 2) To increase the percent of NEIU school counseling students who are from diverse backgrounds from 51% to 61%; and 3) To significantly increase NEIU’s school counseling interns’ competencies in inclusive practices from the start of the internship year to the end of the internship year. We anticipate having 20 grant participants in the first year, growing capacity each year to have 30 in the fifth year. The NEIU MHSP team proposes two main activities: 1) alleviating financial barriers for school counseling students by offering them a modest stipend and tuition for internship classes if they are placed in CPS for an academic year; and 2) a unique series of trainings/workshops geared toward providing mental health services in high-needs schools. Trainings/workshops will have a focus on inclusivity with regard to race, ethnicity, culture, language, disability, and for students who identify as LGBTQI+, and that prepare school counselors to create culturally and linguistically inclusive and identity-safe environments for students when providing services. Both activities will help recruit and retain more diverse students into NEIU’s school counseling program, which will then lead to more high-quality mental health service providers working in CPS for their internships, in turn making them more prepared for school counseling jobs in high-need LEAs. This project will address the absolute priority and all three competitive preference priorities.
The School District of Philadelphia (PA) $927,323.00: The goals of this project are to expand our partnership with 4 universities to establish a deeply rooted talent pipeline for SDP through the creation of a practicum/internship program that will yield a steady flow of mental health professionals with diverse backgrounds. Graduate students in the program will find that training and internship experiences increase their feelings of comfort with the role and the district, and the residency program allows for students to have employment, while simultaneously obtaining field experience. This project will take place in 100 schools; a full list of locations is included in the attachment package. The partnering organizations are: Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, Jefferson University, Widener University.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC) $398,483.00: North Carolina is ranked 42nd nationally for youth mental health, with 51.90% of youth with major depressive episodes in the past year not receiving treatment (America’s School Mental Health Report Card, 2022). This project is designed to meet the absolute priority – Expanding Capacity of High-need LEAs – to train school-based mental health service providers with the goal of expanding the number of these professionals available to address the shortages of school-based mental health services providers in high-need schools. The project will reduce and mitigate the inequities of mental health and economic disparities among low income and rural students by increasing the number of highly qualified school counselor graduates from UNC-CH to work in rural schools across North Carolina. North Carolina has pronounced behavioral health shortages, especially for school-aged kids (Abernathy & Byerley, 2019), and data show that more than 25% of NC’s counties do not have mental health care workers, such as psychologists or psychiatrists (UNC Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, 2019). Out of NC’s 100 counties, 84 are designated as having a mental health professional shortage (NC Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s M.Ed. School Counseling program, housed in the School of Education, has developed partnerships with three high-need LEAs in rural school districts to place their school counselors in training (SCIT) into their school to complete their year-long field-based internship requirement. We also plan to extend our project into one other high-needs rural LEAs across the five years of the grant. To enhancing LEA capacity to provide appropriate, evidenced-based mental health services to students, we will address the absolute priority and competitive preference priority 1 and 2. The evaluation of the project comprises collecting both process (continuous quality improvement) and outcome (data for monitoring progress toward the project’s aims) evaluation. Process evaluation will be collect the following data: 1) the number of field sites we use that are high-need rural schools; 2) the number of site supervisors and professional school counselors trained; 3) the demographics of the students who apply to, are offered admission, and accept admission into the school counseling program, as well as the demographics of the site supervisors working with the school counselors in training, 4) student evaluations from their site supervisors which will be used to assess students’ clinical skills at their internship site; and 5) feedback from site supervisors on the professional development training curriculum.
Florida Atlantic University (FL) $995,593.90: Researchers at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) will partner with five school districts to submit the Wellness Advocates Valuing Educators and Students (WAVES) program. Together, Brevard Public Schools (BPS), the School District of Indian River County (SDIRC), the School District of Manatee County (SDMC), the School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC), Polk County Public Schools (PCPS), and FAU will form the WAVES Network to increase the number of mental health service providers in the Network’s Title I high-poverty, high-need schools over five years. Currently, all school districts in the WAVES Network are operating above the nationally recommended ratio (BPS = 398:1, SDIRC = 369:1, SDMC = 393:1, SDPBC = 536:1, and PCPS = 420:1). The WAVES program will focus on eliminating the gap in school counselors in high-need schools by placing and hiring 100% of the trainees. FAU The Department of Counselor Education faculty train 119 diverse and culturally responsive aspiring school counselors to earn their Florida School Counselor certification to expand that pipeline of qualified school-based mental health providers. The unique design of this project allows the partnering organizations to address the Absolute Priority: “Expand the capacity of high-need LEAs in partnership with IHEs to train school-based mental health services providers, as defined in this notice, to expand the number of these professionals available to address the shortage of school-based mental health services provides in high-need schools;” Competitive Priority 1: “Increase the number of qualified school-based mental health service providers in high-need LEAs who are from diverse backgrounds or communities served by the high-need LEAs;” Competitive Priority 2: “Promote inclusive practices;” and Competitive Priority 3: “Partnerships with HBCUs, TCUs, or other MSIs.”
The Curators of the University of Missouri on behalf of UMSL (MO) $306,289.00: PACT is an innovative partnership between the University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL) and Riverview Gardens School District (RGSD). PACT will place 64 counseling interns in 13 high-needs schools to provide Trauma-Informed, Antiracist Social-Emotional Learning (TIAR-SEL) to address the mental health needs of 5,617 students in the RGSD over five years. PACT has four goals: (1) Increase the number of qualified school counselors and school-based mental health counselors providing services in RGSD (absolute priority). PACT will prepare interns to complete clinical experiences in RGSD and provide professional development (PD) for RGSD counselors. (2) Increase the number of school counselors from racially minoritized or diverse backgrounds (competitive priorities 1 & 3). PACT will establish a partnership with Harris-Stowe State University, a local HBCU, to recruit counseling candidates and recruit from the RGSD community. (3) Expand the capacity of UMSL project interns to deliver evidence-based counseling services to promote a culturally and linguistically inclusive and identity safe environment for all students (competitive priority 2). PACT interns will receive training on best practices for antiracist, trauma-informed school counseling and evidence-based practices. PACT interns will use MTSS for TIAR-SEL service delivery, including Student Success Skills evidence-based curriculum (Tier 1), Bounce Back or Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools small groups (Tier 2), and individual counseling and referrals (Tier 3). Interns receive supervision to support the delivery of inclusive practices. (4) Increase RGSD students’ access to mental health services that address trauma and anxiety to improve emotional and behavioral health. PD for RGSD educators and mental health providers enhances capacity and supports PACT’s goals of reducing suspensions and increasing attendance. RGSD commits to continually hiring 16 school counselors to address student needs for mental health support.
University of Massachusetts Boston (MA) $451,347.00: Project Beacon is an innovative training partnership between the Brockton, Lawrence, and Quincy Public Schools (three high-need local education agencies) and University of Massachusetts Boston (UMASS Boston; a minority serving institution [MSI]). This partnership will prepare 50 mental health service providers from diverse backgrounds to work in high-need schools. Specifically, Beacon Fellows will be recruited from regional MSIs and the greater Boston community to enroll in graduate training in either school counseling or school psychology as a cohort at UMASS Boston. The primary goal of Project Beacon is to increase the number of qualified school-based mental health service providers from diverse backgrounds working in the Brockton, Lawrence, and Quincy Public Schools. Project Beacon will include strategic training priorities; center three interdisciplinary training domains: transformative social emotional learning (TSEL), culturally and linguistically inclusive mental health services, and advocacy. The focus on advocacy is to empower Fellows to continue working to expand the number of diverse professionals available to address the shortages of school-based mental health services providers in high-need schools beyond the dates of project funding. The focus on TSEL and culturally and linguistically inclusive mental health services will be to equip Fellows to cultivate identity-safe environments in schools as well as support the unique mental health needs of students in the Brockton, Lawrence, and Quincy Public Schools. These foci are critical to building the capacity of partner districts to support students’ behavioral health proactively. While at UMASS Boston the Fellows will engage in unique learning opportunities (e.g., skill development using Mixed-Reality Simulation), dynamic mentorship, networking within professional organizations, and impactful field experiences in high-need schools. They will graduate with master’s degrees in school counseling or school psychology, prepared to work in high-need schools. Project investigators will work closely with partner districts to evaluate Fellows’ progress and training goals annually to promote the success of Project Beacon.
Humboldt State University Sponsored Programs Foundation (CA) $174,071.00: Responding to the significant understaffing of school social work professionals within our region requires scaffolding of support to successfully prepare diverse credentialed graduates, while supplementing the capacity of supervisors within LEA settings to provide necessary supervision, guidance and training. We plan to build on our current partnership with two local school districts on School-Based Mental Health Demonstration grants. With extreme over-burdening of current school social workers, it is clear that supervision and training must be a joint effort between school Personnel and our program. Additional barriers, especially for first-generation and multi-lingual prospective program participants have included the need to work while completing full time school and practicum due to financial constraints, concerns regarding travel costs to rural school sites, and challenges with securing and paying for childcare. Through this grant we will reduce these barriers.
Objectives: We will provide a robust support and training system for social work students placed in high needs LEAs. This will allow us to expand the pool of diverse credentialed school social workers ready to meet the needs of LEAs in the region. Through additional stipends and individualized supervision and learning supports, we will also improve access to school social work career pathways for non-traditional graduate students such as first-generation and multi-lingual MSW students. We will recruit, train and place a diverse pool of MSW students in school-based settings for practicum experience to prepare for PPS-SSW credential requirements. Students will participate in school-based mental health seminar coursework, receive guidance from the Project Coordinator, and supplemental supervision tailored to sites. We will provide stipends and funding for mileage, childcare, textbooks and student participation in the CA Association of School Social Workers.
Solano County Superintendent of Schools (CA) $818,116.00: There are three primary objectives/activities associated with SCOE’s project design. These are: the expansion of SCOE’s intern training program, to increase student placement at high-need schools, while providing quality individual and group supervision; a robust training program with contracted cultural clinical experts that includes components of technical assistance, consultation, and training in culturally responsive approaches to treatment; and enhanced data collection and Continuous Quality Improvement practices to ensure meeting of project deliverables in a manner that maintains fidelity to the clinical strategies employed. The project outcomes are: expansion of intern training program, promotion of inclusive practices and quality improvement tracking.
Santa Clara County Office of Education (CA) $976,050.00: The Santa Clara County School Behavioral Health Workforce Pipeline is a collaborative partnership led by the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) with San José State University and fourteen Santa Clara County school districts with high need schools (Alum Rock Union Elementary, Campbell Union, Campbell Union High, East Side Union, Evergreen Elementary, Franklin-McKinley Elementary, Gilroy Unified, Luther Burbank, Milpitas Unified, Moreland, Morgan Hill Unified, Mount Pleasant Elementary, Mountain View Whisman, San Jose Unified). The consortium is seeking funds to create a school behavioral health workforce pipeline to support the mental and emotional health needs of youth in high needs community schools in Santa Clara County. The goal is to create a workforce pipeline that will bring diverse and credentialed school social work professionals to provide integrated support and family and community engagement at high need community schools. The project will recruit and place social work interns to serve at high need community schools throughout the county to complete their internship requirements to earn their Masters in Social Work and Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC). Grant funds will be used for tuition, fees, and living expenses for the social work interns and participants will make a two-year service commitment. The project will address the absolute priority and competitive preferences priorities 1, 2 and 3.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (TX) $1,149,386.00: PROJECT MHS-DGP, an innovative, interdisciplinary partnership between the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), a Hispanic-Serving Institution (Competitive Preference 3) and two non-traditional high-need Local Education Agencies (LEAs) with a K-12 student population of over 53,606 proposes to train school-based mental health services providers (SBMHSP) to increase the number of professionals available to address shortages in these high-need schools. The collaboration will include a combination of twelve (12) Counseling, School Psychology, and Social Work interns yearly from diverse backgrounds (Absolute Priority/Competitive Preference 1) for a total of sixty (60) across the life of the grant. By the end of the grant period, at least 30 (50%) of the 60 SBMHSP will be employed in one of the two (2) identified non-traditional high-need LEAs or within the local region. In addition, a Mental Health Clinician/Field Coordinator and Program Coordinator will be hired to support the work of project personnel and the two identified high-need LEAs. After training, 80% of the SBMHSP interns will demonstrate increased knowledge and competencies for providing inclusive practices in mental health services pertaining to race, ethnicity, culture, language, disability, and for students who identify as LGBTQIA+. SMBHSP interns will be trained to support the positive mental health of K-12 students and as a result, 80% will increase knowledge in the use of evidence-based practices (EBP). Eighty percent of K-12 students helped by Project MHS-DGP personnel will demonstrate improved mental health. Activities for SBMHSP interns will focus on developing a) culturally adapted EBPs to improve K-12 students’ positive mental health, b) culturally adapted EBPs to create culturally and linguistically inclusive environments for K-12 students, c) culturally adapted tele-mental health practices, and d) EBPs specific to trauma-informed care.
University of Washington (WA) $226,287.00: MHSPs in this UW/SPS Partnership (University of Washington/Seattle Public Schools)are 9 Black males recruited to the UW School Psychology accredited graduate training program, retained, and graduated as WA State certified school psychologists for employment in a high-need LEA, SPS. The project is aligned with the competition’s Absolute Priority to expand capacity of high-need LEAs. The project meets Competitive Preference Priority 1 by increasing the number of certified school psychologists from diverse communities, and Competitive Preference Priority 2 by promoting inclusive practices in school-based mental health services. The project will result in the 20% increased capacity of one high-need LEA, Seattle Public Schools, with 51,000 students and 34% living at or below poverty, to provide, improve, and expand services that address the school-based mental health needs of diverse children and youth (15% African American/Black). The UW/SPS Partnership has five objectives: 1) recruit micro-cohorts of Black males; 2) prepare culturally responsive school psychologists; 3) dismantle systemic injustices in SPS through a racial equity framework; 4) enable culturally responsive environments in SPS; and 5) build a racially diverse MHSP workforce at SPS through a sustained pipeline. To achieve objectives, students will complete rigorous coursework and intensive high-quality practicum/internship in SPS, attend professional meetings, deliver professional development, and work with mentors of similar backgrounds to support their personal and professional development throughout their training program and employment. Primary outcomes of the Partnership include enhanced capacity for affecting culturally responsive services in schools, reduced rates of disproportionality in special education and discipline, increased centering of families in their student’s educational experience, and increased diversification of the MHSP workforce in SPS Title I schools.
West Kentucky Educational Cooperative (KY) $570,839.70: The West Kentucky Education Cooperative (WKEC)is a consortium of 26 Kentucky school districts. WKEC, representing 14 of them (Ballard, Caldwell, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Fulton,, Hickman, Livingston, Lyon, and Union Counties and Dawson Springs, Fulton, Mayfield, and Paducah Independent Schools with a combined student population of 23,282) is partnering with Murray State University (MSU), a regional institute of higher education (IHE), to implement an ambitious project entitled Partner and Connect: MSU/WKEC MHSP Academy under the absolute priority and competitive priorities 1 and 2 to address the shortage of diverse school based mental health providers (SBMHPs) to assist the growing number of diverse populations to be in identity safe learning environments with SBMHPs that understand diversity. The program will recruit, support, credential, train, and place masters level MSU candidates from diverse backgrounds or from the communities into these 14 high need districts to provide SBMHPs who can relate, identify, guide, and counsel students. Program outcomes will be: 1) Create a sustainable partnership with MSU of a credentialing SBMHP master’s graduate 2 year cohort academy by summer of 2023; 2) Complete 2 cohorts of 12 credentialed SBMHPs by 2026; 3) Annually place candidates in one of the 14 high-need districts in highest need schools by 2027; 4) Increase by 6, the number of school psychologists in these high-need districts by 2027; 5) Annually, provide evidenced based training on pedagogical counseling and diversity best practices; 6) Remove financial barriers for low income, diverse or community candidates to complete the program within two years; 7) Reduce the ratio of students to counselors working towards meeting 250:1; and 8) Create a secondary pathway for seniors through EDRising activities, MSU trips, and free dual credit classes. A full time director will be hired to implement, manage, and evaluate the program.
Eddyville-Blakesburg Fremont Community School District (IA) 756212: Eddyville-Blakesburg Fremont Community School District (EBF) and their partnering LEA, Davis County Community School District (DCCSD), two rural and low-income school districts located in Iowa, have formed the Rural Iowa Mental Health Counselor (RIMHC) consortium to secure funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program (MHSPD). RIMHC includes four elementary, one Jr./Sr., one middle and one high school. All seven RIMHC 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 2,342. All participating schools have a percentage of students qualifying free and reduced-price meals in our schools that meets the high-need school definition included in the NIA. Our MHSPD grant expands the capacity of RIMHC by establishing partnerships with the Buena Vista University and Drake University. These partnerships were established to place graduate students of their academic programs into schools served by RIMHC to complete required fieldwork and credit hours for a clinical counseling degree. 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 (42 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; 4) Increase access to school-based mental health services; 5) 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 19 corresponding objectives related to these three goals, including the six GPRA measures.
California State University Long Beach Research Foundation (CA) $747,828.00: This application addresses the Absolute and Competitive I, II, and III priorities of the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program. First, the Increasing School Psychologists to Implement Robust (InSPIR) Mental Health Services for Diverse Youth project addresses the Absolute Priority by using our existing School Psychology training program at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) to partner with four high-need, local educational agencies (LEAs; in our case, school districts) in Los Angeles County to increase the number of diverse school psychologists who are prepared to address complex mental health concerns for diverse student populations. We will address Competitive Preference Priority I through the recruitment of project scholars from a diverse pool that includes Hispanic and Black/African American applicants to ensure our project yields scholars who are representative of students our partner LEAs serve. Our project will address Competitive Preference Priority II through the provision of evidence-based, rigorous training related to screening, assessment, intervention, and progress monitoring in the provision of school-based mental health services that are inclusive with respect to student identity (e.g., race/ethnicity, language, ability, and gender identity or sexual orientation). Finally, we address Competitive Preference Priority III since CSULB is a federally designated Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) and Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Upon project completion, 30 project scholars will have earned an Education Specialist degree in School Psychology and a California Pupil Personnel Services credential in School Psychology (PPS-SP) from CSULB that authorizes the provision of psychological services in schools and be uniquely prepared to deliver robust mental health services for a range of concerns to diverse students.
University of Iowa (IA) $1,007,190.00: The Multidisciplinary Pathways to Recruit, Train, and Retain School Mental Health Providers in Iowa (MPath) project will develop a new training model to expand school-based mental health services professionals (MHSPs) in Iowa’s high-need schools. The University of Iowa (UI) College of Education, School of Social Work, and College of Public Health will partner with Iowa’s Keystone and Mississippi Bend Area Education Agencies (AEA) to create pathways to prepare highly qualified school based MHSPs. Project objectives focus on capacity-building, curriculum development, engagement, and sustainability and meet the absolute priority and all three competitive preference priorities. Goal one is to build capacity between UI, AEAs, and community organizations to address shortages of MHSPs in schools served by high-need LEAs, addresses absolute priority, competitive preference priority 1, and competitive preference 3. Goal two is to develop and implement a training model to prepare qualified MHSPs to work in high-need schools, aligns with absolute priority and competitive priority 2. Goal three is to provide mental health training opportunities in LEAs to enact inclusive practices, meets competitive priority 2. Goal four is to use data from MPath project for continuous improvement and impact of training and preparation of school-based MHSPs, aligns with the absolute priority. Project activities will expand practicum sites; provide assessment resources to AEAs; target recruitment of new students from HBCUs/MSIs; expand access to MHSP programs through hybrid training opportunities; support a mental health career education exploration program; grow outreach to project partners, community, and professional organizations; and conduct rigorous program evaluation for continuous improvement. Project outcomes include enhanced capacity of AEAs to provide mental health services in high-need LEAs; sustained multidisciplinary training programs; increased diversity in Iowa mental health workforce; and improved student mental health outcomes in high needs schools through engagement with qualified school-based MHSPs. By year 5, a total of 72 school-based MHSPs will be trained and hired by high-need LEAs, potentially impacting 123,000 students across 2 AEAs.
Southeast/south-central Educational Cooperative (KY) $1,200,000.00: The Southeast South-Central Educational Cooperative (SESC) is applying for grant funds to establish the SESC Equitable Mental Health Access Program. This program is designed to increase long-term access to high quality, culturally relevant school-based mental health services for students attending high-needs schools in the SESC region. The project’s primary goal is to increase long-term access to high quality, culturally relevant mental health services for students attending high-need schools in the SESC region. SESC intends to accomplish this by 1) assisting IHEs to train and prepare mental health professionals for delivering culturally responsive services in school settings, 2) assisting community-based mental health agencies to place culturally responsive mental health clinicians in school settings, 3) assisting IHEs, mental health agencies, and LEAs with matching graduate students’ and existing practitioners who are placed in school settings with characteristics of the student populations being served (e.g., cultural, ethnic, geographical origins, social-economic status, disability, etc.), and 4) by providing training, coaching and technical assistance to LEAs in creating effective, culturally responsive mental health service delivery systems by utilizing an evidence-based model called the Interconnect Systems Framework (ISF). The desired outcomes for this project are to 1) increase the number of graduate students and mental health professionals providing services in high-need school settings and 2) increase the number of P-12 students accessing culturally responsive, school-based mental health services in high-need school settings. The design of this project is intended to improve the “student to mental health service professional ratio” to reflect the American School Counselor Association’s recommended ratio of 250:1 in the high-need LEAs selected in SESC’s service region.
Concord University (WV) $605,591.00:The primary objective of CU-In-School (CUS) is to expand the mental health capacity of High-need LEAs in West Virginia (WV) through partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education and West Virginia State University (WVSU), a HBCU. Further objectives include recruiting Scholars from High-need LEA’s for placement in that area and promoting inclusive practices by using evidence based intervention, recruitment, and service strategies creating culturally and linguistically inclusive and identity-safe environments. Scholars will design and implement strategies to this end and contribute to the national knowledgebase. WV students are vastly underserved regarding mental health services in the school system and are needy. In the current school year, there are 250,899 students in the WV public school system (Dept. of Ed., 2022). Of those students enrolled, approximately 21,000 were diagnosed with depression, with less than half of those students receiving treatment (NCES, 2022). In WV the ratio of school social workers to students is 1 to 15,433 – 1 to 250 is recommended (NCES, 2022). Further, of the 55 counties in WV, every school in 50 of the counties qualify for Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), and in the other five counties, nearly 50% of the schools in those counties qualify. A staggering 92% of all WV public schools qualify for CEP (WVDE, 2022). Forty (40) Scholars will be placed in these schools. As outcomes, Scholars will gain competence in practicing through diverse, equitable, and inclusive practices resulting in increasing qualified social workers meeting the mental health needs of WV students, schools and communities. Scholars will develop strategies for diversity outreach freely available to WV schools. LEAs will be incentivized for continued employment. Finally, a formalized school social work track will be developed to sustain the project continuing to educate highly qualified MSW students pursuing careers in the school system.
Northern Humboldt Union High School District (CA) $1,077,493.50: Northern Humboldt Union High School District (NHUHSD) proposes to improve students’ resilience, mental health, academic achievement, and life skills. Project and Program Goals are to increase the number of school-based School Psychologists trained to provide school-based mental health services in high-need LEAs; increase the number of School Psychologists placed in practicum or internship in high-need LEAs to provide school-based mental health services; increase the number of School Psychologists hired by high-need LEAs to provide school-based mental health services; increase the number of training and number of school-based individuals trained in research-based strategies including Trauma-Informed Practices, Youth Mental Health First Aid, and Sources of Strength; and sustain the to-be-trained MHSPs beyond the grant using local district, California Department of Education and MediCal funding. These objectives and activities will increase the ratio of School Psychologists in our local high needs schools and LEAs, increase face-to-face services provided on-site, increase the number of students receiving on-site mental health services, increase the number of classified and certificated personnel trained in research-based mental-health strategies, and further deepening the quality and impact of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in our local LEAs.
Oxnard School District (CA) $920,761.00: Oxnard School District (OSD is rich in culture with a 92% Hispanic majority in our student population. OSD prides itself on creating an asset-based approach that values the many different characteristics our students bring. It is evident that language is an important and integral part of the fabric of Oxnard, and consequently, the district has dedicated many resources to building comprehensive, evidence-based bi-literacy programs that focus on developing students who are bilingual, bi-literate with multi-cultural understanding, and have a respect for diversity. 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 20 participating schools is 85.7%. Our MHSPD grant expands the capacity of OSD by establishing a partnership with California Lutheran University, which was established to place graduate students of their academic programs into the high-needs schools served by OSD to complete required field work and credit hours for a school counseling degree. Project activities and goals include: 1) Partner with an IHE to expand the pipeline of mental health providers into high-needs schools; 2) Increase the number of qualified school-based mental health providers (100 over the five-year grant period) by hiring graduate students to complete their field learning experience in participating OSD school sites and hiring IHE graduates (3) to be assigned to high-needs schools; 4) Increase access to school-based mental health services; 5) 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 21 corresponding objectives related to these three 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).
Seattle University (WA) $605,531.00: Washington State faces a youth mental health crisis. While most K-12 students receive mental health services through their school, there is a severe shortage of providers in the state. Exacerbating this challenging situation, educators and school-based mental health professionals are unlikely to represent the students they serve demographically, widening the gaps in service delivery. The Puget Sound Partnership to Expand and Diversify the Mental Health Service Professional Pipeline, designed to accelerate an equity-based training pipeline, will expand the capacity of high-need local education agencies (LEAs) (Absolute Priority) by 1) training and credentialing 96 highly capable school psychologists/school counselors to serve in area high-need schools serving over 5,200 students, and 2) further diversify these two professions by recruiting and graduating students from diverse backgrounds and communities served by high-need LEAs (Competitive Priority 1). This innovative partnership between two institutions of higher education [Seattle University and Highline College, a minority serving institution (Competitive Priority 3)] and two high-need LEAs, will recruit a diverse pool of students into Seattle University’s school psychology and school counseling programs to complete rigorous training using evidence-based, inclusive pedagogical practices (Competitive Priority 2). In exchange for the commitment to work in high-need schools after graduation, we will provide meaningful, need-based scholarships and stipends to lower barriers (e.g., child-care, travel) to attendance and subsidize LEA partner practicum and internship costs. Our project will result in a reduction in the school-based mental health shortage in high-need schools, sustained recruitment of diverse students and training pipelines between institutions of higher education and high-need local education agencies, and lead to efficient identification of and treatment for students experiencing mental health risk factor.
University of North Texas (TX) $440,306.00: Project investigators at the University of North Texas (UNT) will partner with two local education agencies (LEAs) in Denton County, Texas. The project objective is to increase the number of highly trained culturally responsive school counselors and school-based mental health counselors in high-needs schools throughout the partnering districts. Currently, the ratio of school counselors to students in the two partner districts exceeds the Texas average of 392 to 1 and the recommended national ratio of 250 to 1. Similarly, there is a paucity of responsive mental health providers in the fast-growth region, affecting children and minoritized populations in profound ways. In response to the Absolute Priority for funding, project partners will recruit, train, and place 30 new school counselors during the funding period (i.e., three cohorts of 10 students), and place approximately 20 clinical mental health students in district-related internship sites. Further, the curriculum will be uniquely tailored to school contexts, especially concerned with linguistically and culturally responsive evidence-based mental health practices. Pertinent to competitive Priority 1, the project team will utilize recruiting strategies to diversify mental health providers in each LEA, especially targeting ethnic minority and multi-lingual counselor trainees. Similarly, the project will accomplish Competitive Priority 2 to “Promote inclusive practices” through a novel curriculum with supplemental modules focusing on evidence-supported practices germane to diverse students in schools. Project investigators will satisfy Competitive Priority 3 by recruiting underrepresented trainees from participating LEAs and from UNT and other minority- and Hispanic-serving institutions.
Loyola University Maryland (MD) $377,941.00: Loyola’s School Counseling Scholarship Program: Culturally Responsive and Inclusive School-Counselor Preparation (CRISP) is a collaborative project between Loyola School Counseling Program and one LEA-Baltimore County Public School (BCPS) – to increase high quality mental health access for youth in BCPS high-needs schools by improving the preparation of school counselors and increasing the diversity of school counselors who enter the workforce. Grant funding provides full scholarships (tuition and fees), internship stipends, culturally responsive professional development, marketing, career pathway opportunities for secondary students, redesign of Loyola’s CACREP curriculum to integrate culturally responsive approaches to real world experiences within all coursework, and additional supervision during internship. CRISP will fund a total of 50 school counselor interns to be placed in BCPS high-need schools over the grant duration. Graduates are eligible for Maryland State School Counselor Certification and Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor (LGPC) in Maryland. This grant will hire 1 program coordinator, 2 Loyola students (graduate and undergraduate), and 1 mentor counselor. Using a combination of school counseling curricular and internship experiences in Loyola’s school counseling program, CRISP aims to (1) Increase Loyola University Maryland School Counseling Program’s student diversity by December 2027; (2) Strengthen preparation at Loyola University Maryland School Counseling Program in culturally responsive and inclusive counseling practices; and (3) Decrease student to counselor ratio in BCPS. It is projected that 63 school counselors will be hired annually in high-need schools to serve about 20,601 students. We believe this project meets the absolute priority and competitive preference priority (1) and (2).
Jackson Public Schools (MS) $416,342.00: Description of Target Population to be Served: Jackson Public Schools (JPS) serves about 19,000 students. There are 7 high schools, 10 middle schools, 31 elementary schools, and 4 special schools within the district. JPS is comprised of 98% minority students. 100% of the students receive breakfast and lunch meals at no cost. Jackson Public Schools is a Title 1 school district. Key Project Goals and Expected Outcomes: 1) Improve mental health outcomes and academic achievement of targeted students; 2) Allow for early identification and treatment of mental health issues; 3) Reduce absenteeism, decrease discipline referrals; 4) Reduce access barriers for an underserved population, including children from low-income households and children of color. It is our intent that this project demonstrates a stronger linkage between research, policy and practice as it relates to mental health issues in underserved populations. Primary Activities: This includes – 1) Expand the capacity of Jackson Public Schools (a high-need LEA) through partnership with Jackson State University (eligible IHE and HBCUs) to train school-based mental health services providers, with the goal of expanding the number of these professionals available to address the shortages of school-based mental health services providers in high-need schools. 2) Place graduate students in school-based mental health services fields into high-need schools within Jackson Public Schools for the purpose of completing required fieldwork, credit hours, internships, or related training necessary to complete their degree or obtain a credential as a school-based mental health services provider. 3) Increase the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers, who are from diverse backgrounds or the local community, in Jackson Public Schools. 4) Promote inclusive practices by providing evidence-based pedagogical practices in mental health services provider preparation programs and professional development programs that prepare school-based mental health services providers to create culturally and linguistically inclusive and identity-safe environments for students when providing services. 5) Providing equipment, supplies, professional development, training opportunities and support to graduate students and project director to ensure successful fulfillment of project goals and objectives; and 6) Utilize an external evaluator to provide process and outcome evaluation.
Vermont State Colleges d/b/a Northern Vermont University (VT) $97,617.00: To address the shortage of school based mental health providers in the state of Vermont, the future Vermont State University (currently Northern Vermont University, and Castleton University) is partnering with two high-need LEAs, Lamoille North Supervisory Union and Addison Northwest Supervisory District. The goal of this project is to increase Lamoille North Supervisory Union and Addison Northwest Supervisory District’s capacity to provide critical mental health services to students while providing an incentive for graduates in the School Psychology and School Counseling programs to work in high-need schools in Vermont after they graduate. This program will increase K-12 students’ access to school based mental health providers by having practicum and internship placements at the LNSU and ANWSD. Additionally, this grant will fund 13 graduate students in the School Counseling and School Psychology programs through the year 2028, who will each be employed in a Vermont high-need LEA once they graduate.
The University of Memphis (TN) $398,850.00: Competitive Preference Priorities: Competitive Preference Priority 1 and 2 are addressed in the proposal and consideration is requested for earning competitive preference priority points. Program Objectives/Activities: (1) Increase recruitment and retention of school counseling (SC) trainees from diverse backgrounds by providing financial support, quality field placement experiences, and professional development (PD) opportunities, and (2) provide PD for Memphis-Shelby County School (MSCS) personnel in high-need PK-12 settings.
Proposed Project Outcomes: This program will: (1) improve recruitment and retention of diverse SC trainees in The University of Memphis graduate SC program; (2) increase the number of SC trainees placed in high need PK-12 schools for field experience requirements, (3) develop SC trainee competence pertaining to roles/responsibilities; mental health needs of PK-12 students; and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); (4) increase MSCS personnel competence related to mental health needs of PK-12 students and DEI; and (5) increase the number of licensed SCs in high-need PK-12 schools. Number of LEAs to be served: One, MSCS; potential 10 post-program with graduates. Number of Students to be served: Service directly to 95 SC graduate students, particularly from diverse backgrounds, all of which will seek employment in high-need LEAs with a focus on MSCS. An estimated 100,000 PK-12 MSCS students will be indirectly served by participants. Number of Providers to be Hired: It is projected that 10-15 students will graduate from the counseling program in year one and 12-16 students in years two through five, resulting in 10-15 and 12-16 individuals respectively eligible for hire as mental health providers either with MSCS or with other LEAs. Numbers may vary depending on student circumstances, which we have found to be more of a potential impact during the time of the lingering pandemic.
Oregon State University (OR) $424,097.00:Project Objectives and Activities: Recruit a pipeline of diverse school counseling graduates; Train PATH-SC interns in culturally responsive school-based mental health delivery; using evidence-based pedagogical practices that are inclusive with respect to identity; Place PATH-SC interns in high needs schools and match with a mentor supervisor; Support professional development of PATH-SC interns and mentor supervisor; Employ PATH-SC graduates in school counseling positions in high needs schools. Proposed Project Outcomes are 12-18 well-qualified/diverse school counseling candidates per year will enroll in the school counseling program at OSU-Cascades (Priority #1) ;100% of PATH-SC interns will deliver evidence-based classroom curriculum lessons to students on mental health prevention topics customized to the school community; 100% of PATH-SC interns will conduct counseling groups for students; 100% of PATH-SC interns will provide individual counseling and referral services to students; 100% of PATH-SC interns will perform all MCOUN school-based requirements in a high-needs school; 80% of PATH-SC interns will be hired within a high-needs LEA.
City of Boston (MA) $1,179,945.00: Interventions in Diverse Educational contexts is a partnership between Boston Public Schools (BPS; LEA), University of Massachusetts, Boston (UMass; AANAPISI and MSI), and Boston University (BU; IHE) specifically designed to prepare school psychology, school counseling, and social work students who will be ready to serve Boston youth. The objective of the grant is to increase the number of diverse, highly qualified mental health staff that work in BPS while also improving the technical skills and supervisory skills of the current mental health workforce that works in BPS or with BPS students. We intended to achieve through a variety of activities that include; 1) professional development for all university students, practitioners and fields supervisors 2) intentional training focus on improved supervision and cultural humility 3) enhanced collaboration as evidenced by the joint creation and delivery of monthly professional development 4) development of online learning modules 5) increased supervision and mentoring for students and early career staff 6) data collection and analysis. This grant will serve the BPS district which currently has 121 schools and 50,000 students. Funding from this grant will provide stipends for 40 interns a year (15 in school psychology, 10 school counseling, and 15 in social work), funding a total of 200 interns in the 5-year project period. All schools and students will be impacted by this grant because the funding will increase the number, quality, and diversity of interns, as well as the quality of training and support for supervisors and staff. This grant will enable BPS to more effectively convert interns into employees in order to fill vacancies and support the retention of mental health providers. Finally, this project is intended to increase the racial and linguistic diversity of new hires to BPS, allowing us to more effectively serve students in Boston.
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OK) $619,133.00: The project will create a pipeline of diverse trainees entering into school-based mental health graduate programs aligned with Oklahoma’s student demographics. It will increase the diversity of students entering into graduate training programs in school-based mental health. It will train school-based mental health professionals to collaborate in providing comprehensive services, promote inclusive practices, and create culturally and linguistically inclusive and identity-safe environments for students. It will increase school-based mental health services providers in high-need LEAs. It will increase school-based mental health service providers placed in a practicum or internship in high-needs schools. It will connect school-based mental health trainees with full-time employment in high-needs districts. It will increase school-based mental health services providers hired by high-need LEAs. High school and undergraduate recruitment; partnerships with OK professional organizations; provide collaborative evidence-based internships/practicums in high-need LEAs; support/mentor trainees with paid internships and placement in full-time positions. It will support competitive preference priority 1, competitive preference priority 2, and competitive preference priority 3.
Sam Houston State University (TX) $756,552.00: The proposed project – the Sam Houston State University School-Based Mental Health Counseling Houston Collaborative (SHSU SBMHC Houston Collaborative) – will establish a partnership between a Minority Serving Institution of Higher Education (MSI-IHE) and five high-need Local Education Agencies (LEAs) as defined by the Texas Education Agency serving approximately 150,000 students. The program aims to enhance the support of underserved, high-need LEAs through the recruitment, preparation, support, placement, and retention of mental health professionals, including those from diverse backgrounds (CPP 1). As part of our partnership, Sam Houston State University will provide an evidence-based, CACREP-accredited counselor education program both at the main campus, and at The Woodlands Center campus. Graduate students in the SHSU SBMHC Houston Collaborative will also earn Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and Mental Health (MH) certificates as part of a comprehensive preparation and induction model. During the first three years of the program, candidates complete all coursework and field experiences required of counseling candidates enrolled in SHSU’s traditional school-based counselor preparation program. Candidates receive extensive, diverse field experiences in high-need partner schools that follow a gradual release of responsibility model. Candidates are awarded their M.Ed. in Counseling Education at the conclusion of their third year. During their induction years, candidates will participate in continuing education, mentoring, and support through a multi-tiered, collaborative approach between partner LEAs and SHSU (MSI-IHE). SHSU will train mentors in the MTSS coaching model and offer professional development in mental health to other educators in partner LEAs. SHSU will use grant funds to award scholarships for the school-based counselor education program and pay stipends to experienced counselors to mentor novice counselors. This work addresses the Absolute Priority (AP), which emphasizes expanding the capacity of school-based mental health professionals in high-need LEAs. Through the MSI partnership (CPP 3), this work will also promote inclusive practices through the use of evidence-based professional enhancement activities (CPP 2). The SHSU School-Based Mental Health Counseling Houston Collaborative draws on an extensive body of research that incorporates evidence-based components and practices into the school-based mental health services professional pipeline. The SHSU SBMHC Houston Collaborative anticipates adding 125 highly trained, well qualified school mental health providers to the region over the five-year grant period. To build capacity to continue the work after the grant period concludes, we will offer the certificate programs to other LEAs for a fee and will use those funds to sustain the work.
The Florida International University Board of Trustees (FL) $346,676.00: Project Pathways at Florida International University, FIU, a large producer of Hispanic degrees, located in Miami, Florida seeks a total of $1,646,480 for a 5-year project. The purpose of Project Pathways FIU-MDCPS Collaborative Partnership is to prepare 30 certified School Counselors (SCs) to provide School-Based Mental Health Services to respond to critical shortages of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) school counselors. Student completion of the FIU CACREP accredited School Counseling Program (SCP) will increase the number of highly qualified SCs to work in culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) schools providing school-based mental health services. The goal of the project is to increase the number of credentialed school counselors employed in M-DCPS. Thus, for the proposed project, approximately 243 high-need schools will be selected that serve 173,347 students. The project aligns with the Absolute Priority and the two Competitive Preference Priorities: (1) increasing number of diverse school-based mental health providers in a high-need LEA, and (2) establishing partnership with a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI). Project objectives are (1) To recruit, prepare, retain and graduate 30 school counselors into the Counselor Education: School Counseling program with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to provide School-Based Mental Health Services to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students; (2) To increase number of SC practicum and interns providing school-based mental health services in M-DCPS by 10%; (3) To address the critical shortage of highly qualified SCs in CLD schools by increasing the total number of providers hired by M-DCPS.
Research Foundation for SUNY at Binghamton (NY) $699,595.00: Binghamton University Community Schools (BUCS) proposes the Family Partner Program: Connecting Families to School Mental Health Practice (Family Partner Program) as a way to bring social work services to students and families in two high needs school districts in Broome County, New York. Approximately 3700 students will be served through this initiative. The project goals are to (1) diversify the number of social work candidates providing school-based mental health services in Broome County schools and (2) build family confidence and capacity to engage as partners to school-based mental health providers. The project activities include (1) providing training, supervision, and mentorship to social work candidates serving in high-needs schools; (2) providing high quality, skill-rich field placements in partnering schools; (3) encouraging partner schools to hire more school-based mental health providers to serve youth and families, (4) strengthen supports for students and families that address social-emotional barriers to learning, and (5) provide opportunities for families to develop as leaders and engaged members of the school community. The expected outcomes are (1) an increase in the recruitment, training, and placement of underrepresented students as school-based social workers; (2) increase in hiring of school-based social work professionals by school districts; (3) increase in families who identify as leaders within school districts; and (4) increase in academic achievement for students in partnering schools. It is anticipated that this initiative will place one new social work supervisor in each school district (two total) and up to four social work interns in each partnering school (eight total), effectively lowering the ratio of school social workers to students.
Alfred University (NY) $904,228.00: Alfred University, in consortium with Franklinville Central School District, Canisteo Greenwood Central School District, Bolivar-Richburg Central School District and Hornell Central School District will operate the Alfred University Mental Health Demonstration Project. Our project innovatively meets the needs of 9 high-needs rural schools and will serve 3,654 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, Alfred University, who 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, seventy-five or more graduate-level internship students 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 Pediatric Integration Project, to build the capacity of graduate students and our partner school-based mental health professional’s ability to collaborate with pediatricians in our Region. As a measurement of our progress toward those ongoing goals, we will monitor for progress on ten project objectives. This project will address Competitive Preference Priority 1—Increase the number of qualified school-based mental health service providers in high-need LEAs who are from diverse backgrounds or from communities served by the high-need LEAs. And Competitive Preference Priority 2 –Promote inclusive practices. All our efforts are geared for continual improvement with an evaluation process that includes process measures to produce fidelity implementation. Progress toward our outcomes is marked with clear milestones that will be monitored by the Project Director, Project Coordinator, Evaluator, and Interdisciplinary Supervision Coordinator. Exceptional features of the proposal include a rural model collaborating in partnership with a statewide organization, recruitment from diverse backgrounds and from communities served by our high-needs LEAs, promotion of inclusive practices, and family engagement. Our partnership between Alfred University and our partner school districts will provide critical guidance and expertise for our school-based mental health efforts.
University of Colorado Denver (CO) $477,617.00: In 2021 Children’s Hospital of Colorado declared that youth mental health had reached a “State of Emergency” with a record number of pediatric patients arriving at the Emergency Room due to suicide attempts and significant mental health needs (Children’s Hospital Colorado, 2021). A follow up report, in 2022, indicated that children’s mental health needs were up 103% from 2019 (Children’s Hospital Colorado, 2022). Given that schools are the leading provider of youth mental health services (Costello et al., 2014; Duong et al., 2021) it is essential that Colorado increase access to school-based mental health care, particularly for traditionally under-resourced populations that face barriers to mental health treatment access. Despite the need for pediatric mental health care in Colorado, there are inequities in access. Early identification efforts, which leads to early intervention and can mitigate later challenges (Briggs-Gowan et al., 2006; Zeanah & Zeanah, 2019), are missing any young children who have symptoms of mental health needs (e.g., Cooper et al., 2009). Data shows that children from households with low incomes or where a language other than English is primarily spoken are less likely to have their mental health needs identified early (Morgan et al., 2012) and to receive corresponding services (DiGuiseppi et al., 2020). The proposed project will address Priorities One and Two of Mental Health Services Demonstration Grant Program by providing graduate training for 10 diverse school psychologists to serve high-need schools using equity-focused mental health practices, with an emphasis on serving bilingual, early childhood, and low-income children populations. Coursework, field experiences, and professional development opportunities, in partnership with Denver Public Schools, an urban, high needs LEA with over 90,000 students, will result in school psychologists who are leaders in promoting equity-focused mental health systems and service provision.
Trustees of Indiana University (IN) $1,088,541.00: This Indiana University School of Social Work (IUSSW) along with their school corporation partners, Tippecanoe School Corporation and Valley Oaks Health, Lafayette School Corporation, and South Bend Community Schools will meet all specified grant priority areas. Priority one is to increase capacity of two Health Provider Shortage Areas (HPSA) counties to train, license, and hire a diverse, school-based social work mental health provider staff to serve economically disadvantaged schools of greater than 20% disadvantage. Partner disadvantage percentages are between 25-67%. Recruiting from local, state, and surrounding regions, and regional HBCUs, and training for diverse, equitable, and inclusive school-based mental health services will result in MSW students placed in field practicums in high-need partner schools who can then be licensed and hired upon graduation to serve the mental health needs of over 38,000 economically disadvantaged K-12 students and their families in partner counties. Unlicensed social workers in high-need partners’ schools will be offered tuition for courses required for licensure. Formation of peer learning communities and working with Research Triangle Institute (RTI) will serve as sustainable mechanisms for quality training in multi-tiered tiered systems of support (MTSS), in addition to honing skills in evidence-based practices for mental health care. Major outcomes will be number of diverse MSW students recruited, trained, and licensed who are retained by the high-need schools. IUSSW will begin an MSW program in Tippecanoe County at Purdue University to enhance sustainable capacity for training MSW providers in Western Indiana where there is currently no capacity. The last major outcome is improving diverse, equitable, and inclusive mental health care for K-12 students and their families by training providers via peer learning communities and ultimately hiring a more diverse workforce. RTI will provide technical assistance and external evaluation services.
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System (WI) $686,132.00: The University of Wisconsin–Madison will work in partnership with Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) to increase the number of school psychologists in MMSD, with an explicit focus on recruitment and training of graduate students from diverse backgrounds. Together, we will recruit and train school psychologists from diverse backgrounds that reflect the community, identities, races, ethnicities, abilities, languages, and cultures reflected in Madison schools (Competitive Preference Priority 1). This project will enroll six new school psychology graduate students in each of the first 4 years of the project, who will complete their practicum and internship training in MMSD (24 new school psychologists over the 5-year grant). Upon graduation, the 24 school psychologists will be required to complete 3 years of service in a high-needs local education agency. The grant will provide training in evidence-based school mental health practices that prepare new school psychologists and their school psychology supervisors to engage in culturally and linguistically inclusive and identity-safe environments for students (Competitive Preference Priority 2). The grant will provide tuition, fees, a monthly stipend, transportation, childcare costs for new school psychology trainees, and funding for MMSD to hire a full-time school psychologist to supervise practicum and internship training. Grants funds will also provide a stipend to site-based school psychology supervisors in high-needs schools. The goal of the project is to prepare a new generation of school psychologists from diverse backgrounds who are equipped with the knowledge and skills to deliver culturally responsive mental health services to children and youth in Madison schools.
Midwestern State University (TX) $136,863.72: Midwestern State University (MSU) is collaborating with Burkburnett Independent School District (BISD), a high-need, rural school district in Texas, to implement Project School Mental Health (PSMH), an innovative school-based mental health partnership intended to increase the number and diversity of school/clinical mental health counselors and to strengthen the counseling BISD program. The collaboration with BISD addresses the Absolute Priority: Expand Capacity of High-need LEAs. The project goals will be met by establishing comprehensive internships for 12 school counselor/clinical mental health graduate students in which school/clinical mental health counselors will provide intensive group and individual counseling for identified students who need emotional/social/behavioral support. A total of 2,213 students from four high-need BISD schools including an elementary school, a middle school, a high school, and an alternative education center, will benefit from PSMH. All the BISD high-need schools are over the recommended student-to-counselor ratio of 250 to 1 (American School Counselor Association, 2019). BISD students struggle frequently with depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and will benefit from individualized mental health support from additional counselors. PSMH school counselor/clinical mental health students will incorporate evidence-based therapy techniques to address student needs. The proposed project outcomes are to increase attendance, lower behavior referrals, and to improve students’ mental health wellness. MSU will address 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, by recruiting diverse cohorts of graduate students, and Competitive Preference Priority 2: Promote Inclusive Practices, by training graduate students extensively in inclusive, culturally responsive practices, ensuring access to services for all students.
Bowie State University (MD) $674,464.00: The partnership between Bowie State University and the following two high-need local education agencies (LEAs): Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Prince Georges County Public Schools and Montgomery County Public Schools has three primary objectives: To increase the number of highly qualified school counselors who can provide mental health services in high-needs schools; To improve the quality and quantity of mental health service access for students in high-needs schools; and To increase the number of underrepresented school counselors. Activities and services that will be implemented to achieve project objectives: First Aid Mental Health instructors training for graduate students in the program. Graduate students will provide training to undergraduate Bowie State University junior and senior students in First Aid Mental Health practices, improving quality and quantity of mental health service access for students and increasing interest in school counseling to increase the number of underrepresented school counselors; Train graduate students in the program and current practicing school counselors in high need LEAs in Multi-Tiered Support Systems. Increasing the number of high qualified state-certified school counselors, specifically those who are diverse to serve diverse student; Bowie State University will provide culturally responsive counseling training to graduate students in the program and school based mental health providers to expand the number of culturally responsive school based mental health providers. The outcomes of this project include an increased number of school counselors trained and certified to provide mental health services in schools. From a school standpoint, the goal is to decrease mental-health relate issues (e.g., depression, anxiety, trauma-related disorders, social-emotional issues) demonstrated by children and improve school climate because of a decrease in discipline referrals and suspensions. The three Maryland LEAs will be served. Anne Arundel County Public Schools currently enrolls 83,163 students, Prince Georges County and, Montgomery County Public Schools currently enrolls 158,231 students. Bowie State University will partner with identified LEAs to identify the schools for placement of practicum/internship of school counseling students in training in high-need PreK-8th/Elementary/Middle School/High School. Fourteen graduate students in the BSU Ujima SC program will be placed at fourteen high need schools identified by the LEAs. Each school will have a minimum of 500 students enrolled in the school. Approximately a minimum total of 7,000 students each school year will be served by the grant project. Over the duration of the five-year project, with an average of 7 school counselors graduating a semester, approximately 42 school counselors in training will be certified and hired to provide mental health services in the identified LEAs.
Educational Service District 112 (WA) $509,158.00: Educational Service District 112 (ESD 112) proposes implementing the Help is Down the Hall: Promoting Careers in School-based Mental Health (HDH) project in eligible high-need schools in its six-county region in southwest Washington State. The HDH project’s overarching goal is to increase the availability of school-based mental health professionals in the schools it serves. Within that goal, the project plans seven specific objectives related to placing mental health professionals in high-need schools and promoting school-based mental health as a career pathway among mental health graduate students. To achieve these objectives, ESD 112 will partner with two institutions of higher education (IHEs) to implement the following activities: Tuition reimbursement: pay for tuition of existing ESD 112 employees to obtain master’s degrees in mental health counseling or social work ; Paid internships: provide paid internships to existing students in mental health counseling or social work graduate programs; School-based mental health career promotion to graduate students: conduct presentations to mental health counseling and social work graduate classes regarding school-based mental health as a career option .Over the course of the grant, the HDH project plans to provide tuition reimbursement to a total of 10 ESD 112 employees and place a total of 50 graduate students from the partner IHEs in paid school-based mental health internships in any of the 75 eligible high-need schools that have been identified based on the percentage of low-income students. Ultimately, the project aspires to hire and permanently place 26 school-based mental health services providers in its high-need schools by the end of the grant period. The 50 graduate interns and the 26 hired mental health professionals will serve approximately 4,400 students during the life of the grant and thousands more students beyond the end of the grant. We meet the qualifications for all three Competitive Preference Priorities. CPP 1 – the project will increase providers from diverse backgrounds and local communities; CPP 2- the project promotes inclusive practices, focused on LGBTQI+ students; and CPP 3- the two partner IHEs qualify as Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).
Brittany Cashman obo Wisconsin Well Be’s Consortium (WI) $1,036,261.70: The Wisconsin Well Be’s Mental Health Service Consortium is a collaborative approach to addressing Wisconsin, and the nation’s, school-based mental health professional shortage, higher-than-recommended school-based mental health professional student-to-staff ratios, student mental health needs exacerbated by the pandemic and negative cultural influences, as well as lack of education and human service career preparation for secondary students, specifically in high-need, rural school districts such as ours. The consortium comprises the Cambria-Friesland, Pardeeville, Randolph, and Rio Community School Districts located in south central Wisconsin and serves a population of 2,063 students. The consortium will use an innovative two-pronged approach to address the shortage of highly qualified school-based mental health professionals. To address the immediate need of obtaining the necessary number of school-based mental health professionals to keep pace with significant student mental health needs, the consortium will work with Mount Mary University, the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, and Winona State University to employ 40 FTE graduate student interns over the course of 5 years, 8 FTE’s per year. These school-based mental health professionals will receive on the job training through an IHE supervisor and school-based supervisor who will provide mentorship, coaching, training and professional development, along with ensuring graduate coursework and degree requirements are met through work experiences. Certified staff members and interns will work together to provide a multi-tier system of support to students and help implement each district’s comprehensive mental health plan. Fostering early interest and investment in careers in education and human service with secondary students is the second prong to the approach. Each school district will be responsible for developing, maintaining, and evaluating an Education and Human Service Department that assigns an advisor who is responsible for promoting careers in education and human services and increasing the number of diverse students interested in careers in education through field experiences, mentorship, and guidance in conjunction with IHE’s. Consortium advisors will also work with the IHE to develop dual credit programs within each district that allow for debt reduction for post-secondary education and human service coursework provided to students while in high school. Program goals include increasing the number of diverse school-based mental health professionals in high-need schools, lowering the number of students in consortium districts who identify that their mental health negatively impacts their learning, and increasing the number of secondary students from diverse backgrounds who go on to pursue school-based mental health careers. When the consortium has sufficient staffing compared to student needs, the efficacy of each district’s school-based mental health plan will increase, reducing the number of students in need of severe mental health support.
The Curators of the University of Missouri (MO) $910,157.00: The University Missouri’s Mental Health INterdisciplinary Training (MINT) program will accomplish the Absolute Priority for this competition by placing 42 school psychology, school counseling, and school social work graduate students from diverse backgrounds into high-need schools. The program will prepare the trainees to deliver a state-of-the-art school mental health model and obtain a credential as a school mental health professional (SMHP). The project will fulfill Competitive Preference Priority 1 by increasing the number of SMHPs in high-needs LEAs who are from diverse backgrounds or from communities served by the high-need LEAs. The proposed training program will also provide inclusive, evidence-based pedagogical practices thereby meeting Competitive Preferences Priority Proposed Project Outcomes: (1) Grow and diversify the pipeline from MU SMHP programs to credentialing, and retention in high-need LEAs; (2) Expand and sustain a university-community partnership to provide evidence-based, culturally and linguistically inclusive, and identity-safe SMHP services for students in high-need schools; (3) Create, deliver, and evaluate training in evidence-based, culturally responsive, and trauma informed SMHP service delivery. MINT scholars will provide over 37,800 hours of support to students in high-need schools. Three high-needs LEAs are part of this proposal: Jefferson City Schools, Normandy Schools District, and University City School District. Across the three LEAs, 10 elementary, 9 secondary (19 total) meet the definition of high-need schools. Over 10,000 students in these schools will be served by the 42 graduate student trainees supported by this grant. We will work with partner LEAs, state, and local partners to ensure that at least 80% (30) of the trainees gain employment as SMHPs in high need schools.
Baylor University (TX) $450,332.00: Building on a seven-year partnership with Waco Independent School District (WISD) and Transformation Waco (TW), two LEAs with high need in our community, Baylor University Garland School of Social Work (GSSW) will utilize funding from this opportunity to increase high quality mental health service providers who are prepared to work in local schools upon graduation with their Master of Social Work degree. With targeted recruitment strategies under Preference Priority 1, we will leverage partner professional organizations to assist in increasing our pool of Spanish speaking applicants to serve the 39.6% of students in Waco ISD/TW who are English Language Learners and/or Bilingual/ESL students and the 60% of families whose cultural identification is Latinx/e. We will also leverage our strong relationships with the LEAs to work with the Career and Technology departments to introduce mental health careers early to high school students and start a pipeline for local Waco residents to pursue careers in mental health care. Our commitment to providing services that are evidence-based and inclusive meet the Priority Preference 2 requirements. Our pedagogy and training materials center cultural humility, client-centered theory, and structural competence as overarching perspectives that guide all work in mental health service provision. The three providers on the project will also train a total of 44 MSW Interns to utilize clinical approaches reviewed and deemed evidence-based by entities such as the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse and the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. Through innovative collaborations with LEAs and professional organizations, the GSSW will help to fill the gap in our community by increasing the number of qualified school-based mental health providers prepared to serve students in our schools with high needs.
Poudre School District (CO) $1,712,263.00: Poudre School District (PSD) will strategically recruit, train, and incentivize Colorado State University (CSU) Master of Social Work (MSW) students for practice in high-needs PSD schools as we work to remove barriers to employment and create inclusive learning environments that support learning and growth over time. Together, PSD and CSU will build a career pipeline between the CSU School of Social Work graduate program and high-needs schools in Poudre School District, establishing Colorado’s first fellowship program for mental health student interns with growth towards a fellowship in public schools. The graduate students studying social work will enter the field of school-based mental health during their required internships with an opportunity to engage in the post-graduate Mental Health in Schools Fellowship Program. Students accepted as School-Based Mental Health Fellows will practice in the schools within a supportive learning environment. This supportive learning highlights a unique pathway of student intern to fellow and professional learning and creates an opportunity for students to learn how to engage in professional best practices such as receiving supervision, engaging in mental health supports, and engaging in lifelong learning with the completion of the school social work certificate program. The Mental Health in Schools Fellowship Program will provide mental health support to all 54 schools in the district, with priority given to Title 1 designated schools. The National School Social Work Association of America recommended ratio for students to mental health specialists is 250 students to 1 Mental Health Specialist. On average, PSD exceeds this ratio in all 54 schools by an astonishing 550%.
University of South Dakota (SD) $449,045.00: The proposed project consists of a five-year plan of funded activities aligned with the absolute and competitive priorities for the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program (CFDA 84.184X) with the objective of increasing the number of school mental health providers. This will involve the training of new school psychologists in high-needs LEAs in South Dakota. Activities include targeted recruitment strategies, financial assistance to trainees (i.e., tuition waivers, cost of living stipend), enhanced school mental health didactic training, comprehensive practicum and internship placements, high-quality and effective supervision, and salary support for postdoctoral fellows and supervisors. At the conclusion of the grant period, it is anticipated that the state of South Dakota will have 12 new highly trained school psychologists who will work for a minimum of three years in a comprehensive school mental health role. Additionally, up to three postdoctoral fellows will be prepared to serve as school psychology trainers in institutions of higher education. Lastly, currently practicing school psychologists will have increased training in culturally responsive evidence-based school mental health and supervision practices. In the proposed funding, the University of South Dakota will partner with three educational service agencies, the South Central Cooperative, and the Sioux Falls School District, encompassing 117 schools. Through this partnership, approximately 31,667 students will be served. Currently, there are a total of 25 school psychologists across these organizations. The addition of 12 school psychologists represents an approximate 50% increase in the school mental health workforce in the targeted LEAs.
Portland State University (OR) $1,189,801.00:The goal of the proposed project is to increase the workforce necessary to meet the mental health service needs of students in high-need LEAs including tribal, rural, and Latinx communities. This will be accomplished through a partnership between Portland State University, Master of Social Work (MSW) program, high-need LEAs, and culturally specific community providers. The project will involve four intersecting efforts: 1) a School-wide framework, 2) a Specialized MSW training program, 3) Continuing Education Program, and 4) Barrier reduction. The school-wide framework implements a school-based screening and brief intervention model (SB-SBIRT). The Specialized MSW training program will provide a new, tailored degree track within the MSW program focused on social work practice in high-need LEAs, including a unique class curriculum, targeted recruitment, MSW internships with LEAs, and advising. The Continuing Education Program will focus on supporting the ongoing CEU and certification needs of providers and promoting job retention at LEAs by focusing on these areas: increasing capacity to supervise, culturally responsive practices, and evidence-based practices. Barrier reduction activities include conditional stipends for students placed at LEAs who are willing to continue with full-time employment post internship, group supervision to support licensure, and reduction of workforce barriers. Proposed project outcomes: 73 MSW interns placed in LEAs, 75% of students recruited and placed with LEAs will represent marginalized identities and/or local LEA communities, 70 K-12 School Social Work Licenses, 300 CEUs, 150 trained in SB-SBIRT, 73 MSW interns trained in SB-SBIRT, 500 individuals trained across the grant. This project requests to be considered for Priority Preferences 1, 2, & 3.
Lipscomb University (TN) $730,416.00: Lipscomb University’s IMPACT (Innovative Mental Health Partnership Accessing Counselor Training) Initiative will significantly increase the quantity and diversity of high quality, professionally trained and credentialed mental health service professionals employed in high-need LEAs within the greater Nashville, Tennessee region. By addressing the workforce mental health service professional shortage, regional K-12 students will have improved access to health service providers who are trained in inclusive practices and can provide meaningful support for the current challenges facing children and youth, such as COVID-19 (and loss of family members), traumatic events, adverse childhood experiences, social media, and more. The IMPACT Initiative is a partnership which includes five (5) high-need Middle Tennessee LEAs and Lipscomb University, an eligible institution of higher education. Lipscomb University has developed Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with the following high-need LEAs:
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), serving over 82,000 K-12 students; Rutherford County School (RCS), serving over 50,000 K-12 students; Maury County Public Schools (MCPS), serving over 13,000 K-12 students; Lebanon Special School District (LSSD), serving over 4,200 PreK-12 students; and Hickman County Schools (HCS), serving over 3,200 K-12 students. The IMPACT Initiative addresses the Absolute Priority: Expanding Capacity of High-Need LEAs, as well as Competitive Preference Priority 1: 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 the High-Need LEAs and Competitive Preference Priority 2: Promoting Inclusive Practices.
Board of Trustees for the University of Northern Colorado (CO) $799874.08: 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 rural districts or a Spanish-speaking population. UNC has partnered with Weld Re-8 School District and Northeastern BOCES, located in rural Northern Colorado. These partners serve a diverse student population and often have unmet mental health needs due to the lack of mental health providers, particularly from linguistically diverse backgrounds. For example, Weld Re-8 School serves a student body of 53% White, 42% Hispanic or Latino, 3% two or more races, 1% Black, and 1% Asian students. Of students attending Weld Re-8, 30% of families speak a language other than English inside of the home. In order to best support these partners, 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 67% of tuition costs and approximately $50,000 training stipend. We will develop 2 tracks to provide unique training to our rural school psychologists and Spanish-speaking. In addition to this funding, training related to school interventions, crisis, culturally sensitive practices, and trauma-informed care. The goal of these training tracks is to increase support and supervision opportunities within a high-need community, while simultaneously reducing barriers to mental health education for underrepresented graduate student populations. These students, in turn, will commit to working in a rural district or serve a Spanish-speaking population within a district 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 Colorado.
University of Denver (CO) $325,388.00: In Colorado, the highest rates of youth depression and suicide are in rural communities with LGBTQI+ and people of color having disproportionately higher rates. School psychologists (SPs) are the only school-based mental health (SBMH) providers qualified to work with all children across all levels of need; however, the ratio of SP-to-students is 1:2,128 in rural Colorado, which is four times higher than the National Association of School Psychologists’ recommendation. The School Psychology – Inclusive, Rural, and Innovative Training (SPIRIT) project will embed 32 new school psychologists (SPs) in rural Colorado and cultivate the next generation of SBMH providers in high-need schools through three new programs: (1) Grow, a grow-your-own rural SP program; (2) RPP, the rural practitioner program; and (3) Careers, a program that will lengthen the community-to-profession pipeline by creating an early onramp into SBMH careers for rural high school students. P-12 schools to pursue School Based Mental Health (SBMH) careers. As a result, SPIRIT will develop a robust SP workforce that reflects the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of rural communities. This proposal meets the Absolute Priority to expand the capacity of high-need LEAs and two Competitive Preference Priorities (1) increase the number of qualified school-based mental health services providers from diverse backgrounds or communities served by the high-need LEAs; and (2) promote inclusive practices. The University of Denver has been working closely with rural school districts over the past five years to address SBMH workforce issues. The strategies in this proposal are founded on evidence-based practices that identify successful recruitment methods for rural Colorado. Our Leadership Team has expertise in school psychology, rural school health, program evaluation, and community engagement with rural school partnerships dating back to 1999.
Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc. (GA) $614,466.00: The Georgia State University (GSU) Expanding Quality SBMH Services for Underserved Populations with Inclusive Practices (EQUIP) has the primary goal of expanding the capacity of two high-need LEAs to provide inclusive and evidence-based mental-health services for PreK-12 students from diverse backgrounds in high-need schools (HNS). We will accomplish this through the implementation of a strategic 3-prong initiative targeting recruitment, training, and school-based placement of 25 diverse GSU school psychology students on practicum and internship placement in High Need Partner LEAs. The project meets the criteria for competitive preference priorities 1, 2, and 3, as GSU is a designated Minority Serving Institution (MSI). There are three primary objectives supporting this goal: (1) Recruit school psychology students from diverse backgrounds or those who live within the communities served by the two Partner LEAs. (2) Promote inclusive practices by preparing school psychology students to provide evidence-based and culture-specific mental-health services to a diverse student population within schools in Partner LEAs identified as high need. (3) Expand the capacity of Partner LEAs to provide inclusive mental-health services by a) placing school psychology students from diverse backgrounds on practicum and internship in high-need schools, b) providing professional development and consultative support to existing school psychologists who will serve as site-based mentors to GSU scholars and c) developing a community of school psychologists from diverse backgrounds (including graduates and site mentors) who will provide inclusive mental-health services for students in high-need schools, support recruitment and induction efforts of subsequent school psychologists from diverse backgrounds, and develop resources to improve mental-health services for students in high-need school districts.
University of New Hampshire (NH) $763,446.00: UNH Social Work and Education Departments are collaborating with the Manchester School District to develop and implement a School Social Work Track and a graduate certificate focused on trauma, diversity, and inclusion to alleviate personnel shortages and improve the quality of school mental health personnel and services to children. Scholars, recruited from high need communities representing diverse backgrounds, will apply evidenced-based strategies to improve student academic, social, and behavioral outcomes. Over five years, the project will:1) Design and stand up, in consultation with key partners, an online interdisciplinary, school social work track conforming to certification requirements focused on evidenced-based school mental health services, trauma informed practices, and equity-based inclusive education.2) Enroll and retain 80 graduate level students in the school social work track (n=40) and/or graduate certificate program (n=40), including students from diverse groups who work in high need schools. 3) Offer annual leadership training for school administrators in school mental health focusing on trauma, diversity, and inclusion. 4) Design and include a yearlong on-the-job internship experience, in collaboration with school and community providers as mentors. 5) Evaluate and build on the effectiveness of the UNH school social work track and graduate certificate using research-based continuous Rapid Cycle Quality improvement and management processes. 6) Sustain the UNH school social work track and graduate certificate. Students pursuing the masters in school social work track will receive a stipend of $20K. Students seeking further certification with terminal degrees working in a high need school or enrolled in an identified masters program, will receive a stipend of $10K. The program will: 1) relieve an acute personnel shortage representative of NH’s high need school communities; 2) result in an annual increase of 20% from diverse and underrepresented groups; and 3) improve the quality of education and related services to children and youth.
University of New Hampshire (NH) $763,446.00: UNH Social Work and Education Departments are collaborating with the Manchester School District to develop and implement a School Social Work Track and a graduate certificate focused on trauma, diversity, and inclusion to alleviate personnel shortages and improve the quality of school mental health personnel and services to children. Scholars, recruited from high need communities representing diverse backgrounds, will apply evidenced-based strategies to improve student academic, social, and behavioral outcomes. Over five years, the project will:1) Design and stand up, in consultation with key partners, an online interdisciplinary, school social work track conforming to certification requirements focused on evidenced-based school mental health services, trauma informed practices, and equity-based inclusive education.2) Enroll and retain 80 graduate level students in the school social work track (n=40) and/or graduate certificate program (n=40), including students from diverse groups who work in high need schools. 3) Offer an annual leadership training for school administrators in school mental health focusing on trauma, diversity, and inclusion. 4) Design and include a yearlong on-the-job internship experience, in collaboration with school and community providers as mentors. 5) Evaluate and build on the effectiveness of the UNH school social work track and graduate certificate using research-based continuous Rapid Cycle Quality improvement and management processes. 6) Sustain the UNH school social work track and graduate certificate. Students pursuing the masters in school social work track will receive a stipend of $20K. Students seeking further certification with terminal degrees working in a high need school or enrolled in an identified masters program, will receive a stipend of $10K. The program will: 1) relieve an acute personnel shortage representative of NH’s high need school communities; 2) result in an annual increase of 20% from diverse and underrepresented groups; and 3) improve the quality of education and related services to children and youth.
Montana State University (MT) $713,015.00: Through an innovative partnership between 1) Montana State University (MSU), 2) the University of Montana (UM), and 3) the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI), we are seeking a USDOE MHSP Grant to support implementation of the Rural Mental Health Preparation Practice Pathway Partnership (RMHP4). This project is designed to expand our existing research-based cohort model of rural counselor preparation and increase the diversity, training, employment, retention, and effectiveness of mental health service professionals serving in rural, remote, and tribal contexts. In order to address Montana’s profound rural students mental health needs, RMHP4 has chosen the following ambitious performance targets: 1) increase the number of counselors trained (N=60) and hired (N=40) for high-need rural LEAs and schools (690 eligible rural schools) (Absolute Priority); 2) increase the number of trained counselors from diverse backgrounds or from the communities they serve (N=30) (CPP1); 3) ensure that counselors are trained in evidence-based inclusive practices (CPP2); 4) and grow a statewide network of in order to implement the model in culturally sustaining ways (CPP3). Guided by the four core values of place attentiveness, cultural humility, advocacy and relationship, RMHP4 will deliver a research-based model of rural counselor preparation and build capacity through development of a statewide Montana Network for Rural Youth Mental Health. RMHP4 will rigorously evaluate the model and identify accomplishments and areas for improvement in 1) Preparation & Practice; 2) Partnership; and 3) Sustainability Pathway. Thus, RMHP4 will make significant contributions to rural mental health research, policy, preparation, and practice for Montana as well as rural contexts around the nation.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (TX) $1,089,608.00: PROJECT MHS ACCESS 2: Accessing Mental Health Services proposes to increase the capacity of 4 high-need LEAs, with a total K-12 student population of over 75,000, in partnership with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), a Hispanic-Serving Institution (Competitive Preference 3). Interdisciplinary training will include School Psychology, Counseling, and Social Work as School-Based Mental Health Service Professionals (SBMHSP) who are from diverse backgrounds (Absolute Priority and Competitive Preference 1). A total of 14 SBMHSP will be placed in 4 identified high-need LEAs yearly for a total of 70 across the life of the grant. By the end of the grant period, at least 35 (50%) of the total of 70 SBMHSP will be employed as SBMHSP in one of the 4 identified high-need LEAs or within the local region. In addition, a SBMHSP will be hired through UTRGV as a Mental Health Clinician to help support the work of the SBMHSP and the four identified high-need LEAs. The majority of the SBMHSP in training at UTRGV are already from diverse backgrounds. At least 80% of the SBMHSP will be also demonstrate evidence of increased knowledge and 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 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 2 personnel will improve positive mental health. Activities for SBMHSP will focus on developing about (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 tele-mental health practices and (4) EBP specific to trauma-informed-care.
Green River Regional Educational Cooperative (KY) $1,777,549.00: The Green River Regional Educational Cooperative is a local educational agency (LEA) serving 46 school districts (also LEAs) in a 19,000-square-mile area of Kentucky. Through Project ACCESS: Acquiring Clinical Counselors for Equitable Student Services in Mental Health, we will help 35 of our high-need LEAs recruit and hire licensed mental health service providers for one of their 184 high-need schools. Through our decades-long partnership with Western Kentucky University, we will identify and support 45 new counselors through a tiered recruitment model and place those counselors where they are needed most. Activities include: Recruiting counseling candidates from WKU classrooms (bachelor-degreed students) and high-need schools (teachers, Family Resource Directors); Targeting candidates of color/ethnicity to ensure counselors reflect the diversity of the communities where they live and work ;Providing candidates and schools choice to ensure placements are successful and sustained (candidate geography, creating regional candidate pools); Training candidates in the WKU Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor program, a 60-hour experiential graduate degree program that develops mental health service providers ;Reinstating with WKU school-based practicums and internships for candidates to provide experiences and services in our high-need schools ;Hiring five LPCCs—the GRREC MH Corps—to support project operation, including required LPCC observations and shared cross-district caseloads for small, rural districts Objectives include the federal performance measures regarding placement and employment of licensed clinical counselors in high-need schools, districts, practicums, and internships as well as project specific measures relating to diversity (CPP1), decreasing the student-to-counselor ratio in high-need districts/schools, decreasing student behavior incidents and repeat incidents, and decreasing the number of chronically absent students in participating high-need schools.
Marian University (IN) $797,630.00: Marian University (Marian) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the applicant, through its Center for Vibrant Schools (CVS) and College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Department of Psychological Science and Counseling together with the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), have collaborated to prepare this proposal and will implement the proposed Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program. Through the Strong Minds Innovation Partnership Mental Health Service Professionals Program (SMIP), Marian will expand the pipeline of high-quality, trained providers to address the shortages of mental health service professionals in Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS). IPS is the only eligible high-need LEA in Indiana that meet the requirements demonstrating a need as designated by MHSP to be served the project. The partnership includes five Innovation Network Schools within IPS. The SMIP program will benefit every student in every school within the partnership, serving a total of 2,467 students. This project will be implemented through its goals of supporting innovative partnerships to train school-based mental health service providers for employment in schools and the LEA. The recruitment and retention of School Counseling Candidates will result in increased school counseling, and social work pipelines in City Connects schools that parallel the ethnic and racial backgrounds of students. Marian is an eligible institution of higher education. It offers a program of study leading to a master’s degree in school counseling and social work that prepares students for a state credential in school counseling. These programs have been approved by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Through this work, 25 mental health providers will be hired in a Full-Time roles, and 25 mental health interns will be placed within these schools over the 5-year grant period. Marian submits this application for consideration of the Absolute Priority, Competitive Preference Priority 1, and Competitive Preference Priority 2.
University of Dayton (OH) $102,155.00: The School Psychology Program at the University of Dayton (UD) will establish a new partnership with Adams County Ohio Valley School District (ACOVSD; a high-need LEA) to train 7 school psychologists over a five-year period to work in the underserved regions from which they reside and will continue to serve. Students will complete the established NASP-approved School Psychology training program at UD, during which they will provide academic, mental and behavioral health services to students in ACOVSD via practicum and internship experiences. The aim is to infuse a cohort of school psychologists trained in inclusive practices, into the communities in which they reside, thus providing sustainable access to evidence-based mental health services for youth in the region. Proposed Projects Outcomes: Recruit students from underrepresented groups and who live in high-need communities to train as school psychologists in an established program at the University of Dayton; Place students for practicum and internship experiences in a high-need LEA (ACOVSD) during their graduate training, during which they will provide services to PK-12 students; Increase the number of school psychologists in underserved high need LEAs in Southern Ohio. One LEA will be served – Adams County Ohio Valley School District (ACOVSD), which is the second largest geographic rural school district in the State of Ohio. ACOVSD serves 3,900 students. They employ 4 school psychologists at a ratio of 990 to 1, above the targeted ratio suggested by NASP (500:1). Seven total providers for work in high-need LEAs. The proposed partnership meets Competitive Preference Priority #1 and Competitive Preference Priority #2.
Mohave Valley Elementary School District (AZ) S586,038.00: Mohave Valley School District (MVSD) seeks funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program (MHSPD). The schools reside in Mohave County, Arizona and draw students from rural communities of Fort Mojave, Mohave Valley, and the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation. At 13,461 square miles, Mohave County and is the fifth-largest county (by area) in the contiguous U.S. The county consists of two sections divided by the Grand Canyon, with no direct land community between them. MVSD is in the northern section, including 9,773 households with a total population of 23,021. MVSD serves 1,026 students in grades K through 8 in two elementary schools and one secondary school. The majority of our students live in poverty with 64.4% receiving Free and Reduced Priced Meals. MVSD students are 47% White, 36% Hispanic, 14% American Indian, and 3% two or more races. The district meets the high-need school definition included in the NIA. Our MHSPD grant expands the capacity of MVSD by establishing partnerships with Grand Canyon University and Northern Arizona University. These partnerships were established to place graduate students of their academic programs into schools served by MVSD to complete required field work and credit hours for a social work degree. 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 (18 over the five-year grant period) by hiring graduate students and recent graduates to be assigned to high-needs schools; 3) Increase the number of school-based mental health providers who are from diverse backgrounds (Competitive Priority #1); and 4) 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 goals, including the six GPRA measures as detailed in the Narrative. Our MHSPD grant program also meets Competitive Priority #3 as Northern Arizona University is a federally designated Minority-Serving Institution (MSI)/ Hispanic-Serving Institution (HIS)
Indiana University Bloomington (IN) $631,866: The collaborative proposal, “Addressing Regional School Psychologist Shortages Through IU – School Partnerships” leverages the power of Indiana University’s strong partnerships with K-12 institutions in three regions across the state in order to achieve the grant’s absolute priority of expanding the capacity of high-need LEAs to address the shortage of school based mental health service providers in high need schools. Addressing grant Competitive Preference Priority 1, three IU regional campuses–IU Kokomo, IU South Bend and IU East–will partner with 3 high-need LEAs in the service areas of each campus using a Grow Your Own (GYO) model to identify, train and place more school psychologists in schools with the greatest need, expecting to train and deploy 12 new candidates for the degree in School Psychology in each year of the grant. Addressing Competitive Preference Priority 2 the residential components of the degree program include deep dives into important concepts for the discipline, including culturally responsive practices, assessment and evaluation, and advocacy.
FY 2022 Award Recipients
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)
