$245 Million Awarded by HHS to Support Youth Mental Health

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded nearly $245 million in Bipartisan Safer Communities Act funding — $185.7 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and nearly $60 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration to support the integration of mental health training into the training of primary care clinicians, with a specific focus on preparing primary care providers to treat the mental health needs of children and adolescents.

SAMHSA’s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act awards include:

• $73.6 million for Project Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education to help develop and support school-based mental health programs and services;
• $57.7 million in Mental Health Awareness Training grants to prepare and train school personnel, emergency first responders, law enforcement and others to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health challenges to enable early intervention;
• $14.9 million for School Based Trauma-Informed Support Services and Mental Health Care for Children and Youth to increase student access to evidence-based and culturally relevant trauma support services and mental health care;
• $19.5 million for the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative to improve treatment and services for children, adolescents and families who have experienced traumatic events; and
• $20 million in Resiliency in Communities after Stress and Trauma grants to promote resilience and equity and prevent violence in communities that have recently faced civil unrest, community violence and/or collective trauma.