Background

This program provides grants to State or local educational agencies or Indian tribes to increase student access to high-quality mental health care by developing innovative approaches that link school systems with the local mental health system. Entities receiving grants under this program will:

• Enhance, improve, or develop collaborative efforts between school-based service systems and mental health service systems to provide, enhance, or improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services to students;
• Enhance the availability of crisis intervention services;
• Provide training for school and mental health professionals;
• Provide consultation to school systems, mental health agencies, and families participating in the program; and
• Provide linguistically appropriate and culturally competent services.

During the project, grantees will develop a detailed interagency agreement with their partners that will establish, at a minimum, the financial responsibility for services; conditions and terms of responsibility for services, including quality, accountability, and coordination of services; conditions and terms of reimbursement among entities that are parties to the agreement, including dispute resolutions protocols, and policies and procedures to ensure appropriate parental or caregiver consent for any planned services, consistent with State or local laws or requirements. Required project partners include State educational agencies, local educational agencies or Indian tribes, State or local public mental health authorities, and juvenile justice authorities.

Other awards may be made this year and are pending approval.

FY 2008 New Grant Awards