More than $30 million in federal funding has been awarded to Initiatives that address the behavioral health needs of children from infants to young adults. The awards were split between three programs and distributed to communities nationwide, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced June 28.
The funding was awarded through HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the news release states. The grants will support programs that address the nation's ongoing mental health crisis and overdose epidemic, which is "a top priority of the Biden-Harris Administration, and part of President [Joseph] Biden’s Unity Agenda for the nation," HHS states in the release.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed that sentiment, adding "(t)hese grant programs help children, youth, young adults, and their families get the support and care they need."
Thirteen communities will receive $10.3 million of the total $31.5 million awarded, the release reports, through the Linking Action for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health (Project LAUNCH) grant program. The program supports the "social, emotional, cognitive, physical and behavioral aspects" of children ages birth to 8 years to prepare them to succeed in school and beyond, according to the release. The funding also assists communities and/or Tribes with the necessary resources to promote early childhood mental health services and practices, the release states.
A program that provides "trauma-informed, evidence-based interventions" to individuals up to 25 years old at a high risk for psychosis received $2.3 million. The Community Programs for Outreach and Intervention with Youth and Young Adults at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis award program aims to prevent the onset of psychosis or lessen the severity of psychotic disorders, according to the release.
The Youth and Family TREE program granted $18.9 million to 35 neighborhood organizations for efforts that improve and broaden comprehensive treatment, early intervention, and recovery support services for youth ages 12 to 25 with substance use disorders and/or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders, as well as their families and primary caregivers, the release reports.
“We are working hard to help children and young people in this country, who are struggling more than ever before,” SAMHSA Director Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., said in the release. “Our goal is to develop and expand the programs that help children, young people, and their families so that they can thrive and achieve well-being.”