U.S. Department of Education: Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program

The Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program provides competitive grants to support and demonstrate innovative partnerships to train school-based mental health services providers for employment in schools and local educational agencies (LEAs). The goal of this program is to expand the pipeline of high-quality, trained providers to address the shortages of mental health service professionals in schools served by high-need LEAs.

The partnerships must include (1) one or more high-need LEAs or a State educational agency (SEA) on behalf of one or more high-need LEAs; and (2) one or more eligible institutions of higher education (IHE). Partnerships must provide opportunities to place graduate students of IHEs in school-based mental health fields into schools served by the participating high-need LEAs to complete required field work, credit hours, internships, or related training as applicable for the degree, license, or credential program of each student.

These grants will enable high-need LEAs or SEAs on behalf of high-need LEAs, in partnerships with one or more participating eligible IHEs, to expand the pipeline of school-based mental health services providers for high-need public elementary schools and secondary schools with shortages of school-based mental health service providers. This opportunity contains one absolute priority and two competitive preference priorities:

• Absolute Priority: Expand the capacity of high-need LEAs in partnership with IHEs to train school-based mental health services providers with the goal of expanding the pipeline of these professionals into high-need public elementary schools and secondary schools in order to address the shortages of school-based mental health service providers in such schools
• Competitive Preference Priority 1 – Fostering Knowledge and Promoting the Development of Skills That Prepare Students To Be Informed, Thoughtful, and Productive Individuals and Citizens
• Competitive Preference Priority 2 – Protecting Freedom of Speech and Encouraging Respectful Interactions in a Safe Educational Environment

Amount: Approximately $15,000,000 is available to make up to 50 awards ranging from $250,000-$500,000 and averaging $300,000 for a project period of up to 60 months.

Eligibility: High-need LEAs and SEAs on behalf of one or more high-need LEA(s). Applicants must propose to work in partnership with an eligible IHE.

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=317171

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