Declining mental health in children, teens, and adolescents.
If your district is looking for funding to improve mental health care for students, now’s your chance – apply for grants of up to $500,000 annually from New York State (NYS). The state is allocating up to $10 million each year over five years for eligible school districts to improve access to mental health care and supporting students who have experienced trauma that impacts their educational experience. The NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) invites all eligible districts to apply by 3 PM EST on May 25.
Why Are These Grants Important?
Providing aid to economically disadvantaged students.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is waning, the impact on children’s and teens’ mental health, education and lives will likely last for years. As reported by Pew Charitable Trusts, “The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association declared that the pandemic-related decline in child and adolescent mental health has become a national emergency.”
Statistics supporting this assertion are staggering:
- A Journal of the American Medical Association for Pediatrics study found children and adolescents were more likely than adults to be completely isolated from others their age.
- 18% to 60% had strong distress and showed symptoms of anxiety and depression.
- Child protection referrals dropped between 27% and 40% suggesting signs of abuse or neglect were unnoticed due to the limited contact with educators.
- More than 140,000 students lost a primary or secondary caretaker to the pandemic.
- Nearly 40% of high school students reported poor mental health during the first half of 2021. More than 44% students reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless within the past year, with nearly 20% saying they’d seriously considered attempting suicide and 9% attempting suicide in that period.
(Sources: EdWeek, Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, CDC)
School districts, teachers and parents need assistance to help the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society – our children. Grants available through NYS can help.
Who’s Eligible?
the weak and vulnerable members of our society
A district is eligible to apply if its 2019-2020 economically disadvantaged student rate was above 55.6%. Each eligible school district (or Geographic School District in New York City) may submit one application addressing a single or multiple schools. Find a list of eligible school districts on the NYS Grants Gateway.
What Can Grants Be Used For?
Increasing access to mental health services for students
Grants focus on driving progress around three primary objectives: enhance student access to mental health services, implement integrated mental health supports, and strengthen partnerships with existing supports within the mental health system and the larger child-serving system. The Request for Proposal (RFP) identifies options to achieve each objective; applicants must choose one option to implement for each objective. More information is available in the RFP on the OMH website.
When Do Milestones Have to Be Completed?
May 18 is the deadline for submitting a Letter of Intent. (E-mail Carol Swiderski at carol.swiderski@omh.ny.gov and put Letter of Intent in the subject line).
May 25 at 3 PM EST is the deadline for submitting a proposal.
It’s anticipated that award notifications will occur June 22 and contract dates will start July 1.
Where Does My District Apply?
Apply using the NYS Grants Gateway System (GGS). (If you are not currently registered, you can find required forms at https://grantsmanagement.ny.gov/register-your-organization.) Submit proposals via the GGS by the May 25 (3 PM EST) deadline. Late proposals will not be accepted.
To apply:
- Log into the Grants Gateway
- Click on the View Opportunities button under View Available Opportunities
- In the Search Criteria, enter “Student Mental Health Support Grants to School Districts”
- Select the Office of Mental Health as the Funding Agency and click Search
- Click “Student Mental Health Support Grants to School Districts” and then click on the “APPLY FOR GRANT OPPORTUNITY” at the bottom left of the Main page of the Grant Opportunity.
For additional information, refer to the Vendor User Guide and these webinars and videos.
How Will Awards Be Determined?
Each proposal will be evaluated for each of the following:
- Enhance access to Mental Health services — 20 points
- Implement integrated supports – 20 points
- Strengthen Partnerships – 20 points
- Reporting – 15 points
- Financial accountability – 20 points
- Gun violence focal school districts – 5 points
Proposals will be scored, and awards will be made to the highest scoring applications until funds are exhausted or until there are no fundable applications remaining.
RBT CPAs are available to take care of all all your accounting and financial planning needs. Give us a call so (if eligible) you are freed up to focus on something more important to your district and students – applying for grants to support mental health.