HHS Announces $25M Grant Program to Expand Mental Health Care Services in Schools
By Consumers for Quality Care, on April 5, 2023
![HHS Announces $25M Grant Program to Expand Mental Health Care Services in Schools](https://consumers4qualitycare.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cdc-Vqt9v7v6g44-unsplash-860x400.jpg)
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award $25 million to schools to improve primary care, with a focus on mental health services, according to Fierce Healthcare.
The grant will be awarded through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which currently funds more than 3,400 school-based health care programs. HRSA intends to grant 70 awards to expand existing health care sites and build new ones.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health concerns that had already existed among children. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona addressed this worry in a letter to the nation’s governors last year, writing that the COVID-19 pandemic had sizable impacts on children’s mental health and that mental health services in schools is essential for the continued well-being of children.
CQC encourages further efforts to be made to increase the accessibility and availability of mental health services, particularly for young people.