August 1, 2022

The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced two new actions to strengthen school-based mental health services and address the youth mental health crisis, in support of the strategies laid out in the President’s comprehensive national mental health strategy.

The first of these actions is awarding nearly $300 million secured through the FY2022 bipartisan omnibus agreement to expand access to mental health services in schools. This week, the Department of Education will begin to distribute these funds to help schools hire more school-based mental health professionals, and build a strong pipeline into the profession for the upcoming school year.

Of these dollars, $140 million will go to the Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) Demonstration grant program, and $140 million will go towards the School-Based Mental Health (SMBH) Services grant program. Future funding will go towards fostering trauma-informed services in schools, expanding mental health services through full-service community schools, and responding to childhood trauma associated with community violence.

The second action announced is that the administration has encouraged governors to invest more in school-based mental health services. The Departments of Education and Health and Human Services sent a letter to governors across the country, highlighting federal resources available to states and schools to invest in mental health services for students.

Click here to read additional details on these two actions in a White House Fact Sheet.