H79SM085325

RI Project Aware Cohort 2 - Rhode Island Project Aware (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education)

The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), in partnership with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), proposes to work with the Cranston, West Warwick, and Westerly school districts. This project aims to impact 24,330 students in order to increase awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth. The goal is to provide training for school personnel and other adults who interact with school-aged youth to detect and respond to mental health issues, as well as connect their families to needed services.

This project will build on the successes of the current Project Aware districts (SM18-006), which have established collaborative partnerships at the state, district, and local levels. These partnerships aim to raise awareness and address the mental health needs of youth in three high-poverty, racially and ethnically diverse communities.

In Rhode Island, one in five (19%) children ages 6-17 has a diagnosable mental health problem, and one in ten (10%) has a significant functional impairment. RIDE, DCYF, and its partners will continue to build strong collaborative partnerships to oversee behavioral health efforts in local education agencies (LEAs) that serve school-aged youth with behavioral health disorders.

The collective impact of our state partnership will be mirrored by a similar partnership within the three LEAs, in collaboration with local community mental health treatment provider agencies. This collaboration aims to ensure that school prevention and intervention programs and services are linked to existing resources and/or new capacity to support students is created.

The following goals will support the process:

Goal 1: Increase and improve access to culturally competent and developmentally appropriate school- and community-based mental health services for all school-aged youth, particularly those with significant emotional disturbance (SED) or serious mental illness (SMI).

Goal 2: Ensure adequate staffing of school behavioral health specialists to screen, provide early intervention, and make appropriate referrals for children and adolescents exhibiting symptoms consistent with mental disorder(s) or SED.

Goal 3: Conduct outreach and engagement with school-aged youth and their families to increase awareness and identification of mental health issues and promote positive mental health.

Goal 4: Increase capacity at the district level to connect families, schools, and communities, and increase engagement and involvement in planning and implementing school and community programs for school-aged youth.

Goal 5: Increase the capacity and coordination of state agencies (e.g. RIDE, DCYF, and partners) to support school districts in helping youth improve social-emotional learning (SEL), avert the development of mental and behavioral health disorders, and prevent youth violence.

Goal 6: Equip schools with the ability to immediately identify and respond to the needs of youth who may be exhibiting behavioral/psychological signs of severity indicating the need for clinical intervention.

Goal 7: Develop an infrastructure that will sustain and expand mental health and behavioral health services and supports for school-aged youth beyond the funding period.

Rhode Island Department Of Elementary And Secondary Education

SAMHSA WAS GIVEN THE AUTHORITY TO ADDRESS PRIORITY SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT, PREVENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF REGIONAL AND NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE THROUGH ASSISTANCE (GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS) TO STATES, POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF STATES, INDIAN TRIBES AND TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND OTHER PUBLIC OR NONPROFIT PRIVATE ENTITIES. UNDER THESE SECTIONS, CSAT, CMHS AND CSAP SEEK TO EXPAND THE AVAILABILITY OF EFFECTIVE SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT AND RECOVERY SERVICES AVAILABLE TO AMERICANS TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF THOSE AFFECTED BY ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDITIONS, AND TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE ON INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES AND SOCIETIES AND TO ADDRESS PRIORITY MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF REGIONAL AND NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE AND ASSIST CHILDREN IN DEALING WITH VIOLENCE AND TRAUMATIC EVENTS THROUGH BY FUNDING GRANT AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PROJECTS. GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS MAY BE FOR (1) KNOWLEDGE AND DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION PROJECTS FOR TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION AND THE CONDUCT OR SUPPORT OF EVALUATIONS OF SUCH PROJECTS, (2) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, (3) TARGETED CAPACITY RESPONSE PROGRAMS (4) SYSTEMS CHANGE GRANTS INCLUDING STATEWIDE FAMILY NETWORK GRANTS AND CLIENT-ORIENTED AND CONSUMER RUN SELF-HELP ACTIVITIES AND (5) PROGRAMS TO FOSTER HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN, (6) COORDINATION AND INTEGRATION OF PRIMARY CARE SERVICES INTO PUBLICLY-FUNDED COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS AND OTHER COMMUNITY-BASED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SETTINGS

93.243 - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance

Division of Grants Management [HHS - SAMHSA]

Providence, Rhode Island 029033414 United States

Single Zip Code

Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) State Education Agency Grants (SM-21-006)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 400% from $1,800,000 to $9,000,000.