H79SM087507

RI Project AWARE Cohort 3 - 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 Chariho, East Providence, Newport, and Warwick school districts, impacting 18,396 students. The goal is to increase awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth, provide training for school personnel and other adults who interact with school-aged youth to detect and respond to mental health issues, and connect their families to needed services.

This project will build on the successes of the current Project AWARE districts (2018 and 2021 cohorts) with successfully established collaborative partnerships at the state, district, and local level. The aim is to raise awareness and address the mental health needs of youth in four high-need communities.

In Rhode Island, one in five (19%) children aged 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 four LEAs, in collaboration with local community mental health treatment provider agencies. The goal is 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 awareness and identification of mental health, substance use, and co-occurring issues among school-aged youth through systemic enhancements.

Goal 2: Increase mental health literacy of individuals who interact with school-aged youth to understand and detect the signs and symptoms of mental health, substance use/misuse, and co-occurring disorders as part of a Tier 1 approach.

Goal 3: Support LEAs in promoting and fostering resilience building and mental health well-being for all school-aged youth using Tier 1 strategies.

Goal 4: Support LEAs in providing positive behavioral health supports; targeted services to those who need more support; and intensive services to those who need them within a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS).

Goal 5: Develop and enhance referral pathways that connect school-aged youth who may have behavioral health issues, including symptoms consistent with a serious mental illness (SMI) or serious emotional disturbance (SED), and their families to needed services to support Tier 3 interventions.

Goal 6: Increase access to culturally competent, developmentally appropriate, and trauma-informed school and community-based AWARE grant activities and services.

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) (SM-22-018)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been shortened from 12/30/26 to 09/29/26 and the total obligations have increased 100% from $3,600,000 to $7,200,000.