H79SM088019

Project CAL-WELL - Building on the success of two prior cohorts of Project CAL-WELL, the California Department of Education (CDE), in partnership with the Department of Healthcare Services, Stanislaus County Office of Education (COE), and Santa Cruz COE, proposes to serve 23,117 students in 37 schools from seven school districts annually.

This expansion of the Project CAL-WELL model will target school districts from both the Central Coast and Central Valley of California and serve a range of student mental health needs related to poverty, ethnic minority status, and experiences of community trauma after a natural disaster.

Project CAL-WELL is intended to expand access to mental health services for students through leveraging and aligning existing mental health investments and resources to improve student mental health outcomes, promote resiliency, reduce risk of suicide, and create a sustainable infrastructure.

Project CAL-WELL will utilize a comprehensive three-tier public health model of evidence-based interventions that are developmentally appropriate and culturally competent in expanding school and community-based mental health services.

The first goal of the project is to provide a comprehensive mental health awareness program targeting youth, families, and school staff that creates a de-stigmatized school climate that is conducive to addressing the mental health needs of students.

This will be done by implementing suicide awareness and prevention policies; training students in suicide awareness and prevention; training school staff in how to recognize and referring students in need to appropriate services; developing school safety and violence prevention programs; and establishing multi-disciplinary risk assessment teams.

The second goal is to increase access to and availability of sustainable culturally competent and developmentally appropriate school-based mental health programs to screen and provide early intervention for youth at-risk for development of mental health or substance use disorders.

This will be done by developing partnerships to expand access to services; developing processes to screen and identify youth in need of services; and providing brief intervention services.

The third goal is to build partnerships and cross-system collaborations to increase and improve access to tertiary intervention and behavioral health treatment for youth with mental health and substance use needs.

This will be done by partnering with community-based organizations to serve as referral sources; refining systems to ensure that youth receive necessary services; and developing crisis response protocols.

Project CAL-WELL is leveraging the $4.7 billion unprecedented commitments from California on transformational system change to support the behavioral health of children and youth under the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative.

While many school districts in California benefited from new mental health resources, many are temporary and fragmented.

It is the intent of Project CAL-WELL to leverage existing and new mental health resources under the three-tier public health model, align them to districts' goals, and sustain them through untapped Medi-Cal funds.

As the state lead, the CDE will support the COEs and districts in implementing school-based mental health interventions through technical assistance.

Partnering with an experienced university-level evaluator will allow Project CAL-WELL to collect robust data to document lessons learned and to disseminate best practices through briefs and webinars to share with other districts throughout the state.

California Department of 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]

Sacramento, California 958145901 United States

Single Zip Code

Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) Program (SM-23-001)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 190% from $1,800,000 to $5,211,540.