Gonzalez Nets $2.2M in Grants for University Mental Health

April 3, 2023 by Dan McCue
Gonzalez Nets $2.2M in Grants for University Mental Health
(University of Texas Rio Grande Valley photo)

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, announced this week that the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, will receive two grants, worth $2,238,994, over a period of five years to train school-based mental health service providers.

The grants, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Education, are part of the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Program that provides grants for employment training in schools and local educational agencies. 

The grants themselves are the Project Mental Health Service Access 2 program, which will be providing the university with $1,089,608, and the Project Mental Health Services Demonstration Grant Program, which will add another $1,149,386. 

“Mental health is proving to be one of the most pressing issues facing our children and communities,” said Gonzalez.

“This funding will train the next generation of mental health professionals that will serve our community. I thank the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, for all their work in serving our community,” he added.

Thanks to these grants, over 100 graduate students will be trained over the next five years to serve school districts throughout the Rio Grande Valley, including Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District, Mercedes Independent School District, Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, South Texas Independent School District and IDEA Public Schools. 

Dr. Nancy Peña Razo, professor of practice/program coordinator at the university’s Department of Human Development and School Services, said she and her team, as well as their graduate students, “are ready to provide the necessary mental health services in schools to our K-12 students.”

“These grants are also allowing us to build upon the infrastructure for referrals in schools of students for additional intervention when it is needed,” she said.

“There are so many events in the lives of children that are affecting their mental health,” Peña Razo continued. “We are glad that we can support our graduate students in their continued training to be school-based mental health service providers, and they, in turn, provide direct intervention to our K-12 students. 

“It is a win-win all around. We have amazing local education agency (school district) partners who have welcomed our project with open arms to support their students,” she added.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue

A+
a-
  • Department of Education
  • grants
  • mental health
  • University
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Education

    February 20, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Supreme Court Lets Virginia High School Keep ‘Race Neutral’ Admissions Policy

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The U.S. Supreme Court decided Tuesday to allow a Virginia high school to choose its own racially... Read More

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The U.S. Supreme Court decided Tuesday to allow a Virginia high school to choose its own racially influenced admissions policy rather than intervening at the request of Asian American students. The elite Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria adopted... Read More

    Cough? Sore Throat? More Schools Suggest Mildly Sick Kids Attend Anyway

    Trenace Dorsey-Hollins’ 5-year-old daughter was sick a lot last year. Dorsey-Hollins followed school guidelines and kept her home when she... Read More

    Trenace Dorsey-Hollins’ 5-year-old daughter was sick a lot last year. Dorsey-Hollins followed school guidelines and kept her home when she had a cough or a sore throat — or worse — until she was completely better. Near the end of the year, the school in Fort... Read More

    January 29, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    CMS Announces $50M in Grants for School-Based Health Services for Children

    WASHINGTON — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced $50 million in grants for states to connect millions more... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced $50 million in grants for states to connect millions more children to critical health care services, particularly for mental health, at school.  Made possible by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the grants will provide 20 states... Read More

    Some Americans Will Get Their Student Loans Canceled in February as Biden Accelerates New Plan

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will start canceling student loans for some borrowers in February as part of a new... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will start canceling student loans for some borrowers in February as part of a new repayment plan that's taking effect nearly six months ahead of schedule. Loan forgiveness was originally set to begin in July under the new SAVE repayment plan, but... Read More

    January 8, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    EPA Awards Nearly $1B in Clean School Bus Program Grants

    WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced that it will award nearly $1 billion to 67 applicants as... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced that it will award nearly $1 billion to 67 applicants as a result of its very first clean school bus program grant competition. The agency said the awards will enable the selected applicants to purchase more than... Read More

    Ohio’s GOP Governor Vetoes Ban on Gender-Affirming Care and Transgender Athletes in Girls' Sports

    COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a measure Friday that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors, casting... Read More

    COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a measure Friday that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors, casting the action out of step with many in his own party as thoughtful, limited and “pro-life.” He simultaneously announced plans to move to administratively ban transgender... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top