Bipartisan Bill Aims to Improve Access to Mental Health Grants

U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced the bipartisan Creating Access and Resources in Education (CARE) for Student Mental Health Act to authorize and improve on the school mental health personnel grants. CEC is among many organizations that endorsed the bill, which would facilitate access to mental health resources for schools that currently face mental health professional staff shortages. Key provisions of the bill include: authorizing and streamlining the Strengthening the Pipeline of School-Based Mental Health Services Providers Program; authorizing the School-Based Mental Health Services Program to assist schools in recruiting and retaining qualified mental health personnel; and requiring the U.S. Department of Education to improve outreach and technical assistance to schools with limited capacity to apply for federal funds.

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