Grants Dashboard

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and its partner, the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (TDMHSAS), are requesting federal funds to expand access to school-based mental health services for some of the state's most disadvantaged schools and communities. TDOE seeks to build on its proven track record of success under the first AWARE-SEA grant and current AWARE-SEA grant by expanding school-community mental health partnerships and school-based programs and services within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework. TDOE and TDMHSAS will partner with three rural districts across Tennessee's three Grand Regions- Scott County Schools in East Tennessee, Bledsoe County Schools in Middle Tennessee, and Haywood County School in West Tennessee. Districts were selected based on need criteria and a demonstrated willingness, readiness, and commitment to build comprehensive, quality mental health initiatives in schools. The comprehensive project plan will guide local implementation of an array of evidence-based, school and community mental health services and professional development opportunities appropriate for school settings and populations served. The project, as proposed, represents a strong opportunity for Tennessee to build on its AWARE foundation and continue to refine models for integrating mental health into schools to more effectively address unmet needs for treatment.

This Minnesota AWARE-SEA Project will expand previous work in school-based mental health by implementing evidence-based practices which will positively impact student mental health across the continuum from prevention to treatment services. LEA partners are: Northeast Metro 916 Intermediate District (1,000 of the most high-need students from 14 eastern metro districts), Duluth Public Schools (8,358 students in NE MN), and St. Louis County Schools (1,956 students in rural N MN). Working together and learning from these different types of districts will help MDE and its’ state partners build our capacity to develop effective policy and provide high-quality training and technical assistance to all districts in Minnesota. MN Project AWARE staff will also support LEAs in establishing the infrastructure necessary to bill Medicaid for school-based mental health services and collaborate to make the policy changes needed for such Medicaid expansion to occur to address sustainability of direct services to students. This project will serve: 75 new students in Year 1, 100 new students in both Year 2 and 3, and 125 new students in both Year 4 and 5 for 525 new students total; 11,314 indirectly in the 3 LEAS; and 850,000 statewide. Project goals and objectives include: 1) Increase capacity of the three LEAs to implement comprehensive school mental health systems. a. By December 2021, train-the-trainer cadres will be developed for Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) and for Sources of Strength (SOS). b. By February of 2022, two key staff from each LEA will be trained on Cognitive Behavior Interventions for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) and Bounce Back (BB). c. By April 2022, all school staff in each of the LEAs will receive training in the school mental health referrals pathways protocol. d. By September 2022, all school staff will receive training on trauma informed schools and adverse childhood experiences (ACES). e. By September 2022, student supports teams from each LEA will be trained on CBITS and BB. 2) Increase access to quality, sustainable, culturally responsive, and developmentally appropriate school-based mental health services and supports. a. By August 2023, the LEAs will have defined the Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF). b. By October 2022, CBITS and BB will be utilized as a Tier 2 interventions for students who have been exposed to trauma. c. By December 2021, all LEAs will participate in the School Health Assessment Performance and Evaluation (SHAPE) system. 3) Improve policy, practices, and sustainability for Comprehensive School Mental Health (CSMH) Systems across Minnesota. a. By January 2023, MN Project AWARE staff will have developed two statewide train-the-trainer cadres in YMHFA and for SOS. b. By August 2023, MN Project AWARE staff will train 100 licensed school staff from across Minnesota on identified evidence-based programs (EBPs), outside of the three LEAs. c. By August 2024, MN Project AWARE staff will train 100 district staff on the PREPaRE Model to increase their capacity to respond to school crises. d. By September 2026, 150 districts across the state of Minnesota will have completed the SHAPE assessment and CSMH curriculum training. e. By August 2026, six partner LEAs will have established infrastructure f. By August 2024, a model for reflective consultation for teachers supporting student mental health will be established, piloted, and assessed 4) Increase outreach and engagement with school-aged youth and their families to promote mental health awareness across Minnesota. a. By December 2021, each of the LEAs will have a Project AWARE Advisory Group b. By May 2022, each Project AWARE LEA will host two community-wide mental health awareness events. c. By October 2022, MN Project AWARE staff from each LEA will train a student group on the YMHFA and SOS peer-to-peer programs. d. By August 2022, MN Project AWARE staff will build capacity of LEAs to conduct inclusive family engagement on CSMH

The Oklahoma State Department of Education, in partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, will address the mental health of children, youth, families, and communities by coordinating and integrating mental health services to 15,212 students per year enrolled in three high-need LEAs (32 school sites) including Lawton, Davis, and Sulphur Public Schools in south central Oklahoma. The LEAs have been targeted based on their lack of mental health service availability and access, their high incidence of suicide attempts and ideation, and multiple high risk factors such as high minority populations (predominately American Indian students), chronic absenteeism and access and availability of drugs and alcohol. The project goals are to (1) Provide training for school personnel and others who interact with school-aged youth to detect and respond to mental health issues; (2) Improve student discipline; and (3) Build a comprehensive mental health infrastructure and conduct outreach and engagement with school-aged youth, families and community to increase awareness and identification, and increase needed services. The objectives include a minimum of 15 hours of mental health professional development for teachers per year, a decrease in student discipline and suspensions, and an increase in positive responses to tiered intervention supports for students. The project will provide statewide services such as trauma-informed training and the development of an Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF), a coordinated system of resources, stakeholders and partnerships so LEAs can support all students by working together. The ISF is an implementation framework developed by national leaders in the field of school mental health and academic support to advance a more effective and efficient system of social emotional, behavioral health and academic success. LEA services will include the hiring of licensed counseling staff to provide intervention support to students, community, student, and parent engagement activities led by a community manager, professional development in creating a multi-tiered system of support for mental health services to students, universal mental health screenings for all students, and prevention and intervention mental health services. Evidenced-based training that will be provided to teachers, mental health staff, youth, and members of the community will include the PAX Good Behavior Game, Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress, and Mental Health First Aid training for adults and youth. In addition, mental health intervention teams in each LEA will utilize formal processes for selecting a continuum of additional evidence based programs based on the likelihood of desired impact on identified needs.

Project AWARE operates on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to serve K–12 students that experience disproportionately high rates of historical and contemporary traumas. By implementing a trauma-informed school model, the project equips students, parents, families, and community members to appropriately respond to trauma and provide mental and behavioral health interventions. PROJECT NAME: Project AWARE on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO BE SERVED: 2,522 (lifetime). 1,210 (unduplicated individuals to be served in year 1); 328 (unduplicated individuals to be served in year 2, 3, 4, and 5). POPULATION TO BE SERVED: This project will serve K–12 students enrolled at four schools on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation: 99% of students are Native American. Students served have high rates of traumatic backgrounds as measured by the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire; all surveyed students had backgrounds that included some significant trauma. STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS: To address this trauma, Project AWARE will implement the trauma-informed schools model, an evidence-based best-practice. This will permit intervention with mental and behavioral health counseling to help students cope with trauma, heal, and refocus on academic learning. The trauma-informed schools model will be implemented in a culturally relevant manner and include training and services for students, school staff, families, and community members. Our schools partner with a tribally chartered organization, the Oglala Sioux Tribe Health Administration Program, which provides access to telehealth and related services. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Goals: (1) Increase knowledge of local school district staff members to identify, report, and support students demonstrating behavioral/mental health consequences of trauma; (2) Increase student access to culturally competent, evidence-based, behavioral/mental health counseling in their own schools; and (3) Increase positive student perception of the school environment. Each goal has two measurable objectives: (1a) By the end of 2026, all staff members will have received an annual training about the trauma-informed schools model from a certified professional in the subject; (1b) By the end of each year, at least 190 community members will have attended a training about the trauma-informed schools model from a certified presenter. (2a) By the end of December 2021, every school will have at least one full-time wayawa kin slolic’iya wicaye (“WKSW”) focused on mental and behavioral health; (2b) By the end of May 2022, project will develop a common framework for responding to trauma-induced mental/behavioral health concerns displayed by students; (3a) By the end of each year, student Tripod Surveys will increase by at least 5% annually, demonstrating increased positive perception of school environment; and (3b) By December 2021, all schools will be providing individual and small group counseling support sessions for students identified at risk for trauma-induced mental/behavioral health warning signs.

West Virginia Department of Education's (WVDE) 2021 Project AWARE will advance the wellness and resilience of West Virginia students by collaborating with local educational agencies, schools, communities, and families to address the social-emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs of our students. By leveraging stakeholders' resources we will use our varied talents, strengths, and funds to serve our most precious resource - our students. Project AWARE will enable state and local partners to develop a model of sustainable plans and strategies to improve school culture statewide, increase student well-being and success, prepare educators, strengthen collaboration between the state and LEAs, and forge community connections to link and leverage available community resources that serve children and families. This grant will serve 10,000 students and 1,500 educators and other adults annually; serving 50,000 students and 7,500 educators and other adults over the five-year course of the project. West Virginia (WV), home to about 1.8 million people across 24,038 rugged square miles, ranks 44th of 50 states in overall child well-being. Its economic deterioration has been exacerbated by the state's substance misuse crisis, which alone costs the state's economy $8.8 billion a year - the highest per-capita burden in the country, The project will focus on three counties - Fayette, Logan, and Wirt-which in 2019 were Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in mental health. Wirt students have high needs and few resources; 28% of youth are living in poverty and 11% are homeless. Their child and ten death rate is 77.1 per 100,000. Fayette also has 28% of its children living in poverty. The teen birth rate in 2020 was 39.7 per 1,000. In 2019 it ranked 6th in WV for the highest number of overdose fatalities; 61 per 100,000 deaths. In Logan County, 15.5% of babies were born exposed to drugs. Their teen birth rate is 44.2 per 1,000 births; 31% of children live in poverty. The county ranked 4th in WV for the highest number of fatal overdose deaths at 81 per 100,000. WVDE's Project AWARE will meet its overall project goals of increasing the capacity of state and local educational and behavioral health systems to provide direct, comprehensive services to students and to increase awareness of and training in mental health through evidence-based practices including Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Expanded School Mental Health (ESMH). The project schools will receive focused guidance, support, and technical assistance to improve, increase, and strengthen the mental health services available to students and their families, as well as licensed mental health professionals to provide direct, on-site services and to coordinate care through outside service providers. Project evaluation will consist of both process and outcome measures, assessing, among other things, infrastructure development, service delivery, and sustainability in addressing students' mental health needs to ensure goals are met, initiatives are effective, and to promote wide-scale adoption of successful practices and programs.

Based on alarming youth statistics, identified LEA partner concerns and shortage of mental health professionals, Indiana’s priority needs are to increase: awareness of mental health needs and supports in partner LEAs, sustainability and capacity of programs and mental health workforce, early identification & intervention of mental health-related concerns, student/family access to mental health supports through school and community-based initiatives, equity in mental health service delivery and outcomes, and to decrease stigma associated with mental wellness topics and mental illness. IDOE and DMHA will work closely with LEAs to evaluate and address any existing disparities in delivery and outcomes associated with LEA mental health infrastructure, access, grant activities and decision-making. Increasing culturally competent workforce will be foundational to Project AWARE and will be explicitly and continuously addressed to meet the need of increasing equity in mental health service delivery and outcomes.

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE), in partnership with the Florida Department of Children and Families, is requesting $8.79 million over five years for The Building Resiliency in Diverse Groups of Empowered Stakeholders (BRIDGES) program. Through BRIDGES, the State of Florida aims to reduce stigma and increase awareness of, and better detect and respond to, mental health issues among school-aged youth in three of Florida's local educational agencies (LEAs). Bay District Schools has 182,161 residents and 49 public schools serving 25,280 students. Bay County’s population is 81% White, 11% Black, 6.5% Hispanic and 2.3% Asian; 14.6% of the population lives below the poverty line. Gulf County Schools has 15,576 residents and 7 public schools serving 1,840 students. Gulf County’s population is 79.5% White, 17.2% Black, 4.4% Hispanic and .5% Asian; 12.9% of the population lives below the poverty line. Jackson County School District has 47,945 residents, 20 public schools serving 6,248 students. Jackson County’s population is 68.9% White, 26.8% Black, 4.4% Hispanic and .5% Asian; 19.4% of the population lives below the poverty line (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). The areas chosen were struggling even before the pandemic began as a result of significant damage sustained during devastating natural disasters in recent years that resulted in increased mental health needs and decreased health care capacity. These challenges were exacerbated by the global pandemic, which has had significant health and economic impacts on students and their families. BRIDGES is comprised of four goals, all of which are set to be fully achieved by September 2026: 1) all LEAs will build capacity of school and community-based resources to respond to the needs of students exhibiting signs and symptoms that warrant mental health behavioral services; 2) all LEAs will implement mental health awareness training to school staff and other adult stakeholders who interact with school-aged youth to reduce stigma and raise awareness of, detect and respond to mental health issues; 3) all participating schools will enhance school climate with programming to promote the healthy development of school-aged youth, prevent youth violence, and reduce the number of students referred for disciplinary action; and 4) the SEA leadership team will have ensured that the LEAs have completed all goals and objectives related to meeting the needs of students with mental health/trauma concerns and have addressed policy and practice application to other districts in Florida. With this agreement, we propose to provide immediate behavioral health services to an unduplicated total of 675 students in need; train 45 school-based mental health providers in evidence-based interventions; expand the network of youth-serving community-based organizations; train 800 school and community-based staff in evidence-based Youth Mental Health First Aid; conduct school climate surveys that will guide the development of a plan to enhance outcomes; implement the evidence-based curriculums “Second Step” (elementary and middle school), and evidence-based Merrell’s Strong Kids (high schools) in the 12 participating schools; reduce the number of students referred for disciplinary action; and form a leadership team that will work to ensure best practices from the project are extended to benefit students throughout the State of Florida.

This grant will fund three Local Education Agencies (LEAs) on the Flathead Indian Reservation to implement evidence-based and culturally competent tribal resiliency practices. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe’s (CSKT) Project AWARE will develop capacity in local tribal youth to support themselves and their peers through awareness and tribal resiliency. The participating LEAs include three of the Flathead Reservation’s districts with the largest tribal student enrollment, Polson School District with 1,660 students of whom 395 or 23.8% are American Indian students, Ronan School District with 1,436 students of whom 872 or 60.7% are American Indian students and St. Ignatius School District with 493 students of whom 270 or 54.8% are American Indian students. Goal 1: Increase the awareness and capacity of tribal students and staff to prevent and respond to mental health issues using tribal resiliency: Objective 1: By the end of Year 5, the percent of middle and HS students demonstrating tribal resiliency and mental health literacy will increase by 15% from baseline. Objective 2: By the end of Year 5, at least 2,000 individuals including staff and students will receive training in tribal resiliency practices/activities: Objective 3: By the end of Year 5, 75 tribal youth will be trained tribal resiliency mentors. Goal 2: Increase the capacity of three Local Education Agencies in Montana to connect tribal youth with tribal lifeways and practices as prevention to mental health issues: Objective 1: By the end of Year 5, at least 75 staff members from the three LEAs will be trained in tribal resiliency: Objective 2: By the end of year 5, 100% of tribal students in all three LEAs will be receiving Tier 1 universal tribal resiliency support, 10% of tribal students will be receiving Tier 2 tribal resiliency support in the form of mentor training, and 5% of students will be receiving Tier 3 tribal resiliency support in LEAs. Tribal students on the Flathead Indian Reservation face immense disparities, historical and continual traumas that can sometimes lead them down a path of self-destruction. The CSKT Project AWARE Project will utilize Tribal Restorative Practices to help support them in becoming resilient young people who are strong in their cultural identity, and focused on their well-being.

MOAWARE is a collaboration of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH), and three Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to address the mental health needs of youth through evidence-based promotion, prevention, treatment, and maintenance practices. MOAWARE supports interventions for 21,500 students plus school personnel and family/community members living in Kansas City, St. Louis County, and Kennett. The selected school communities have significant health disparities and unmet needs for mental health professionals. Participating LEAs were chosen for their substantial community need, demonstrated commitment to improving mental health outcomes, and readiness to achieve MOAWARE goals. All LEAs build upon existing partnerships with community mental health agencies to strengthen the local infrastructure through training, systems, and direct service. Missouri’s leading experts provide technical assistance in trauma, Mental Health First Aid, social-emotional learning, and school-based mental health services. The six goals are: 1. Increase school-based mental health infrastructures at participating schools. 2. Increase capacity of school staff to employ evidence-based tools and systems of support to detect and respond to mental health issues. 3. Increase early identification of student mental health needs. 4. Increase timely access to culturally competent and developmentally appropriate interventions. 5. Increase student/family access to treatment, wrap-around resources, and services. 6. Improve social-emotional environment at schools. The central evidence-based practices are organized under local Student Assistance Programs that offer school-based mental health services by qualified professionals. MOAWARE is accelerating the adoption of universal screening, Mental Health First Aid, best-in-class information management systems, and peer support. Evaluation activities are designed around key performance indicators that link to clear, measurable objectives for each goal.

The NM Public Education Department is ideally positioned to partner with the NM Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD) to implement Project AWARE’s broad-scale mental health services and training in three Local Education Agencies (LEAs): Socorro Consolidated Schools in Socorro County, Farmington Municipal Schools in San Juan County, and Santa Fe Public Schools in Santa Fe County. All three LEAs have high rates of families speaking languages other than English in the home: Socorro 39%, San Juan 30% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019), and Santa Fe 36% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019a) and high rates of children living in poverty (26.3% in San Juan, 35.5% in Socorro, and 19% in Santa Fe; NMDOH, 2020). The purpose of Project AWARE is to expand the capacity of the SEA (NM Public Education Department; PED) in partnership with the Children’s SMHA (NM Children, Youth and Families Department; CYFD), and three LEAs located in Socorro, Farmington, and Santa Fe to promote the healthy development of school-aged youth and prevent youth violence. The goals are to: (1) increase awareness of MH issues among school-aged youth; (2) provide training for school personnel and other adults who interact with school-aged youth to detect and respond to MH issues; (3) connect school-aged youth who may have MH issues (including serious emotional disturbance [SED] or serious mental illness [SMI]), and their families, to needed services; (4) Develop the infrastructure to sustain MH services & supports for school- aged youth after funding ends; and (5) utilize program evaluation to ensure continuous quality improvement. One hundred youth will be served annually, with 500 youth served over the life of the grant.

Nebraska's AWARE-SEA Project 2.0 addresses the high level of mental and behavioral health needs of school-aged children in rural schools, including depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, and trauma. Educators statewide have reported feeling unprepared to handle the severity of mental health issues arising daily in schools. Training for school staff to better address students' mental and behavioral health needs has been identified as a critical priority. In response, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services - Division of Behavioral Health (DHHS-DBH) are partnering at the State level to collaborate with the three Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to improve school-based mental health services. The LEAs of Lexington, Nebraska City and Valentine are demographically and geographically diverse, with varying levels of poverty and scarcity of mental health resources. Two sites have higher free/reduced lunch, indicative of poverty and student mobility. All three LEAs have strong, long-standing track records of successful collaborations with State and local partners, including mental health providers, community organizations, the business and private sector, and stakeholders, including students and families. The project's goals include: 1) prevention of mental health and behavioral disorders among students by providing positive, supportive, and trauma-informed learning environments; 2) increasing student resilience and pro-social behaviors; 3) increasing availability of school-based mental health services; 4) increasing schools' capacity to identify and immediately respond to the mental health needs of students exhibiting behavioral or psychological signs requiring clinical intervention; and 5) increasing schools' capacity to identify and intervene in bullying and aggressive behaviors of students which may contribute to school violence. Through the implementation of evidence-based, trauma-informed practices in mental health screening, assessment, interventions, and treatment, up to 5,227 students will be served through the project each year, with up to 6,795 served in the schools across five years. Selected practices to enhance school climate, student resilience and pro-social behaviors, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), will be employed in each of the three districts, accompanied by Functional Behavioral Assessment and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS). Nebraska is a recipient of the FY 2018 Project AWARE Grant, and the FY 2021 Project will have the opportunity to build upon the successes and lessons learned from the initial grant.

LA AWARE 2 is a collaborative effort of the Louisiana Department of Education, the Louisiana Department of Health- Office of Behavioral Health, the Community Project Managers the in the current AWARE-SEA grant and the LSU-Social Research and Evaluation Center AWARE Team. The purpose of LA AWARE 2 is to expand and enhance mental health services in the three partner school systems: Avoyelles, Natchitoches, and Tangipahoa. These three school systems were selected due to high percentages of schools identified as Urgent Intervention Required-Discipline as the result of their high percentages of out-of-school suspension that have been more than two times greater than the national average, specifically for student subgroups disproportionally impacted by exclusionary discipline practices. All three school systems are designated as rural districts and the percentages of students identified as economically disadvantaged exceed the state average. The three systems represent the northwest, central and eastern geographical regions of our state. The foundation for La AWARE 2 is the incorporation of trauma informed practices in schools promote an understanding of the impact of current and past experiences on the school-aged youth’s current behavior and mental health. This practice promotes positive, pro-active strategies to increase and enhance student engagement which support the development of overall mental health. The LA AWARE 2 model is based on the multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework which promotes increasing awareness of mental health issues through education at the lowest level to providing more intensive direct services for school-aged youth at the highest level of need. The LA AWARE 2 will also use evidence-based Social-Emotional-Learning (SEL) curricula and data based decision making to provide a clear framework to address mental health and behavior issues while promoting a healthy school climate and culture. The goals of the LA AWARE 2 are: (1) Increase awareness of mental health issues impacting students and families through a comprehensive workforce development training plan to develop and support infrastructure development in the three partner school systems and participating schools;(2) Establish a network of mental health providers to increase student and family access to services in the school and community; (3) Increase the partner school systems and families’ ability to identify students that may be experiencing mental health issues that are impacting their success and well-being in the school, home and community; (4) Ensure the three partner school systems are providing direct services to students with mental health needs and their families no later than January 30, 2022; and (5) Evaluate the overall impact of LA AWARE 2 through the implementation of the performance assessment and data collection process that includes all required components. The objectives to accomplish these goals include: the development and implementation of a comprehensive workforce development training plan at the state and local levels; promote increased collaboration between the local school systems and the mental health provider organizations; contracting with partner university to enhance and expand the data collection system and performance measurement system used in the current AWARE-SEA grant and provide assistance and training to the three partner school systems to ensure project goals are implemented with fidelity. Funds from this project will be allocated to the three partner school systems to increase the number of mental health provider and mental health services available to students. During Year 1 of the project, 1024 students requiring brief interventions and/or more intensive mental health services with an estimated increase of .25% annually for a total of 2048 students overall.

AZ Project Aware II is informed by lessons learned and experience implementing AZ Project AWARE FY18 AWARE-SEA, SM080976 and will address the specific service gaps identified in three new partnering LEAs to promote awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth and connect school-aged youth who have mental disorders and their families to school- and community-based mental health services in each of the three underserved LEAs/communities. Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) will work in collaboration with Glendale Union High School District. Maricopa Unified School District and Roosevelt Elementary School District. These districts represent underserved populations with a high economic hardship indicator. To address the needs of these communities the project will build awareness of mental wellness, and capacity of districts to build comprehensive school mental health systems. The project has three goals: 1). Build and support sustainable infrastructure for comprehensive school mental health systems with established pathways to community-based supports and services for school-aged youth and their families. 2. Create sustainable engagement strategies with students, families, and community partners to promote mental health, wellbeing, and resilience by increasing community partner to promote mental health, wellbeing, and resilience by increasing community/student involvement in policy and decision making. 3. Increase knowledge, skills, and abilities to identify, respond and support students experiencing a mental health and wellness need. AZ Project Aware II will utilize an implementation approach that is focused on building school infrastructure to streamline referral pathways to mental health services and supports, provide workforce development, and training in mental health awareness and EBPs, and engagement of families and the community as an integral part of the education environment. Strategies will address the specific service gaps identified in each of the LEAs and promote awareness of mental health concerns among school-aged youth and connect school-aged youth who have mental disorders and their families to school- and community-based mental health services in each of the three LEAs/communities.

The Texas Education Agency will implement AWARE Texas: Strengthening School Mental Health to pilot evidence-based practices that address mental health challenges in three high-need school districts serving over 24,850 individuals over the five-year grant period; through September 2026. AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) Texas also seeks to develop statewide capacity to implement effective school mental health services and supports through evidence-based practices over the term of the grant. Overarching goals for the project include: (1) Increase and improve access to school and community-based mental health services, particularly for students with symptoms of severe emotional disturbance (SED) or serious mental illness (SMI); (2) Increase awareness and identification of mental health issues among all adults working with youth and promote positive mental health for students, families, school staff and community; (3) Help students develop skills that will promote resilience, self-regulation and pro-social behaviors; avert development of mental and behavioral health disorders; and prevent youth violence; and (4) Develop an infrastructure that will sustain services and build statewide capacity for promoting mental health awareness and evidence-based practices in schools. AWARE Texas is a collaboration between the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health at the University of Texas at Austin, regional education service centers, local mental health authorities and local education agencies. The project will strengthen mental health partnerships between state agencies, community mental health providers, community service organizations, businesses, public schools, educators, families, and youth to support school mental health over a five-year period.

Wyoming 2021 Project AWARE will partner with three LEAs and 2 behavioral health partners to deliver care through telehealth to serve 1,893 students per year. We will leverage resources developed from our 2020 award to standardize and further resource growth. Wyoming will outfit 1 room per school (28 total) to deliver telehealth services. Equipment for telehealth services is estimated at $115,000 and will be funded by resources outside of the Wyoming 2021 Project AWARE.

Project ACTIVATE (Advancing Coordinated and Timely InterVentions, Awareness, Training and Education) is North Carolina's implementation of Project AWARE. NC Project AWARE/ACTIVATE implements evidence-based mental health supports and services through a full school-and-community continuum, emphasizing universal prevention/awareness/school climate, early intervention, referral/treatment/re-entry, and comprehensive professional learning for school staff.

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: Cranston, West Warwick and Westerly school districts impacting 24,330 students, to increase awareness of MH issues among school-aged youth; provide training for school personnel and other adults who interact with school aged youth to detect and respond to MH issues, and connect their families to needed services. This project will build on the successes of the current Project AWARE districts (SM18-006) with successfully established collaborative partnerships at the state, district and local level to raise awareness and address 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 10 (10%) has a significant functional impairment. RIDE, DCYF, and its partners will continue to build strong collaborative partnerships to oversee BH efforts in LEAs who serve school-aged youth with BH disorders. The collective impact of our state partnership will be mirrored by a similar partnership within the three LEAs, in partnership with local community MH treatment provider agencies, 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, and particularly those with SED/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 to promote positive mental health. Goal 4 Increase capacity at the district level to connect families, schools, and communities to 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 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 indicated 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.