Friday, April 19, 2024
4/19/2024
Special Service for Groups, Inc., Occupational Therapy Training Program (SSG/OTTP) proposes to implement a mental health awareness training program in four underserved school districts in Los Angeles County. The Achieving Change in the Environment at School (ACES) Program aims to increase awareness of students with mental illness and available resources among each school community. Each community encompasses all adults who play a significant role in the students’ (ages 5-18) lives, including parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, and other school staff. The targeted school districts include Lawndale Elementary School District, Lynwood Unified School District, and Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, all of which SSG/OTTP currently work with through other youth-based programs. In our work within these schools, we have observed students experiencing a high rate of risk factors known to impact and cause mental health issues and crises, including high poverty rates, school violence, school-based crimes, and truancy. Through a world-renown evidence based-program called Youth Mental Health First Aid training, SSG/OTTP will create a culture that is aware of the students’ mental health needs. The school campus community will have increased access to resources that can help guide them in properly identifying who needs assistance and the appropriate referrals to make. Our four measurable objectives are as follows: 1) By the end of year three of the project, 500 school community members will have been provided information to increase mental health awareness and recruited for mental health awareness training; 2) By the end of year three of the project, 300 school personnel, volunteers and/or parents/guardians will be enrolled in YMHFA; 3) By the end of year three of the project, 150 school personnel, volunteers and/or parents/guardians will have completed training in YMHFA; and 4) By the end of year three of the project, 95% of students identified as needing mental health resources will have been referred to the appropriate community-based mental health agency. We aim to train 25 individuals the first year, 50 individuals the second year, and 75 individuals the third year, for a total of 150 by the end of the three-year project. The total dollar amount for this program is $125,000 per year over a three-year period.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
