Wednesday, January 15, 2025
1/15/2025
The Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), located within the New Jersey Department of Human Services, proposes a statewide Mental Health Awareness Training Project with the goal of training individuals who are in regular contact with adolescents and young adults so that they can identify those with mental illness and substance use and refer them to appropriate treatment services. Special attention will be paid to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent mental health. The grant will support training these individuals in the nationally recognized and evidence-based educational program called Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), which will be used along with Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) for Suicide Prevention to equip trainees with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively identify those at risk and to intervene and to refer as needed. The target population are individuals aged 14-24 years who have mental illness and/or a substance use disorder, and especially those with serious emotional disturbances (SED) or serious mental illness (SMI), and those who have a potential for self-injurious or suicidal behaviors. All trainings will be provided virtually until it is determined to be safe to facilitate in-person trainings. The trainees will also be able to refer those identified as needing services to the appropriate licensed mental health provider. These trainings will be offered to all people who have routine contact with adolescents and young adults in school and other settings, with a special focus on colleges and universities, active duty Guard and Reserve units, and veterans. A dedicated, multicultural team of full-time and part-time certified trainers from the Disaster and Terrorism Branch (DTB) of DMHAS will provide these trainings. Trainers come from diverse backgrounds that include the military, law enforcement, education, mental health and/or addiction fields. For over 15 years, this team has worked statewide with emergency response partners, first responders, schools, community organizations and faith-based entities. The objectives of the project reflect the expansion of the training capacity and the type and frequency of the training of MHFA and QPR to a variety of populations who interact and work with adolescents and young adults. Six DTB staff have been trained in the Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid models. Annually there will be 24 sessions offered with approximately 600 persons trained. At the end of five years, approximately 3,000 individuals will be trained on MHFA. Also with this grant, four QPR trainings will be offered each month with an approximately 960 participants trained annually. At the end of the five years, a total of 4,800 individuals will be trained in QPR suicide prevention. To enhance mental health awareness and suicide prevention among veterans and first responders, a forum will be offered annually to at least 80 Active duty military, Reservists, veterans and first responders. At the end of the five years, over 400 participants will take part in the forums.
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).