Friday, November 22, 2024
11/22/2024
Family Service Agency (FSA) in Santa Barbara County (SBC), California, proposes the Mental Health Awareness Training Project (MHAT) to train individuals in the county who have a strong impact on youth to recognize the signs of mental disorders and how to respond appropriately and safely to connect youth in need with services. Youth in grades 6-12 are the population of focus that MHAT is intended to help. FSA will provide training using two versions of the evidence-based Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). FSA will train teens in grades 10-12 with Teen MHFA (tMHFA) and will train parents of youth in grades 6-12 with Youth MHFA (YMHFA). YMHFA will also be provided to mental health professionals and school counselors, educators, and other school personnel in Lompoc Unified School District (LUSD), which includes the Vandenberg Air Force Base; Santa Maria-Bonita School District (SMBSD); Santa Maria Joint Union High School District (SMJUHSD); Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD); and Carpinteria Unified School District (CUSD). YMHFA training will be provided to first responders, including law enforcement officers, and other community members. The overarching goal of FSA’s MHAT initiative is to train individuals in the county (e.g., youth, parents, mental health providers, educators, other school personnel, first responders, law enforcement) who strongly impact the lives of youth to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders and how to respond appropriately and safely to connect these youth with needed services as early as possible. The total number of participants to be trained through MHAT is 4,868. FSA will seek to achieve the following objectives: 1) To train 429 high-schoolers (in grades 10-12) per year in recognizing and responding to the signs of mental health issues in their peers using the tMHFA model (for a total of 2,145 trained). 2) To train 178 school teachers and other school personnel (e.g., administrators, counselors, school nurses, after school supervisors, etc.) per year in Years 2-5 in recognizing and responding to the signs of mental health issues in youth and 143 in Year 1 (for a total of 846 trained). 3) To train 121 parents per year in Years 2-5 in recognizing and responding to the signs of mental health issues in youth and 91 in Year 1 (for a total of 575 trained). 4) To train 32 first responders, including police officers, per year in Years 2-5 in recognizing the signs of mental health issues in youth and how to respond appropriately and 24 in Year 1 (for a total of 152 trained). 5) To train 121 mental health and related workforce professionals in mental health-related practices/activities that are consistent with the goals of the MHAT grant per year in Years 2-5 and 91 in Year 1 (for a total of 575 trained). 6) To train 121 other community members not included in the above groups per year in Years 2-5 and 91 in Year 1 (for a total of 575 trained). 7) To provide one training per year in YMHFA on the Vandenberg Air Force Base for military families and veterans. 8) To refer at least 300 youth in need to mental health and related services annually. 9) To increase the number of youth in grades 6-12 referred to mental health services by 10% over baseline by Year 5.
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).
