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03/29/2024 11:37 PM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20210&cosponId=37388
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: May 27, 2022 10:50 AM
From: Senator Lindsey M. Williams and Sen. James R. Brewster
To: All Senate members
Subject: Grants to Support Students' Mental Health
 
We will soon introduce legislation that will help schools receive the critical funding they need to support students’ mental health and wellbeing.
 
Even before the pandemic, Safe2Say reports showed us that our students are in the midst of a growing youth mental health crisis. Students and educators alike frequently identify the need for more mental health resources and more caring adults in schools as their number one priority. Focused investments in mental health supports will ensure that these critical resources are available to the students and educators who need them most.
 
For the 2022-2023 school year, the majority of grants awarded through the PCCD School Safety and Security program will focus on funding applications that support students’ behavioral and mental health. This bill is modeled after a similar step the General Assembly took in 2020, when the existing grant program was temporarily focused exclusively on responding to COVID-19.
 
Importantly, this bill maintains flexibility at the local level so that schools can tailor their grant applications to meet the specific mental health needs of their students and community.  For example, grants could help offset the costs of the long-term investments in school counselors and psychologists, but could also fund shorter-term initiatives, like art therapy or animal-assisted therapy.  
  
Please join us in cosponsoring this important legislation to assist public schools in addressing the critical mental health needs of our students.
 



Introduced as SB1285