The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) plans to award a three-year $15 million grant to establish a national center of excellence for building capacity in nursing facilities to care for residents with behavioral health conditions.
Department of Education Urges Colleges to Use American Rescue Plan Funds to Provide Mental Health Supports to Students
Today, the U.S. Department of Education published new guidance to assist institutions in providing mental health supports for students, faculty, and staff. It includes specific examples of how colleges can use Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) to invest in evidence-based mental health supports.
ACE Webinar on Addressing Campus Mental Health Using Federal Relief Dollars
ACE, in partnership with the Department of Education, will be hosting a webinar exploring how colleges and universities can use federal COVID-19 relief funds to improve campus mental health resources at their institutions. Deputy Assistant Secretary Michelle Asha Cooper and a panel of campus leaders who have successfully used relief funds to expand the mental health resources available to their students will discuss their own experiences and answer questions from the public. The webinar will be held on May 25 from 2:00-3:00pm Eastern.
On May 23 at 12:30pm Eastern, the Department of Education will hold a summit on strategies to support students with disabilities and students with mental health needs.
Registration and more details for May 25 may be accessed here. Registration and more details for May 23 may be accessed here.
Senate Introduces Mental Health Legislation
U.S. Senators Chris Murphy and Bill Cassidy, M.D., members of the U.S. Senate HELP Committee, on Tuesday introduced legislation to reauthorize federal mental health and substance use disorder programs that were signed into law in 2016. The legislation would reauthorize through 2027 at $102.6 million annually, HRSA’s Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants to increase the supply of behavioral health professionals with a special focus on helping children, adolescents and youth at risk for behavioral health condition. The legislation would authorize $25 million to support states’ ability to enforce existing laws around mental health and substance use disorder parity.
More details may be accessed here.
House Subcommittee Considers Mental Health Legislation
The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a markup on Wednesday, May 11, at 10:15 am Eastern. The legislation would reauthorize the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program, which prioritizes resources for the mental and behavioral health care workforce through training grants.
ASAHP Urges FY 23 Title VII HRSA Funding
ASAHP joined more than 80 undersigned members of Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC) in urging Congress to provide $1.51 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing workforce development programs for FY 2023.
House Holds FY 23 Budget Hearings with HHS and ED Secretaries
ASAHP’s hearing memo for the Administration’s FY 23 budget request with Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is available here.
ASAHP Joins FASHP Letter on Mental and Behavioral Health
ASAHP and other members of the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP) wrote a letter to Congressional Committee leaders to encourage the inclusion of health professions education and training programs in their legislative efforts to address the mental health challenges facing our country.
The letter may be accessed here.
ASAHP Joins ACE-Led Letter on Mental and Behavioral Health
ASAHP joined the American Council on Education and nearly 100 organizations in a letter to Congressional Committee leaders them to prioritize the mental and behavioral health needs of students in higher education as the committees develop mental health legislation.
The letter may be accessed here.
ASAHP and Friends of HRSA Recommend Robust HRSA Funding for FY 23
ASAHP was one of 99 members of the Friends of HRSA coalition and other supporting organizations that recommended providing at least $9.8 billion for discretionary HRSA programs in the FY 2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. Strong funding for HRSA is critical to supporting all of HRSA’s activities and programs, which are essential to protect the health of our communities.
The letter to Congressional appropriators may be accessed here.
ASAHP and CDC Coalition Urge Robust CDC Funding for FY 23
ASAHP was one of 178 state and national organizations that are members of the CDC Coalition and joined in sending a letter to congressional appropriators urging at least $11 billion in funding for the CDC’s programs in FY 2023.
The letter may be accessed here.