U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, has joined a bipartisan group of senators sponsoring legislation intended to help schools apply for federal grants for mental health services.
The Creating Access and Resources in Education, or CARE, for Student Mental Health Act was introduced Thursday during National School Psychology Week. The measure would provide assistance to schools seeking mental health grants funded in part through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, according to the legislation’s sponsors.
Hassan said young people in New Hampshire frequently tell her about difficulty obtaining mental health care. She said the bill would be particularly useful for schools in rural and underserved communities, where schools can face challenges accessing federal resources and hiring professionals.
“One of the things that I hear about the most from young people across New Hampshire is the challenges that they face getting the mental health care that they need. This bipartisan legislation will help more schools, especially those in rural and underserved communities, access federal resources to hire more mental health professionals and better support their students.” — Sen. Maggie Hassan
What the bill would do
The proposal focuses on the application process for federal school mental health grants. Its sponsors said the legislation is designed to help schools compete for those resources and address a shortage of mental health professionals working in schools.
- It would help schools apply for federal mental health grants.
- The grants are funded in part by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
- The measure is aimed in part at rural and underserved communities.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced the bill with Hassan. The other original sponsors named by the senators were Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is also listed as a cosponsor.
Cornyn said the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act represented a major federal investment in community-based mental health care and that the new legislation would build on that law by addressing the shortage of school mental health professionals. Tillis said the proposal would support efforts to recruit, hire and retain those workers.
Kaine said school-based services are important for young people experiencing anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges. The senators’ background information on the bill said one in five children has a diagnosable mental or behavioral health disorder and that about 40% of students experience symptoms of depression or anxiety by seventh grade.
The proposal is at the introduction stage. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is the federal law identified by the sponsors as providing part of the funding behind the grants the bill would help schools pursue.
