UC receives $3.75M in federal funding for K-12 mental health initiative

The new initiative, the Cincinnati Mental Health, Education, and Successful Urban Relationship Expansion in the Schools (MEASURES) program, will work to expand the behavioral health workforce and create inclusive, supportive environments for students from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds. 

The MEASURES program — funded by a five-year, $3.75 million grant from the Department of Education — aims to address critical gaps in the mental health and educational landscape by providing tuition stipends for UC graduate students majoring in school and mental health counseling, school psychology and social work. UC partnered with CSU to create a pipeline for CSU students to address the diversification of the school-based behavioral health workforce.   

Training students in these disciplines, program administrators say, is crucial to supporting students in high-need schools, especially those in diverse communities within CPS, where there is an increasing demand for mental health services. 

"The need for mental health services in our schools is at an all-time high, and we must ensure we have a workforce capable of meeting the unique challenges facing students today," says the grant’s co-author Amanda La Guardia, an associate professor in UC’s School of Human Services.  

"This is a strategic approach to preparing future professionals who will be equipped to create culturally inclusive, identity-safe environments in our schools, fostering the mental well-being of all students," says Dana Harley, co-author and UC professor of social work.    

1. Recruitment and support: Identify, recruit, select and financially support 45 students (9 per year) from diverse backgrounds to enter the MEASURES program. Students will focus on school counseling, school-based mental health counseling, school psychology and school social work disciplines, addressing the critical shortage of school-based mental health providers in K-12 education. 
2. Career education: Provide local education agencies with mental health career education, particularly for high-need K-12 secondary populations, encouraging students to explore careers in behavioral health. 
3. Inclusive practices: Prepare mental health providers to use evidence-based methods to implement inclusive practices and create culturally and linguistically responsive, identity-safe environments for students. 
4. Strengthening partnerships: Foster a stronger multidisciplinary collaboration between the partners to cultivate a diverse mental health workforce that reflects the needs of students in urban schools. 

Featured image at top courtesy of iStock Photo/SolStock