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If there is ever anything good that can come out of a tragedy, it’s that federal legislators become hyper aware of gaps in mental health and school safety resources for K-12 schools. In part one of our federal round up series, we’ve summarized two newer school safety grants that you may not be aware of.
“There are warning signs that if you had a mental health professional hopefully some of these crimes could be stopped before they’re carried out,” Senator Ted Cruz said in a recent CBS interview.
The latest open grants for improving school safety
Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education); Applications due Monday, October 13th, 2022
What is it: The purpose of Project AWARE is to develop a sustainable infrastructure for school-based mental health programs and services. Additional funds for this program are from the recently signed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It is expected that the recipient will build a collaborative partnership with state agencies and community-based providers of behavioral health care services. Based on a public health model, this partnership will implement mental health related promotion, awareness, prevention, intervention, and resilience activities to ensure that students have access and are connected to appropriate and effective behavioral health services. SAMHSA expects that this program will promote the healthy social and emotional development of school-aged youth and prevent youth violence in school settings.
Award details: Total available funding is $37,600,000 to 20 awards over 4 years.
Allowable expenditures:
- Providing support to assist teachers and school personnel to develop skills that promote staff wellness, mental well-being, and resilience to better support and refer school-aged youth with behavioral health issues to needed services.
- Establishing and implementing a school-based student suicide awareness and prevention training policy.
How to Apply: Additional information and application details can be found here.
Project Prevent: Applications due Monday, October 3rd, 2022
What is it: The purpose of the Project Prevent Grant Program is to provide grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) impacted by community violence and to expand the capacity of LEAs to implement community- and school-based strategies to help prevent community violence and mitigate the impacts of exposure to community violence.
Award details: Total available funding is $6,800,000 with an anticipated 10-13 awards. Estimated range of awards is $250,000 to $800,000 per year for up to 5 years and estimated size of each award is $600,000 (for each year of funding requested).
Award priorities:
- Severity and magnitude of the problem and identification of schools to be served by the proposed project
- Collaboration and coordination with community-based organizations
- Project activities designed to promote a safer and improved school environment
- Evidence-based, culturally, and linguistically competent, and developmentally appropriate programs and practices
- Framework for planning, implementation, and sustainability
How to Apply: Additional information and application details can be found here.
Additional Funding Under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
Signed into law on June 25, 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act enables schools to invest in programs to expand mental health and supportive services in schools, including early identification and intervention programs, school-based mental health and wrap-around services, improvements to school-wide learning conditions, and school safety as follows:
- $300 million in additional funding over 5 years for the STOP School Violence Act: This makes critical funding available to school districts, states, and tribes to implement evidence-based, early-intervention school programs to prevent violence.
- School Based Mental Health Services and Staff: Provides $500 million through the School Based Mental Health Services Grant Program to increase the number of qualified mental health service providers that provide school based mental health services to students in school districts with demonstrated need.
- Improving Conditions for Student Learning: Provides $1 billion in funding through Title IV-A to support a variety of activities to improve conditions for student learning, including developing positive school climates through evidence-based practices.
- Out of School Programs: Provides $50 million in funding to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which funds extracurricular, after school and summer programs, with a focus of new funding to target programs for older youth.
- Training and Pipeline Development for School Based Mental Health Staff: Provides $500 million in funding to the School Based Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Grant. This money will help train and diversify the pipeline of school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists.
- Increased funding of $240 million for Project AWARE over four years that increases awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth, provides training for school personnel and other adults who interact with school-aged youth to detect and respond to mental health issues, and connects school-aged youth who may have behavioral health issues and their families to needed services. Provides $28 million set aside for grants to support trauma care in school settings.
- $250 million for community-based violence intervention over 5 years
Additional information can be found here.
Raptor can help
Founded in 2002, Raptor has partnered with over 52,000 schools globally, including over 5,000 K-12 U.S. school districts, to provide integrated visitor, volunteer, emergency management, and early intervention software and services that cover the full spectrum of school and student safety.
Our team of safety enthusiasts and our suite of industry-leading solutions provide schools with confidence in their safety and student wellbeing programs so they can focus on teaching. School safety is a journey, and Raptor’s trusted advisors support customers across all dimensions ensuring sustainable programs to address today’s challenges and tomorrow’s threats. Driven by our mission to protect every child, every school, every day, Raptor customers mitigate risks from prevention to preparedness and through reunifying families.
Related Resources
Guide to K-12 Student Wellbeing
Strategies to Recognize, Document, and Support Students in Distress.
Learn More
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