This grant program was established to strengthen mental health partnerships between county mental health or behavioral health departments, community based organizations, and local educational entities in order to increase access to mental health services and remove barriers to better serve our students and families in their mental health needs.
It is anticipated that Regional Mental Health Coordinators will:
- Establish new partnerships with mental health service providers
- Improve or develop systems to create sustainable best practices and protocols
- Share best practices for school-based mental health, through a “Community of Practice”
- Improve timely access to, and reduce barriers to accessing, needed services
- Increase linkages to mental health services for districts
- Increase training on mental health topics to educators, administrators, parents/families, and students, to improve awareness and understanding of mental health topics, and knowledge of how to navigate services
- Reduction in negative student outcomes (e.g., chronic sadness, thoughts of suicide, suicide rates, chronic absenteeism, school failure, etc).
For more information contact:
Orange County MHSSA Grant Program Lead
Mayu Iwatani, MSW, PPSC
Manager, Mental Health and Wellness Care Coordination
Phone: (714) 966-4468
The content included here is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you or your student are in crisis or you think you may have an emergency, call 911 immediately. If you're having suicidal thoughts, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to talk to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area at any time (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline).