Nevada awarded $11 million grant to expand mental health services to children
The Nevada Division of Child and Family Services has been picked to receive an $11 million federal grant for the expansion of mental health services for children. Gov. Brian Sandoval and Nevada Department of Health and Human Services Director Richard Whitley made the announcement Tuesday.
“Every child should have access to a stable environment where they can imagine and pursue their dreams. These funds will serve our most vulnerable youth by empowering local community providers, which are best equipped to deliver these services, to foster an environment where children can succeed,” Gov. Sandoval said. “Through the collaborative efforts of state and local agencies working with the mental health consortiums, Nevada has the framework in place to implement system-wide changes to ensure accountability and strengthen best practices.”
The grant came from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and is designed to address comprehensive mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbances, health officials said.
The grant will provided funding for 4 years, at $2.7 million annually, with the goal of developing comprehensive mental health services and wrap-around supports to enable children and youth with SED and their families to lead productive lives, health officials said.
“This grant will expand and enhance Nevada’s efforts to improve outcomes for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances and their families,” Whitley said. Nevada’s needs in these areas were identified through the governor’s leadership team with support from Clark County, the Washoe County Children’s Mental Health Consortium and the Rural Children’s Mental Health Consortium.
A key component of the grant is the transition of the DCFS Children’s Mental Health to serve as the authority for children’s mental health in Nevada, rather than as a direct service provider. This will transition direct-care services to community providers, allowing for more accountability and oversight in the care that children receive from these community providers.
With these changes in service delivery and front-line practices, the goals for the grant are that children and youth will demonstrate improvements in their daily lives, increases in behavioral and emotional strengths, reductions in suicide attempts, improvements in school performance and attendance, fewer contacts with law enforcement, reductions in reliance on inpatient care, and more stable living situations.