Jon Ossoff
11/12/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/12/2024 12:59
Sen. Ossoff Strengthening Access to Mental Health Counseling for Georgia Students
Atlanta, Ga. - U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is helping hire and train more mental health counselors for students in Georgia schools.
Sen. Ossoff is delivering over $1.7 million in Federal resources through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that will help Georgia universities and schools provide children and teens with mental health services and help reduce the shortages of counselors in schools.
"Bringing both political parties together and putting the needs of our kids above partisan interests, I helped pass bipartisan legislation to strengthen mental health services for young people in Georgia and across the country," Sen. Ossoff said. "There are real and ongoing mental health concerns for young people, particularly students in K-12 schools, and it's an issue parents across Georgia care deeply about. These new resources for will help train more mental health counselors to service students in Georgia schools."
The Federal resources through the Department of Education's Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Grant Program will help local schools train and retain more mental health professionals aimed at better supporting students.
In 2023, Sen. Ossoff previously delivered funding through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to help train more mental health counselors, with resources for Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University, and the University of Georgia.
Also last year, Sen. Ossoff delivered funding through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to hire more mental health counselors in DeKalb County School District, the Calhoun City Board of Education, and the Dougherty County School System.
Please find a breakdown of federal grant awards Sen. Ossoff is delivering:
| Grant Recipient | Project Description | Award Amount |
| Augusta University | Over five years, the program aims to place 64 school counseling interns in 15 high-need schools to provide evidence-based inclusive practices to meet the mental health and wellness needs of approximately 10,000 students. Upon graduation from Augusta University's counselor education program, each Train & Retain participant will apply for a school counseling position at a high-need LEA to be considered for employment. | $950,822 |
| Gwinnett County Public Schools | A school- based mental health partnership to place graduate students in school-based mental health services fields into high- need schools, by providing a detailed plan to develop a mental health provider pipeline program in our highest need schools training 100 mental health service providers to fill anticipated vacancies in future years, along with up to 100 high-quality mentors. | $804,420 |
Sen. Ossoff continues working to support the health of Georgia's children.
Last month, Sen. Ossoff introduced the Fresh Food Act of 2024 to address food insecurity across Georgia by helping attract more grocery stores to Georgia communities with limited access to fresh foods, and to help support Georgia farmers.
In July, Sen. Ossoff delivered over $2.8 million in Federal grant funding through the Drug-Free Communities Support Programs (DFC) for communities across Georgia.
In March, Sen. Ossoff delivered $1,205,656 in Federal funding through the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program to help Egleston Children's Hospital at Emory University train and retain more pediatric physicians.
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