March 9, 2023 3:30 a.m.
U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley recently announced that four Oregon school districts will receive a combined School-Based Mental Health Grant Program funding of nearly $20 million from the U.S. Department of Education to hire additional licensed mental health providers.
A release from Douglas Education Service District said they are thrilled to be a recipient of just over $2.2 million for the fiscal year 2022. Federal grant funds for a total amount of just over $6.8 million will be awarded to Douglas ESD through the year 2025. That is over 71 percent of the total dollars that will be used in collaboration with other programs. The grant will play a critical role in expanding mental health support throughout the thirteen component school districts in Douglas County.
Douglas ESD Superintendent Analicia Nicholson said, “The increased services will positively impact our students, families, staff and community, providing immediate and long-term needs”.
Douglas ESD has partnered with Bushnell University and Umpqua Community College to recruit and train school-based mental health service providers. The goal of the educational training is to increase the number of available school-based mental health providers in the local region.
Both colleges are starting the process of recruiting individuals to participate in the program.
The grant funds will expand Douglas ESD’s Grow Your Own Program to eliminate barriers for professionals interested in becoming trained or retrained as a school-based mental health provider. The approach will integrate classroom learning with real-world experience by funding a 3-year Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health program from Bushnell University with simultaneous employment at Douglas ESD. The grant will cover tuition costs and fees. Evening graduate classes will occur locally at Umpqua Community College. UCC has donated classroom space and information technology support.
Drop-in information nights for people to learn more about this program are coming up. Sessions are scheduled for;
Tuesday March 14th at Drain Civic Center, Thursday March 16th at Riddle Community Center and Friday March 17th at Roseburg Public Library. Sessions will run from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
To learn more, go to: www.douglasesd.k12.or.us/douglas-school-based-mental-health-ohort