Department of Education receives $1.5M Center for Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Arizona project aware - Arizona project aware will build a sustainable statewide school mental health framework to increase local education agency capacity to implement a three-tiered public health approach addressing mental health, substance use, and co-occurring disorders among school-aged youth. The project will be implemented in roosevelt elementary district, palominas elementary school district, and kyrene elementary school district, which collectively serve more than 20,500 students in urban, suburban, and rural communities in maricopa and cochise counties. Arizona project aware will also support leas statewide through dissemination of trainings and tools, participation in a project echo community of practice, and distribution of a statewide framework for implementing multi-tiered systems of supports in schools. Strategies include a statewide advisory board; needs assessments; evidence-based health literacy, mental health, and suicide prevention training; formalized mous and referral pathways; statewide partnerships; workforce training; technical assistance; and sustainability planning. Performance will be measured through stakeholder engagement, needs assessments, training and outreach logs, and screening, access, and referral data. The project aims to improve access to prevention, early intervention, and behavioral health services and integrate behavioral health and well-being into the Arizona comprehensive school safety framework.