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Tennessee governor renews proposal for Mental Health Trust Fund
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
mental health weekly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7583
pISSN - 1058-1103
DOI - 10.1002/mhw.32749
Subject(s) - mental health , promotion (chess) , medicine , administration (probate law) , public relations , business , nursing , psychology , psychiatry , political science , politics , law
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee reintroduced the Mental Health Trust Fund in a renewed proposal to assist K–12 families who are facing significant mental health issues in the wake of COVID‐19, a press release stated. This proposal, announced March 29, allocates $250 million in available funds to create strong mental health services for school‐aged students through a systemwide, evidence‐based approach. “While my administration proposed these critical mental health supports last year, we now have the available funding and a greater need than ever before to ensure our students have access to mental health resources,” Lee said. Services supported by the Mental Health Trust Fund would include direct clinical services in schools, mental health awareness and promotion, suicide prevention and postvention strategies, trauma‐informed programs and practices, and violence and bullying prevention. “The services that will be funded by this investment will allow us to increase the services available from community mental health providers and schools, preventing children from entering mental health crisis situations and ending up in an emergency room,” said Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW.