MSUM awarded nearly $6.8 million to address mental health needs in PreK-12 schools

(Moorhead, MN) -- An infusion of professional help is on the way to PreK-12 schools struggling to fill mental health vacancies, thanks to a five-year, $6,777,039 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to Minnesota State University Moorhead.

The Infuse Mental Health grant aims to fill mental health professional vacancies and to increase the diversity, recruitment, training and placement of graduate students serving rural and tribal schools.

Project partners include 18 Minnesota and North Dakota school districts, Turtle Mountain Tribal Community College, and 16 collaborating cooperatives, professional organizations, and state agencies.

“The Infuse Mental Health Project addresses a critical shortage of school-based mental health service providers in our region,” said Arrick Jackson, MSUM Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. “It demonstrates the excellence and expertise of our Counseling and School Psychology graduate programs and highlights our faculty members’ commitment to working with community partners to diversify and expand the number of students trained to meet those needs.”

MSUM’s School Psychology and School Counseling graduate programs collaborated on Infuse Mental Health to reduce the costs for students entering the graduate programs and to engage local, rural, and tribal schools struggling to fill mental health professional vacancies.

Through this grant, students can apply for scholarships of at least $10,000 per year and up to $20,000 per student.