Michigan to receive $3 million for youth mental health services
LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Federal dollars are headed to Michigan to help the state address youth mental health issues.
Michigan will see about $3 million out of a total of $55 million that will be spread across the country and allocated by Congress.
"Some of that money is going statewide to support teleconsultation, to help pediatricians access mental health providers when they need help and support caring for their patients," said Carole Jonson, the Health Resources and Services Administration administrator. "Some of it's going to targeted areas. We're doing awards to the University of Detroit Mercy to Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State University for the support of training new mental health providers, which is what everyone in the health care field knows we need to do more of."
The funding comes from the Health Resources and Services Administration, a branch of the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
"We work closely every year with Congress, with folks like Senator Stabenow, to make sure that we can secure as much funding as possible to support the needs of children and new moms and the needs of growing the health care workforce," Johnson said.
Here in Michigan, the money is expected to help fund different programs across the state.
"We're going to see these dollars are coming in throughout the state. So everything from northwest Michigan in Baldwin, which is a rural, underserved area that will be funded with a school health clinic for the first time, West Michigan, Detroit area, and here in Lansing. We'll see it in a number of different places," said Stabenow.
The goal, officials tell CBS News Detroit, is to make mental health services more readily available wherever children can receive them.
"When kids are ready to raise their hand and ask for help, there's a provider who is ready to treat them. That's what our goal here," Johnson said.