“How do we fund this?!”
This is one of the many questions that school administrators and staff ask themselves when trying to implement a telehealth therapy program on their campus. Through a little research, relationship building, and planning, you can launch your teletherapy program with the following resources.
CARES Act – Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER)
In 2020, Congress passed two bills that provided over $67 billion dollars in aid to state educational agencies to help mitigate the effects that COVID-19 has had and continues to have on educational institutions. School districts are then able to apply for this funding for costs dating back to March 13, 2021. You can view how much funding has been allocated to your state here.
Funds can be used for mental health services and support as well as:
- Activities authorized by ESEA, IDEA, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, the Perkins CTE Act, or the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
- Coordination of preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies with State, local, Tribal, and territorial public health departments, and other relevant agencies
- Planning for and coordinating on long-term closures (including on meeting IDEA requirements, how to provide online learning, and how to provide meals to students)
- Staff training and professional development on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious disease; purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean facilities
- Purchasing educational technology (hardware, software, and connectivity) for students, that aids in the regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their instructors, which may include assistive or adaptive technology
- Summer learning and supplemental after-school programs
- Discretionary funds for school principals to address the needs of their individual schools
- Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation and continuity of services in LEAs and to continuing the employment of their existing staff
Download Telement’s Guide to ESSER I & II Funding
Read more about ESSER Funding on the U.S. Department of Education website or the National Conference of State Legislators website.
Mental Health Allocation Funding
If your school is located in Florida, your campus can benefit from the mental health allocation that was instituted due to Senate Bill 7026. The statute requires schools to make mental health services available to every student. Each school district gets at least $100,000 to carry out the details of SB 7026. Telement actively works with schools to reduce staff-to-student ratios and meet student mental health assistance needs including the stipulation that students identified as at-risk must see a therapist within 15 days.
If you are a public school, work with your district to allot funding for a telehealth therapy program. If you’re a charter or private school, you’re able to submit your own mental health allocation plan separate from the district where you can select a telehealth therapy provider that aligns more with your school needs.
Learn more about mental health allocation funding at the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools site.
Grants.gov
With over 2,500 grants available for a plethora of activities, it’s a great resource to look into when searching for funding. One can search by which organizations are able to apply for a specific grant (i.e. school districts, individuals, nonprofits, etc.) and there is a checkbox for Independent School Districts. Not only is this site a repository for grants, they also have information on grant writing best practices, a grants tracker, and other training related to writing and administering grants.
Partnering with your local community foundations
Depending on your area, partnering with local community foundations or other philanthropic groups that have designated funding for mental health or COVID-19-related activities could be a great public-private partnership that can pay dividends when it comes to funding and goodwill.
More people have come to realize how integral mental health is for the healthy and successful development of our youth. So much so that they are putting the heart (and money!) where their mouth is. Find your nearest community foundation, here. Meet with the executive director and see how your school and the community foundation can partner to support the youth in your community to become resilient adults.
There’s a lot of things to consider when choosing a telehealth therapy provider, but having a way to fund this great opportunity for your students and counselors is essential especially because of the pandemic. Teletherapy works and it makes sense to have access to it via schools. Telement staff is able to partner with you to talk with your principal, superintendent, school board, or other school leadership and are happy to write letters of support for grants. Our mission is to expand mental health services to youth, so please consider reaching out if we can be of any assistance. Just reach out to us!
If you want to learn more about how Telement works with your school staff to improve mental health access to students, join us at one of our monthly webinars. If that date and time doesn’t work, book a demo that works for your schedule.
