New York State to create center for mental health education

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — New York State will create a center to support mental health education for students K through 12 in public and private schools. The Mental Health Resource and Training Technical Assistance Center will receive $2.5 in funding over the course of five years, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday.

The center is part of at least seven projects included in the state’s budget to support youth’s mental well-being. This includes $100 million in funding to hire mental health professionals that can help students recover from challenges they’ve experienced during the pandemic, part of the Recover from COVID School Program (RECOVS). The state is also funding home-based crisis intervention, which can be an alternative to admitting children to a psychiatric hospital.

"The pandemic has made life difficult for all New Yorkers, including young people who have been through so much these past two years," Hochul said.

The state’s Office of Mental Health, which has licensed more than 1,000 school-based clinics, wrote the proposal for the new center. The office’s commissioner, Dr. Ann Sullivan, said the state has been a national leader in providing mental health education.