UW–Madison researchers in the Department of Educational Psychology have been awarded a 4-year, $10.4 million Federal contract.
The money is being used to launch and operate a national center to increase and diversify the number of incoming mental health practitioners.
"The research has shown that students benefit when those services are aligned with their background and their culture they also benefit when theirs more diversity within the school workforce," said UW Psychology professor, Stephen Kilgus.
Professors Stephen Kilgus, Katie Eklund, and Andy Garbacz are all co-directors of School Mental Health Collaborative (SMHC) and all taking part in making the grant possible.
The new center is set to equip new mental health providers to better serve students in schools.
The university received the funds October 1, 2023 and Kilgus states some of the progress they have made.
"Right now were in the process of continuing to hire additional employees and so this will include coaches that will interact with schools this includes data scientists folks," said Kilgus.
This new center will be in partnership with collaborators including University of South Florida, University of Iowa, and University of California Santa Barbara.
For more information you can visit the university website.
