Mental Health Providers In Bemidji And Little Falls Receive Funds To Help Children’s Mental Health

Stellher Human Services in Bemidji and Northern Pines Mental Health Center in Little Falls will each receive over $1 million over the next three years to help serve children’s mental health needs.

Minnesota’s School-Linked Mental Health program is awarding over $33 million to mental health providers across the state over the next three years to bring mental health services to over half of Minnesota schools. Stellher Human Services will receive $1,109,360 and Northern Pines Mental Health Center will get $1,228,104 in funding.

Minnesota’s School-Linked Mental Health program is a critical piece of the state’s mental health services for children. Programs help identify mental health needs early, make services available to more children in need, and improve outcomes for children and youth with a mental health diagnosis. Services include assessment, treatment and care coordination, teacher consultation and school-wide trainings. Placing children’s mental health services in schools provides an opportunity for mental health promotion, prevention and early identification and intervention in a place that is familiar and comfortable for them and their families.

“School-linked mental health services meet kids where they are at,” said Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper. “These grants will help us provide needed services to those in need, which is good for parents and kids.”

The School-Linked Mental Health Program began in 2006 and has since expanded to serve schools in 83 of Minnesota’s 87 counties. Over the previous five-year grant that ended June 2018, 15,000 students received mental health services from 953 school programs in 287 school districts across the state.

These services help children who have mental illness stay in school and be successful. The program has proven particularly effective in reaching children who have never accessed mental health services, and many children with mental illness are first identified through this program.

A full list of grantees is available on the DHS website, along with more information about the School-Linked Mental Health program.