Indiana Gets $9M Grant For Students' Mental Health Needs

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State education officials say a $9 million federal grant will boost efforts to help Indiana students struggling with mental health issues.

The five-year grant for the Indiana Department of Education was awarded through a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration program called Project AWARE .

That program aims to boost awareness of students' mental and emotional health issues, in part by expanding school-based mental health teams.

Three Indiana school districts will work with the state DOE to achieve that mission. Those districts are western Indiana's Vigo County School Corp., the Perry Central Community School Corp. in Indianapolis and the Avon Community School Corp. just west of Indianapolis.

State education officials will work with the districts to create models of effective mental health practices that can be reproduced in other districts.