NH Delegation Welcomes Nearly $2 Million to Expand Mental Health Care Access for Granite State Youth

(Washington, DC)— U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) announced today with Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) that two federal awards totaling $1,904,728 will come to New Hampshire organizations to help expand mental health care access for young people.

“For young people, especially young women, mental health has worsened, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges for students across our state,” said Senator Shaheen. “That’s why I worked to secure these federal grants to expand access to behavioral health services and grow the number of trained professionals.”

“I have heard from young Granite Staters across the state that they are in desperate need of better access to mental health care,” said Senator Hassan. “That’s one of the reasons we included major increases in mental health funding as part the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. I’m glad to see these federal dollars reaching New Hampshire to train more pediatricians in mental health care -- along with additional funding to grow the mental health workforce – so that more young people can get the help that they need.”

“Mental health is an essential aspect of well-being, and we must treat it that way,” said Congresswoman Kuster, founder and Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force. “I am thrilled to see this funding heading to New Hampshire to train pediatricians in mental health care and expand the mental health workforce, especially in our rural communities. These resources will make a real difference for families across our state, and I am proud to help deliver them.”

“Everyone ought to have access to mental health care when they need it,” said Congressman Pappas. “These funds will help pediatricians provide even more comprehensive care to their patients, and they will invest in our workforce by training a new generation of providers who are ready to serve children, adolescents, and young adults in the more rural areas of our state. I’m glad to see these grants being delivered to New Hampshire this week, and I will continue fighting to ensure kids and young people across our state have the support they need to thrive.”

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services will receive a total of $850,000 through a Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PMHCA) Award, which is funded through annual appropriations and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The PMHCA program helps bring behavioral health consultation, training and support to pediatric primary care and other providers so that children’s mental health needs are met.

The University System of New Hampshire will receive a total of $1,054,7287 through the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET)’s Children, Adolescents and Young Adults Award, which is funded through annual appropriations funding. The BHWET program aims to increase the supply of behavioral health professionals while also improving the distribution of a quality behavioral health workforce and thereby increasing access to behavioral health services. A special focus is placed on the knowledge and understanding of children, adolescents and transitional-aged youth at risk for behavioral health disorders.

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Shaheen works to secure funding to expand access to mental health resources for young people, including the BHWET program. The fiscal year (FY) 2023 funding law also included $140 million for Project AWARE, an increase of $20 million over FY22, which supports school-based mental health and trauma services to students. Recently, Shaheen led U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) in reintroducing her bipartisan legislation, the Mental Health Excellence in Schools Act to address the shortage of mental health providers in schools by authorizing the Department of Education to partner with higher education institutions to help cover students’ costs at relevant graduate programs. 

Shaheen and Hassan were key supporters of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which provided $2 billion for school-based mental health and to support safe and healthy learning environments.

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