Rep. Wilson Secures $5.25 Million to Expand Mental Health Services in Miami-Dade and Broward Schools

Washington, D.C. — This week, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee, helped secure $4,000,000 in federal funding for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and $1,250,000 in federal funding for Broward County Public Schools over the course of four years. This funding will help support partnerships to train school-based mental health service providers for employment in schools and local educational agencies.

“We are in a mental health crisis in this country, and our children are carrying the weight of it. Over the past decade, suicide rates among young people have been rising, depression is rising, and too many of our children are hurting in ways we don’t always see. When children spend the majority of their days in schools, we should have mental health professionals who can support them. And oftentimes, many children do not have access to mental health resources outside of school. No one asks, “Are you okay?” We don’t always know what our children are walking into when they leave school or what happens when they are alone with their friends. We don’t know the stress, the trauma, the fear they may be living with every single day. This crisis also doesn’t affect every child equally. Low-income students, students of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and other marginalized communities face added stress from systemic barriers that compound mental health challenges. These inequities make access to care even more critical.” Congresswoman Frederica Wilson said, “As a former principal, a former educator, and through my work with the 5000 Role Models of Excellence, I’ve seen it up close. I’ve seen children struggling because of chaos at home, pressure at school, or because they were misunderstood, mislabeled, or punished simply for being who they are. Too many of them suffer in silence because no one gave them the space to speak or told them that they are loved. That’s why schools must be part of the solution, especially at a young age when emotional, social, and cognitive development is taking shape. When we prioritize the mental health of our youth, we set them up to be healthier adults. That’s why I’m proud to deliver funds to support the mental health and well-being of our students here in Miami-Dade and Broward County Schools because it’s time we address this mental health crisis head-on.”

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson has held multiple hearings and forums discussing the mental health crisis among Black men and boys with the nation’s top mental health leaders, including two events in Washington, D.C., and one in New York City.

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson has previously delivered funds to support mental health initiatives in Miami-Dade County, including the Adrienne Arsht Center’s “I am Me,” an Arts-Based Youth Mental Health Initiative.

For Broward County Public Schools, funding will go towards Broward’s PATH Forward program.  Broward’s PATH Forward (Psychologist Advancement and Training Hub) expands the pipeline of credentialed school psychologists within Broward County Public Schools. Over 48 months, Broward’s PATH Forward will support three Broward County Public School employees through graduate program completion and certification, fund 23 full-time school psychology interns, and provide certification exam support for all participants. The project will result in 26 total certifications, a 25 percent increase in schools served by trained school psychology personnel, more than 20,000 hours of student mental health services, and the employment of 15 to 20 new school psychologists within Broward County Public Schools by the end of the grant period. Primary activities include executing university partnerships, providing tuition support, funding intern stipends and supervision, supporting certification exams, and embedding sustainability within Broward County Public Schools’ Human Resources. Broward County Public Schools will receive $306,472 for 2026 and will continue to receive funding for four years.

For Miami-Dade County Public Schools, funding will go towards their Project HOPE-SP. Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Project HOPE-SP (Holistic Opportunities for Preparation and Excellence in School Psychology) will increase the number of credentialed school psychologists through a school-based mental health partnership with a nationally accredited school psychology program. The program will provide coursework and training through collaborative projects and monthly workshops on evidence-based assessment and intervention practices. The collaborative partnership enables capacity building, specifically through the recruitment and retention of school psychologists, the enhancement of field experience using evidence-based practices, and the strengthening of access and delivery of mental health interventions in 257 high-need schools that serve 170,058 students. The project will support 34 graduate students in School Psychology who will receive mentorship, financial support, and specialized training in multi-tiered systems of support and implementation of mental health interventions. Miami-Dade County Public Schools will receive $1 million in 2026 for this program and will continue to receive funding for four years.

This funding for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Broward County Public Schools is provided through the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program. The Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Program provides competitive grants to test and evaluate innovative partnerships between institutions of higher education and States or high-need local education agencies to train school counselors, social workers, psychologists, or other mental health professionals qualified to provide school-based mental health services, with the goal of expanding the pipeline of these workers into low-income public elementary schools and secondary schools in order to address the shortages of mental health service professionals in such schools.

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