February 5, 2024

Good afternoon,

Last summer, the NYS Education Department (SED) released a competitive RFP for the Recover from COVID (RECOVs) School Program.  The RFP was for a two year period with $50 million distributed for the 2023-24 school year and another $50 million for the 24-25 school year.  The list of districts that received awards is included at the bottom of this article:  https://nystateofpolitics.com/state-of-politics/new-york/politics/2024/01/31/n-y–schools-to-get–100m-to-address-learning-loss–mental-health?cid=share_email

Your agency is uniquely positioned to: 1) assist districts and BOCES in identifying an affordable and sustainable array of services ripe for expansion 2) help districts and BOCES access evidence based or school staff preventive training from a community based provider and 3) access Article 31 school based mental health clinic services to enhance access to care.

The 4 objectives that school districts can choose to prioritize include:

• MH.Obj. 1) Expand student access to school-based mental health professionals, evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions, programming, services, supports and practices that promote mental health and wellness;
• MH.Obj. 2) Improve capacity for school staff and students to identify mental health concerns and increase help-seeking behaviors;
• MH.Obj. 3) Implement a variety of evidence-based and evidence-informed school-based mental health interventions and practices that are culturally, linguistically, and trauma responsive while promoting student diversity, equity, and inclusion; and
• MH.Obj. 4) Ensure financial stability and continuation of student access to evidence-based and evidence-informed school-based mental health interventions, programs services, and supports beyond the second and final year of the RECOVS Mental Health Grant Program.

If you would like to talk it over, feel free to reach out to me at 518 461-8200.