Joliet schools, Will County Health Dept. get funds for youth mental health programs

The Will County Health Department and Joliet public schools are the recipients of state grants to bolster local youth mental health services.

The health department and District 86 received $214,870.33 and $206,688.16, respectively, as part of Gov. JB Pritzker’s recent round of grants that have totaled $9.5 million in funding to 40 different applicants across the state, according to a news release from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The funding is primarily from the CDC’s COVID-19 Public Health Workforce Supplemental Funding program, which was authorized by the American Rescue Act, plus $500,000 in state dollars., according to the release.

It is being offered to help schools and local agencies improve student care through workforce enhancements, developing framework to prevent adverse childhood experiences, interventions to assist children suffering from trauma and training for medical school staff to expand adolescent mental health resources, according to the release.

The funding opportunity was overseen by the IDPH’s Office of Women’s Health & Family Services. More than 50% of the applicants for the funding opportunity are receiving funding.

To see a full list of grant recipients across Illinois, visit here.