By Jovani Davis
(Source Caribbean National Weekly)
Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson has helped secure $5.25 million in federal funding to expand mental health services in Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Broward County Public Schools, with the funding to be distributed over a four-year period.
According to Wilson’s office, the funding includes $4 million for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and $1.25 million for Broward County Public Schools. The money will support partnerships aimed at training 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,” Wilson said. “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.”
Wilson emphasized that many students lack access to mental health resources outside of school and that schools are often the first line of support. “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,” she said, adding that low-income students, students of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and other marginalized communities face compounded mental health challenges due to systemic barriers.
“As a former principal, a former educator, and through my work with the 5000 Role Models of Excellence, I’ve seen it up close,” Wilson said. “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.”
For Broward County Public Schools, the funding will support Broward’s PATH Forward program — the Psychologist Advancement and Training Hub — which expands the pipeline of credentialed school psychologists. Over a 48-month period, the program will support three Broward County Public Schools employees through graduate program completion and certification, fund 23 full-time school psychology interns, and provide certification exam support for all participants.
The project is expected to 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 by the end of the grant period. Broward County Public Schools will receive $306,472 in 2026 and will continue to receive funding for four years.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools will use its funding for Project HOPE-SP — Holistic Opportunities for Preparation and Excellence in School Psychology. The initiative will increase the number of credentialed school psychologists through a partnership with a nationally accredited school psychology program, providing coursework, collaborative training projects, and monthly workshops focused on evidence-based assessment and intervention practices.
Project HOPE-SP will strengthen access to mental health interventions in 257 high-need schools serving 170,058 students. The project will support 34 graduate students in School Psychology through mentorship, financial support, and specialized training in multi-tiered systems of support and mental health intervention implementation. Miami-Dade County Public Schools will receive $1 million in 2026 for the program, with continued funding over four years.
The funding is provided through the Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Grant Program, which supports competitive grants to test and evaluate partnerships between higher education institutions and high-need school districts. The goal is to expand the pipeline of qualified school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other mental health professionals into low-income public elementary and secondary schools.
Wilson has previously delivered funding for mental health initiatives in Miami-Dade County, including the Adrienne Arsht Center’s “I am Me,” an arts-based youth mental health initiative. She has also held multiple hearings and forums on the mental health crisis among Black men and boys, including events in Washington, D.C., and New Y
