North Carolina receives nearly $15 million to boost mental health services for children and families

North Carolina is receiving $14.8 million to support mental health initiatives for children and families. 

The four-year grant to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services comes from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The funds will bolster the NC System of Care, a program that offers what are known as High-Fidelity Wraparound Services, designed to assist children and families before, during, and after a crisis.

An NCDHHS official says the grant will enhance the support given to local partners such as county social services departments, schools, and community groups, as well as the state juvenile justice division. And a System of Care representative says the program offers a structure that puts families and children “in the driver’s seat of their own care.”

One goal is to expand existing social service programs to lessen the number of emergency department visits.

According to a news release, the pandemic years saw the number of children in North Carolina discharged from an emergency department with a behavioral health condition increase by 70 percent.