The newly public budget, which currently is just a proposal from the Obama administration, is the first to include these new mental health initiatives. These initiatives were first introduce in a January report from the administration on how to reduce gun violence, according to the Washington Post.
Mental health professionals and advocates say that the new funds and initiatives are a good start, but that it is still a relatively small investment for the federal government, at $235 million. "It's a positive step forward but, to put it in perspective, over the last three years states have cut mental health services by $4.35 billion," said spokesperson for the National Alliance on Mental Illness Bob Corolla. "In terms of strengthening the system, I'd say it's a moderate investment."
In the budget, about $50 million would go to train psychologists, nurses, and counselors who also work in schools. Another $50 million goes to something called Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education), which helps teachers identify young people who may show signs of mental illness.
Another mental health professional, Steven Horen, chief executive Koved Care (a mental health company) agreed that "$235 million to cover the entire United States is not a lot of money," but also said that "sometimes you need to take small steps to get the ball rolling. You can't start by throwing billions of dollars at this, or it would be wasted. You're better off starting things this way."
Of course, there is a long and disputed budget battle for the Obama Administration to work through, and the proposed measures would have to get approval from Congress before any of these spending commitements would make their way down to the state and local governments, but the Newtown massacre has provided some momentum even on gun laws, so funding for more mental health professionals may escape the budget process unscathed.
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