Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Gives 15 Grants to Schools to Improve Mental Health and Dental Care

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded 15 hospitals and health departments across the country a total of about $3.3 million in grants to expand mental health and dental care services in school-based centers. Eight of the grants will go to mental health services projects, and seven will go to dental services projects. The three-year, $220,000 grants were awarded through RWJF's "Caring for Kids: Expanding Dental and Mental Health Services Through School-Based Health Centers" program, which is administered by George Washington University's Center for Health and Health Care in Schools. In a release, the center notes that the grants will help "[un]burden" an area in which there are "substantial" problems. According to the center, 9% of children need mental health assistance, but 75% do not receive treatment. About 5% of all children under age 18 need dental help, and 39% of African-American children and 60% of Mexican-American children have untreated dental problems. Julia Graham Lear, the director of the grant program, said, "School-based centers have been critical providers of health services for young people, particularly those who are uninsured. This program will ... address these critical problems" (CHHCS release, 2/4). A list of the grantees is available online.