HHS awards more than $44.5 million to expand the nation’s behavioral health workforce

A female doctor speaking to an audience with two men seated behind her

On September 22, HRSA announced more than $44.5 million in awards to increase access to quality mental health and substance abuse services for young people.

In conjunction with SAMHSA, HRSA is funding 144 new and continuing grants through the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) program, which supports clinical internships and field placements for an array of professional and paraprofessional behavioral health disciplines and occupations.

More than $7.9 million will support 34 new grantees and an additional $36.6 million will fund 110 current grantees.

October is Corps Community Month

This October, the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) celebrates its 6th annual Corps Community Month.

The theme, "Share Your Service," offers a platform for the NHSC to highlight the importance and impact of health professionals providing primary care to underserved areas that need it the most.

We encourage you to share your impact story on social media using #ShareYourService throughout the month.

Learn more about Corps Community Month, and follow @NHSCorps on Twitter.

Celebrate Child Health Day

National Child Health Day was October 3rd, a day when HRSA demonstrates its commitment to protecting and empowering children by giving them the tools, resources, and knowledge to grow into healthy and productive adults.

HRSA is committed to ensuring all children live a healthy and happy life and believes in a future where all children are limited by nothing but the size of their dreams. Together we can make a difference!

See our MCHB Child Health Day Announcement.

Word Gap Challenge Finalists Advance

On September 22, nine teams from universities, private firms and non-profits vied in a day-long "shark tank" at HHS headquarters to advance their inventions on ways to increase the vocabulary of disadvantaged pre-schoolers.

The teams pitched their apps and devices for a chance to win up to $25,000 and advance to the 3rd and final phase of the competition, for a grand prize of $100,000.

Learn more about the Word Gap Challenge finalists.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

CDC campaigns inform young women and providers about hereditary breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States. About 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer during her life.

Breast cancer in young women is more likely to be hereditary than breast cancer in older women and more likely to be found at a later stage, when it is often more aggressive and difficult to treat. Many young women do not know their risk for breast cancer or ways to manage their risk.

Learn more about the Bring Your Brave and Know BRCA campaigns.

Trans* Health 201: A Deeper Dive Into Providing Culturally Appropriate Care from Patient and Provider Perspectives

Join us Monday October 17, 2016 at 1pm EDT, for a webinar discussing the health care needs of the trans* community from both the patient and provider perspectives. It will highlight special obstacles faced by trans* patients within the healthcare setting, opportunities to improve cultural competency within your organization and best practices to integrate trans* friendly care into primary care settings.

The target audience includes HRSA grantees, healthcare providers, public health officials, and advocates wanting to improve competency serving the needs of trans* patients in their practices. Free registration in advance is required and space is limited.

To be notified when the archived recording is available, contact Valerie Gallo.