Maryland Officials Announce $120M for K-12 Behavioral Health Services

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Maryland officials on Tuesday highlighted the availability of $120 million in grants for behavioral and mental health services to help K-12 students over the next year and a half.

Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, described the funding as a historic investment that is critical to the state's 900,000 school children at a time when kids are facing the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on learning and socialization.

We cant just put it all on teachers. We cant just put it all on principals," said Ferguson, a former high school teacher. "We need the supports that are in the community to come into the school buildings and work in partnership to really provide the level of engagement and support that kids need to be their best selves.

Ferguson made the announcement with Laura Herrera Scott, the state's health secretary, and members of the Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, a 25-member panel that has been working on developing a statewide framework to expand access to services for students.