U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is demanding that the Trump administration restore funding to two grant programs that support school-based mental health services, the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant (MHSP) and the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant (SBMH).
According to the Senator, MHSP and SBMH were designed to create a workforce development pipeline for school counselors, psychologists, and social workers to address the shortage of school-based mental health professionals in New York and across the country. She claims that with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the programs were slated to provide a combined $1 billion through Fiscal Year 2026 $18.2 million of which was already allocated to schools in New York State.
“Protecting the mental health of our kids should not be a partisan issue,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I am appalled by the Trump administration’s decision to terminate MHSP and SBMH funding, particularly as the shortage of mental health professionals and school counselors persists nationwide. Thousands of students are set to benefit from the mental health care they’re receiving because of these programs, and I am committed to fighting for the restoration of this vital funding.”
Senator Gillibrand’s most recent letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon follows a similar letter that she sent with Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) in May. In that letter, the senators discussed the impact of the MHSP and SBMH programs nationwide and asked for the Department of Education’s rationale for terminating this funding. The senators said they received an unsatisfactory response to this outreach last month.
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