TULSA, Okla. — City of Tulsa and Tulsa Public Schools say they're getting the biggest grant in the city's history directed to improve mental health in kids under 18.
The $13 million announcement comes as Tulsa saw a 117% increase in youth psychiatric inpatient admissions during the pandemic.
Interim TPS Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson joined officials Thursday at City Hall announcing there's now 13 million reasons to celebrate helping Tulsa kids get mental health care.
“Altogether this is the largest amount of competitive federal funding for our children’s mental health ever directed to the Tulsa community,” Johnson said.
$4 million goes to new resources from the city's mental health commission working with non-profits like Healthy Minds Policy Institute.
"Most of the programming funded by these grants is going to fund services that children lack if they have really intensive needs, so you need something more than a therapist visit once a month but you don't want to go in and out of an er or a crisis center," Healthy Minds Executive Director Zack Stoycoff said.
The grants come from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to be dispersed over four years.
It coincides with the city's active search for its first chief mental health officer.
Mayor G.T. Bynum told 2 News this comes not a moment too soon.
"For all of those children who are driving up by a substantial number the number of those being treated, we also have those who are most in need not getting any treatment at all," Mayor Bynum said.
$9 million of the grants go to Tulsa Public Schools over the next five years. Dr. Johnson said this is a breakthrough for the school district, especially for its families who might suffer economically.
"It's going to be a true set of intentional supports for students who I'd say not otherwise always have that level of intensity of support," Johnson said. "We're going to be able to provide that."
Johnson added the district already wrote up plans before the grants were approved and with the funding, TPS families can get results.
"I would say that it will be a serious ramp-up of supports for our students so by of course midyear, end of year, we should see our students being able to get more support for their mental health challenges, of course with the supports and collaboration with their families," she said.
Tulsa is the only city in the state to get funding from the federal program.
An additional $3 million will reportedly come from matched donations from community partners to the city's investments.
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