Arizona's Department of Education will use $9 million to provide behavioral health services to traditionally underserved children in Maricopa and Pinal counties.
The Whole Child Approach program will station behavioral health coaches from Terros Health, an Arizona-based healthcare company, at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley's 30 clubs by the end of the three-year pilot program, according to an Oct. 19 news release from the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Arizona's education department was granted $3 million from the federal government's American Rescue Plan, and the remaining $6 million for the Boys & Girls Clubs will come from three philanthropic foundations: the Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, the Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation and the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, the release said.
"Our club members face so many barriers to accessing much-needed behavioral health services, including transportation, and financial and cultural stigma challenges," Marcia Mintz, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley, said in the release. "Bringing these services right into the clubs, where we can use proven prevention and intervention services, will help thousands of youth who need it most.".