Connecticut

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law in 2015. The Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) program falls under ESSA, subpart 1 of Title IV, Part A. The SSAE program is intended to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and local communities to provide all students with access to a well-rounded education; improve school conditions for student learning; and improve the use of technology to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students. States receive funds in the form of block grants and then fund local education agencies. To learn more, visit NCSSLE’s Title IV, Part A, SSAE Program page.

In 2014, the State of Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services received a Healthy Transitions grant. This 5-year grant program was designed to help improve access to treatment and support services for youth and young adults, ages 16-25 years old, who were at high risk of developing a serious mental or behavioral health condition. The goal of the program was to expand services and supports that were culturally competent and youth guided, improve cross-system collaboration, and increase public awareness of available resources and strategies for identifying early indications of serious mental health and substance use conditions among youth and young adults. To learn more, about this grant go to: https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/sm-14-017.

In 2014, the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) received a School Climate Transformation grant. With this 5-year grant, CSDE developed state-wide support systems and provided technical assistance to local educational agencies and schools on implementing evidence-based multi-tiered behavioral frameworks. The primary goal was to improve behavioral outcomes and learning conditions for all students. To find out more about this grant go to: https://www2.ed.gov/programs/schoolclimatesea/index.html.

In 2019, the Capital Region Educational Council received a Project Prevent grant. This district is using this 5-year grant to increase their capacity to help schools in communities with pervasive violence to better address the needs of affected students and to break the cycle of violence in those communities. To find out more about this grant, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/programs/projectprevent/index.html.

In 2014, New London Public Schools received a Project Prevent grant. They used this 5-year grant to help their schools increase capacities for identifying, assessing, and serving students exposed to pervasive violence. The award helped ensure that affected students were offered mental health services for trauma or anxiety. The award also supported the implementation of other school-based violence prevention strategies that reduced the likelihood of future violence. To find out more about this grant, go to: https://www2.ed.gov/programs/projectprevent/index.html.

The Education Connection received funding through the U.S. Department of Education Elementary and Secondary School Counseling grant program. This 3-year grant helped schools expand the capacity of their school mental health services by 1) hiring qualified mental health professionals and 2) supporting parental involvement and school staff professional development to increase their capacities for collaborating with mental health community-based service providers. For more information about this grant, go to: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/elseccounseling/index.html.