The San Diego Foundation to Grant $300K to Programs Supporting Mental, Behavioral Health Care for Local Families

For Immediate Release

New initiative focuses on low-to-moderate income families with children of all ages

April 4, 2022 – San Diego, CA – The San Diego Foundation announced today $300,000 in grant funding is available to local nonprofit organizations to support projects and programs providing mental, behavioral and related support services to children of all ages and their families.

“Thriving children and families are a key component of a healthy, resilient region,” said Katie Rast, Director of Community Impact at The San Diego Foundation. “A lack of access to mental and behavioral health care continue to negatively impact our communities, and the effects have been further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

This past fall, a coalition of the nation’s leading experts in pediatric health declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health. According to the December 2020 report, “Roadmap for Resilience: The California Surgeon General’s Report on Adverse Childhood Experiences, Toxic Stress, and Health,” Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma represent an urgent public health crisis with wide-reaching health and societal impacts. Informed by this report, regional data and local stakeholders, ACEs are recognized as an issue affecting many children, families and service providers in San Diego County.

The San Diego Foundation’s Healthy Children and Families Initiative (HCF) launched in fall 2021 and kicked off with a project focused on reducing child poverty and improving economic stability through outreach to families to support access to the expanded Child Tax Credit. HCF is committed to increasing quality of life for children and their low-to-moderate income families through expanded access to supportive services.

Proposals for the 2022 HCF grant must focus on at least one of the following areas:

• Implement culturally responsive and trauma-informed approaches that address ACEs and/or other clinical screening tools for children of all ages and/or their parents, guardians or caregivers and provide appropriate treatment or referrals based on screening outcomes.
• Ensure that children and families have access and/or care coordination to high-quality, affordable and culturally responsive mental and behavioral health care.
• Provide supportive interventions that are culturally responsive and trauma-informed for children and/or their parents, guardians or caregivers to support mental and behavioral wellness, such as family-centered interventions, peer-to-peer support, interactive education, coaching and mentoring, and other programs promoting resiliency.

Nonprofit organizations are invited to apply for up to $30,000 through 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 4, at SDFoundation.org/grantseekers. The San Diego Foundation will host an optional Q&A webinar for interested nonprofit organizations at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, April 14 (register online).