Crains Health Pulse New York

The Montefiore Health System’s school health program will get $4.5 million for behavioral health programs this year, thanks to funding secured by New York leadership in Congress, Montefiore has announced.

The support is part of a federal spending package President Joe Biden signed last year. It will go toward programs for about 10,000 children in the Bronx and Westchester County, Montefiore said.

The funding will support the creation of public school–based behavioral health clinics, Montefiore said, and will cover renovations and operating expenses. The clinics will offer individual therapy, family therapy, group therapy, psychiatric assessments, medication management, teacher consultations, community referrals and crisis intervention, it said. Montefiore’s school-based providers will work with families to help them access housing, legal aid, health insurance and food assistance, the health system said.

Montefiore said kids in the Bronx and Westchester experience challenges accessing behavioral health care, highlighting the need for such clinics.

The health system’s school health program provides health care, behavioral care, optometry and dentistry services to about 40,000 children, Montefiors said. The health system also operates 10 hospitals and more than 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites in the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. —J.N.

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