Montclair Receives $3.5M Grant to Expand Mental Health Services in NJ School Districts
Funding from the U.S. Department of Education will allow Montclair to recruit, prepare, and retain school psychologists in partnership with West Orange, East Orange and Clifton
Posted in: Homepage News and Events, Psychology, Research
Montclair State University has been awarded a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to address critical shortages in school psychology and mental health services in public schools.
Talida State, Associate Professor for the Department of Teaching and Learning in the College for Education and Engaged Learning (CEEL), is the principal investigator of the project, and Julia Coyne, Director of the School Psychology Certificate Program and Psychoeducational Services Clinic in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), is co-principal investigator for the project. The project is the result of a shared vision to develop and promote best practices in school psychology at Montclair.
The award, part of the Biden-Harris administration’s latest investment of $70 million to expand student access to school-based mental health services across the nation, will support the implementation of Montclair’s project, titled EPIC-MHP: Enhancing Preservice Instruction for Comprehensive Mental Health Provision (EPIC-MHP).
The project is a significant advancement in the unique partnership between Montclair and Local Education Agencies (LEA) of West Orange, East Orange, and Clifton that will allow for the recruitment, training, and retention of diverse and highly qualified and culturally responsive school psychologists who are well-prepared to meet the challenges of today’s educational and mental health landscape.
About the EPIC-MHP program
The EPIC-MHP program fosters innovative, inclusive, and sustainable solutions to improve student outcomes and well-being in New Jersey. Over the next five years, it will enroll and train 60 school psychology graduate students in the Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology with State Certification in School Psychology and the innovative Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Certificate, designed to equip trainees with the specialized skill needed to provide quality mental health services in schools.
Each school psychology trainee will engage in structured, progressively challenging embedded fieldwork experiences designed to build competencies in school psychology and MTSS-driven mental health service delivery. Working closely with qualified school-based supervisors and Montclair faculty, trainees will learn to implement and monitor MTSS initiatives in their placements with the goal of creating a positive impact for district students while enhancing practical skill acquisition.
Graduates of the school psychology program will:
- Acquire a strong foundation in MTSS framework.
- Receive supervision from credentialed professionals in the implementation of comprehensive, schoolwide mental health efforts.
- Gain marketable experience co-planning and implementing MTSS initiatives in schools, effectively bridging the gap between theory and practice.
“Our goal is to prepare a new generation of school psychologists with the expertise to tackle the growing mental health challenges in our schools,” says State. “By embedding MTSS principles into their training, we are preparing them not only to provide direct mental health services but also to lead system wide initiatives that promote the well-being of all students.”
Adds Coyne, “Paid practica and internships are crucial to ensuring that trainees receive quality experiences in local partner districts. It’s wonderful to be able to reduce some of the financial burdens associated with school psychology training in New Jersey.”
“Our ability to provide stipends is a game changer for our program and our students. Easing the financial barriers makes their career paths more accessible, especially for underrepresented groups within our cohorts.”
Cross-collaboration at Montclair
The EPIC-MHP project illustrates the impact of effective and authentic collaboration between disciplines in CEEL and CHSS. This entrepreneurial and cross-college collaboration is consistent with Montclair State University’s Strategic Plan 2025: Project Soar and embodies the institution’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, emphasizing a transformative recruitment and training-to-employment pipeline. This initiative equips future school psychologists with the skills and knowledge necessary to address critical mental health and educational needs in diverse communities within the state of New Jersey.
