FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2005

Contact: Christine Mulvin
513-458-6621

The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati has awarded a $277,065 grant over three years to the Paint Valley Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board to design and implement a strategic plan that increases access to mental and behavioral health services for school-age children.

The grant funds will support a staff position that will assess the mental health needs of school-age children, assess the current capacity of the system to meet identified needs, assess the funding resources, develop a strategic plan that bridges the gap between identified needs and current services and pilot implementation for school-based treatment and intervention.

"There are limited behavioral health services available in rural areas," said Kate Keller, Program Officer of the Health Foundation. "Paint Valley will be able to determine the greatest needs in the area to concentrate resources and help the children who need it most."

There are 38,000 school-age children in the five counties that Paint Valley serves (Highland, Fayette, Pickaway, Pike and Ross Counties). These children attend 23 school districts, 3 vocational schools and 8 private schools.

"Mental health and alcohol and other drug treatment providers currently work with some of the school districts to provide limited prevention programming," said Juni Frey of Paint Valley. "We want to be sure that the services are allocated where they are needed."

For more information about Paint Valley's behavioral health services, call 740-773-2283.

The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati is an independent foundation dedicated to improving community health and access to health care for vulnerable populations. The Foundation awards grants to non-profit and governmental organizations for selected health programs and activities in Cincinnati and 20 surrounding counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. In 2004, the Health Foundation invested approximately $10.5 million to support local health care programs that address the objectives of the Foundation's four focus areas and general community health.