Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare Receives $5 Million Grant to Serve Youth and Young Adults with Mental Health Conditions

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) recently received a $5 million, five-year grant focused on improving life trajectories for youth and young adults with, or at risk for, serious mental health conditions.

The grant, titled, "Now is the Time: Healthy Transitions," will specifically assist individuals, ages 16-25.

DPW's Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) will work with Washington, Bucks and Berks counties to create service delivery systems that include a focus on education, employment, housing and peer services.

"This presents an exciting opportunity for groundbreaking innovation for screening, assessment and early intervention," DPW Secretary Bev Mackereth said. "The grant will be used to teach people the early signs of serious mental health conditions and improve services."

Over the five year grant period, the grant will allow OMHSAS to serve 660 people with serious mental health conditions, including depression and major mood disorders, attention deficit disorder and oppositional defiant disorder.

The Pennsylvania Healthy Transitions Partnership will promote awareness and early identification of serious mental health conditions and improve access to a broad array of effective and integrated services and supports for youth and young adults.

The partnership will also include schools, service providers, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh. The universities will share their research to identify individuals while they are in the very early stages of psychosis. Their research suggests early intervention can prevent cognitive decline and enable a much richer qualify of life.

For more information about mental health services offered through DPW, visit www.dpw.state.pa.us.

Media contact: Diana Fishlock, 717-425-7606

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare

Related Links

http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/