School Psychology Receives $1.1 Million to Increase Multilingual Mental Health Services in Oregon Schools

The U.S. Department of Education will provide five years of support for Lewis & Clark’s Project AMPLIFY to train school psychologists to provide multilingual and culturally appropriate mental health services to preK-12 students. Lewis & Clark faculty members Professor Elena Diamond and Professor Jennifer Twyford will lead Project AMPLIFY, which will be fully funded by the $1.1 million federal grant.

School Psychology Program Director and Professor Elena Diamond, PhD.Project AMPLIFY (Advancing Multilingual Practices and Learning with Inclusion for Youth) addresses a pressing and at times deadly mental health crisis faced by Oregon students, schools, families, and communities. National studies report that 1 in 6 youth between the ages of 6 to 17 experience a mental health disorder each year, and half of all lifetime mental illness is presented by age 14. In the last decade, there has been a 40% increase in mental, emotional, developmental, and behavioral disorders, and suicidal behaviors in high school students.

School psychologists are on the frontlines of this mental health crisis and are often the only access young people have to mental health care. But Oregon has a shortage of school psychologists, who undergo advanced training and must meet state licensing requirements that provide them with specialized skills that school counselors or other school staff do not have. Oregon schools are particularly in need of school psychologists who are multilingual and who have cultural competency to support the ethnic, racial, linguistic, and cultural diversity in our schools.

School Psychology Professor Jennifer Twyford, PhD.A portion of the $1.1 million will fund the creation of a new graduate-level curriculum at Lewis & Clark focused on teaching future school psychologists how to design and deliver multilingual and culturally appropriate supports and services. More than half of the grant will be used for scholarships to multilingual and culturally responsive graduate students who will learn from the new curriculum as they train to serve as school psychologists in Reynolds School District, Woodburn School District, Parkrose School District, Gresham-Barlow School District, Southern Oregon Education Service District, and Douglas Education Service District. Lewis & Clark will also develop a certificate program for current school psychologists across Oregon and the United States to deepen their skills for working effectively with multilingual and multicultural students and families.

“Public schools serve highly diverse students,” notes Professor Diamond, who sits on the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Ethics and Professional Practices Board. “The Project AMPLIFY certificate will be one of the first training options nationally that is specifically designed for meeting the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students. Lewis & Clark is proud to be leading the field with this initiative.”

The award to Project AMPLIFY comes from the Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) Grant Program, which received a dramatic increase in funding as part of the FY 2022 Appropriations Act and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. “I’m gratified that Lewis & Clark has secured these vital federal resources to bolster the ranks of school psychologists in our state who can make such a big difference in the lives of young Oregonians,” said U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden. “The acute youth mental health crisis in Oregon and nationwide demands a response on all fronts to help young people navigate the serious challenges they face.”

“Mental health care is essential health care, especially for school-aged kids, which is why it’s critical to support efforts that put more providers in schools,” added U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, who wrote the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act to boost the availability of school psychologists and other mental health providers in America’s public schools.

 “With this federal funding, Lewis & Clark’s Project AMPLIFY will increase the availability of quality mental health services in underserved and rural communities.”

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