NJCU Receives HRSA Grant to Help Underserved Communities

The Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs (OGSP) announces that NJCU has been awarded a $171,677 grant from the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training program. Led by Project Director Dr. Vaibhavee R. Agaskar, Assistant Professor of Counselor Education and Coordinator of NJCU’s Clinical Mental Health Program, this grant will help NJCU students meet the increasing demand for behavioral health care services, especially for at-risk children, adolescents, and transitional-age youth, in local underserved communities.

The grant will support a one-year, advanced training program for graduate students in NJCU’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) Program. Through the grants, 12 low-income students from diverse backgrounds will each receive: a $10,000 stipend; one-on-one advisement and mentoring; supplementary advanced training to prepare them for a year-long internship at local community agencies; and training in cultural competency, integrated behavioral health care, advocacy, leadership, evidence-based clinical interventions, assessments, and diagnosis for at-risk children, adolescents, and transitional-age youth.

This is Dr. Agaskar’s first grant proposal and first grant award since joining NJCU in 2013; this is the second HRSA award that NJCU has won in the last three years. Other NJCU faculty involved in the grant-funded program include Dr. Yung-Wei Lin and Dr. Grace W. Wambu, both assistant professors of counselor education.

By training and graduating a diverse body of mental health professionals well-prepared to provide services to at-risk children, adolescents, and transitional-age youth, the NJCU program will expand and diversify the substance abuse and mental health workforce, strengthen critical partnerships between NJCU and clinical care providers, and help improve the integration of care across the health care continuum.

A vital campus resource, the Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs assists faculty and staff in procuring external funding that supports research, professional development, equipment purchases, facilities renovations, student support services and other campus enrichment activities. Since August 1, 2015, the OGSP has helped secure more than $17 million in new grant awards from various federal, state, and local agencies.