Friday, March 04, 2005

$3.35 Million Available for National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health SAMHSA press release - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the availability of FY 2005 funds for a cooperative agreement to serve as a national resource and training center to promote the planning and development of child and family centered systems of care for children and adolescents with, or at risk for, a serious emotional disturbance and their families. It is expected that approximately $3.35 million will be available to fund one cooperative agreement for a national training and technical assistance center for child and adolescent mental health. Of this amount, approximately $250,000 is included to provide technical assistance for State capacity building to grantees initially funded in FY 2004 under the Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Substance Abuse State Infrastructure Grants program. The annual award amount will be approximately $3.35 million per year for up to five years."  
  

$18.8 Million Available for State Grants to Transform Mental Health  SAMHSA press release - "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the availability of FY 2005 funds for cooperative agreements with states to support infrastructure and service delivery improvements that will help build a solid foundation for delivering and sustaining effective mental health and related services. 'Transforming our nation’s mental health system requires us to expand how we look at public and personal health care,' SAMHSA administrator Charles Curie said. 'Everyone from public policymakers to consumers and family members must come to understand that mental health is a vital, integral part of overall health. These grants will help change the way in which the mental health system provides effective treatment and ultimately how consumers and families recover.'"  
  

Ecstasy use 'link' to depression  BBC story - "Heavy ecstasy use is linked to an increase in depressive symptoms in some people, a study suggests. A Cambridge University team studied 124 people and found those with a certain genetic make-up showed greater signs of depression after using the drug. The scientists, writing in the American Journal of Psychiatry, said it could show how vulnerable ecstasy users are to long-term psychiatric problems." See also the abstract of the study.