Senator cosponsored bipartisan legislation creating an online mental health dashboard to make it easier for providers and nonprofits to apply for and access federal mental health grants
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema cosponsored the Achieving Thorough Transparency & Accessibility for Information Navigation (ATTAIN) Mental Health Act – bipartisan legislation helping Arizona providers, nonprofits, and other stakeholders navigate the application process for existing federal mental health funding by creating an interactive, online dashboard.
“Through our Bipartisan Safer Communities law, we secured historic levels of resources to strengthen mental health services, and now we need to help Arizona providers, local agencies, and nonprofits access and locate available mental health grant opportunities. We’re making the search process for mental health resources easier and more accessible to strengthen mental health care across our state,” said Sinema.
Between the Sinema-led Bipartisan Safer Communities law, the Sinema-shaped American Rescue Plan, and the bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, there has been an increase in mental health funding opportunities at the federal level. It is important for service providers, health providers, nonprofits, first responders, and local entities to be able to view, track, and search for funding opportunities to ensure resources reach Arizona communities.
As she’s traveled the state and met with Arizonans of diverse backgrounds, Sinema consistently hears about the need to streamline the grant application process to help local nonprofits, schools, and businesses – particularly in rural communities – navigate resources. Often, small entities in rural communities lack the person-power and time to comb through federal agencies to look for the grant applications that are relevant to the challenges they face, and end up missing out on the resources and funds available to them.
The Sinema-backed ATTAIN Mental Health Act removes these barriers by directing an interagency consultation process, guided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to review relevant federal funding opportunities and use stakeholder feedback to create a publicly accessible online dashboard. The dashboard would offer a user-friendly, transparent way for applicants to identify available federal funding for mental health support and programs.
The bipartisan legislation builds on Sinema’s history of championing commonsense mental health support that invests in violence prevention in Arizona and across the country.
In the wake of the May 24, 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Sinema formed a bipartisan group of solutions-focused Senators and led negotiations on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – historic legislation breaking nearly 30 years of inaction by investing in community and school violence prevention and mental health services. In February, Sinema announced the first round of funding from her law coming to Arizona – $6 million to support Arizona crisis intervention programs. As funding has become more available, the Senator has met with Arizona local leaders, stakeholders, and advocates to maximize the investments coming to Arizona.
One of Sinema’s first victories after first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives was leading the fight to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act in 2013. Most recently, Sinema worked across the aisle to renew the Violence Against Women Act in March 2022.