The Center for Child and Human Development has been awarded a $17.5 million federal grant for the creation of a national training center to address the mental health of children, university officials announced earlier this week.

The grant was awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to support the creation of the National Training and Technical Center for Children’s Mental Health. SAMHSA is a federal agency responsible for improving the quality of treatment services for substance abuse and mental illness.

The grant will be distributed over a five-year period to help the center make mental health systems more accessible and responsive through training and technical assistance. The center will focus training on areas such as policy development, financing of services and leadership.

Phyllis Magrab, director of the Center for Child and Human Development, said the grant is a sign of recognition of the center’s programs.

“We are delighted and honored to receive this grant,” she said. “It gives us a unique opportunity to work with every state in this country to improve their mental care for children and youth as well as to work in partnership with family organizations to assure the important role of families in the process.”

The grant also allows the center to establish academies and training institutes for mental health workers and conduct studies on intervention, evidenced-based services and cultural competence.

“The broad reach of this grant is what makes it so important,” Magrab said. “We reach policymakers, administrative leaders, providers, families and youth themselves across the nation – a constituency of thousands.”

One of the center’s first initiatives under the grant was to provide disaster relief in Texas following Hurricane Katrina. The center sent teams to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston to support mental health workers and design future plans to support youth with mental health needs.

The center is also creating tool kits for schools and materials for families of children with special needs. It will soon expand relief efforts to other states in the region, including Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Magrab praised the new partnership between the center and SAMSHA.

“Strong leadership for this work is coming from our federal partner,” she said.

The Center for Child and Human Development is a division of Georgetown Hospital’s pediatrics department.

A SAMSHA spokesperson was unavailable for comment.