Laredo, TX—Today, U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) announced $5,975,000 in federal funding over five years for Serving Children and Adults in Need (SCAN) Inc. These funds, awarded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Center for Mental Health Services, will be used for SCAN’s Familias Unida (Families United) Project, the Webb County Mental Health Awareness Training Project, and the South Texas MAT Expansion and Recovery Project.

“SCAN provides an invaluable service to the community. With their services, underserved communities in South Texas can access quality mental health and substance abuse care. Even more importantly, their work saves lives,” said Congressman Cuellar. “With SCAN’s vigilance in providing treatment for underserved communities, these individuals can get the help the need and get their lives back on track. I will continue to support SCAN with federal funding to ensure that the organization has the proper resources to support mental health and substance abuse training projects.”

Familias Unida Project

The Familias Unidas project is receiving $2.725 million from the Department of Health and Human Services. The project will serve adolescents (ages 12-18) and transitional aged youth (ages 16-25) with substance use disorders and/or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. The funding will also support their families and primary caregivers with tools to combat these illnesses. The project is proposing to serve 150 youth per year for a total of 750 youth for the entire grant period.

Webb County Mental Health Awareness Training Project

Another HHS grant provides $625,000 to SCAN’s Webb County Mental Health Awareness Training Project. The purpose of this project is to train 2,250 individuals in Webb County to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders. The project will primarily focus on serious mental illness and/or serious emotional disturbances. This project will also strengthen and expand linkages with school and community-based mental health agencies to refer individuals with the signs or symptoms of mental illness to appropriate services.

South Texas MAT Expansion and Recovery Project

The $2,625,000 in federal funding for the South Texas MAT Expansion and Recovery Project will increase the treatment capacity for adults with an Opioid Use Disorder who reside in Webb County. Through medication-assisted treatment using buprenorphine and a comprehensive set of psychosocial treatments, case management, and recovery services. Over a period of 5 years, the project aims to serve a total of 350 Webb County residents.

The breakdown of funding is below:

Familias Unida Project—$2,725,000 ($545,000/year)

Webb County Mental Health Awareness Training Project—$625,000 ($125,000/year) 

South Texas MAT Expansion and Recovery Project—$2,625,000 ($525,000/year)

Total—$5,975,000

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