MOUNT HOLLY, NJ – Today, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) announced that the Burlington County Institute of Technology (BCIT) is receiving over $1.8 million in federal grant money to expand behavioral and mental health services and implement cultural competency and implicit bias training.

“These past few years have been challenging for students at all levels. Now, we need to be providing them with the resources they need to meet any behavioral and mental health challenges, and make sure the same infrastructure is in place for future generations,” said Congressman Kim. “Thanks to this funding, more students in Burlington County and their families will know where to go for the resources they need. It’s great to see our community prioritizing mental health and delivering support services to help people through some of their most difficult times. I’m proud to have helped deliver this funding and look forward to seeing its positive effects across our community.”

“The BCIT Board is grateful for the support from Congressman Kim in securing more than $1.8 million in federal funds for School Based Trauma Support Services,” said President of the BCIT School District, Tyler J. Burrell. “These funds will allow BCIT to provide significant behavioral and mental health support services to the over 2,000 BCIT students and their families/caregivers. Given the challenging climate faced by today’s students, we welcome the opportunity to provide these critical mental health resources.”

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded the BCIT Trauma Informed Service Program $1,807,480 to expand access to available trauma resources and programs, specifically addressing transportation and financial barriers, and systemic and historic barriers impacting underrepresented communities. BCIT will work with local partners to create a database of available trauma-based resources and also implement a cultural competency and implicit bias training for BCIT administrative and support staff.

Congressman Kim was proud to work with BCIT to support their pursuit of this federal grant. If your organization or nonprofit is applying for a federal grant, our office has a dedicated Grants Director who is available to submit a letter of support on your behalf, connect you with a federal grant liaison to answer application questions, obtain feedback about a previously denied grant to strengthen your next application, or work with congressional liaisons to research potential federal grant opportunities.