U.S.-Based Foundations Bolster the Center’s Mental Health Advocacy Efforts

Featured September 2019

Mental illnesses are among the most common health conditions in the world. Despite the growing prevalence of diagnosable mental illnesses – about one in four Americans are living with one in any given year – even the most serious of mental health conditions can be treated. Our collaborative investment in mental health care equity and stigma reduction is critical to the future of global health care.

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation and Casey Family Programs both partner with The Carter Center to make positive change for individuals impacted by mental illness. Casey Family Programs supports the Center’s activities to improve the behavioral health of children and adolescents in Georgia. The Hearst Foundation supports The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, which trains journalists to effectively and accurately report on behavioral health issues. The media is an important tool in influencing public perception of mental illness and can therefore help reduce stigma and discrimination.

William Randolph Hearst Foundation Empowers Mental Health Journalism Fellowships
The William Randolph Hearst Foundation has been a significant donor to The Carter Center since 1984, and was one of the original supporters of The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism (RCJF) in 1996, which they still support today. RCJF provides year-long, non-residential fellowships for journalists based in the United States and abroad. The fellowship aims to increase the effectiveness and accuracy of behavioral health reporting and equip journalists with the tools needed to produce high-quality work that reflects an understanding of behavioral health issues. We hope that these outcomes will lead to a demonstrated change in policy or behavioral systems, such as newsrooms’ adoption of a mental health reporting policy or other behavioral health guidelines adopted by local and state organizations.

Casey Family Programs Supports Child and Family Well-Being
A partner since 2015, Casey Family Programs is the nation’s largest operating foundation with the mission to provide, improve and, ultimately, prevent the need for foster care. To date, it has contributed nearly $600,000 to support the Carter Center’s efforts to improve behavioral health services for vulnerable children and adolescents in Georgia. Specifically, the Center and Casey Family Programs have worked to address the behavioral health needs of youth identified in Georgia’s 2013 juvenile justice code rewrite as Children in Need of Services (CHINS). Collaborative projects have helped to establish best practices to increase access to prevention and early-intervention services for at-risk children and families, thereby supporting the diversion of children and adolescents from the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.

The Carter Center is grateful for the William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s and the Casey Family Programs’ generous support in strengthening our efforts to advance mental health care. We thank them for their commitment and partnership.

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