John Carroll University’s College of Health has received the largest grant in University history, a $3.2 million federal award to expand access to graduate education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling while helping address the shortage of behavioral health professionals in underserved communities.
The five-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will support the CARES (Counseling Access through Recruitment, Education, and Scholarships) initiative under HRSA’s Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program. Designed to eliminate financial barriers for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the grant will provide need-based tuition scholarships to students enrolled in JCU’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program.
The five-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will support the CARES (Counseling Access through Recruitment, Education, and Scholarships) initiative under HRSA’s Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program. Designed to eliminate financial barriers for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the grant will provide need-based tuition scholarships to students enrolled in JCU’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program.
The funding will provide scholarships between 2026 and 2031 and can cover up to 100% of tuition costs for full-time graduate students enrolled in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at JCU.
“This is a transformational investment in our students and in the communities they will serve,” said Dr. Melissa Cole, Dean of the College of Health. “By reducing the financial barriers for students to pursue a graduate degree in clinical mental health counseling, we can open doors for talented future counselors while helping address the growing need for mental health professionals in our communities. This is exactly the kind of impact we want the College of Health to have—creating opportunity for our students while building a stronger, more accessible healthcare workforce.”
Through JCU’s fully online Clinical Mental Health Counseling pathway, students from across the U.S. can pursue their degree without relocating, allowing them to remain rooted in their home communities while preparing to address behavioral health needs where they live. JCU also offers a hybrid pathway for students seeking a combination of online and in-person learning.
That flexibility is central to CARES, which is designed to recruit, educate, and train future counselors within their home communities. The initiative will help build a sustainable pipeline of dually trained, highly qualified mental health professionals committed to practicing in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), primary care settings, and rural or medically vulnerable communities, including high-need areas across Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia.
The historic grant represents another major step in the growth of John Carroll’s College of Health and its efforts to prepare professionals to meet critical healthcare workforce needs. It also builds on the University’s recent investments in behavioral health education and expands JCU’s ability to make graduate healthcare education more accessible to students beyond Northeast Ohio.
In August, the University announced a $1.05 million award through the Ohio Behavioral Health Scholarship (OBHS) Program, a statewide initiative designed to strengthen Ohio’s behavioral health workforce. Through the OBHS Program, eligible students enrolled in John Carroll’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling or Applied Behavior Analysis programs can receive up to $15,000 per year for up to two years, with recipients committing to work in an eligible underserved Ohio community for a period equal to the number of years they receive scholarship support.
Together, the two awards represent more than $4.2 million in new funding to reduce the cost of graduate behavioral health education, expand access to John Carroll’s programs, and prepare professionals to serve communities where their expertise is needed most.
Please note: The Graduate School and the College of Health are still finalizing the details of the grant, including eligibility. Eligible students will be notified by email in the coming weeks.
