Mental Health Fund
The Mental Health Fund is the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)’s first designated fund, created to advance a specific purpose aligned with CEC’s mission. Co-founded by Jeremy Glauser, the Fund strengthens school mental health systems so students and educators across the United States can receive consistent, effective support.
The Fund currently supports the ECHO Project (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), a national learning network that helps states improve behavioral health supports in practical, lasting ways. Using ECHO’s “all teach, all learn” model, state teams learn from experts and peers, share real challenges, and identify strategies that can be implemented and scaled across states, districts, and schools.
Impact
In 2025, the ECHO Project convened four cohorts of state, district, and school leaders, turning shared challenges into actionable solutions.
Early results show stronger systems and meaningful collaboration. After just four ECHO sessions, 95 percent of participants reported increased confidence in improving school behavioral health. Teams are also putting learning into practice. One participating state used insights from ECHO to secure nearly $1 million in new funding for statewide behavioral health initiatives.
Why the Mental Health Fund
- Youth behavioral health needs are rising, and schools are where students spend most of their weekdays.
- State and district systems face workforce shortages, limited training time, unstable funding, and inconsistent implementation.
- CEC is investing in capacity-building, so behavioral health supports are consistent, sustainable, and effective across the system.
What Your Gift Funds
The ECHO Project
The Mental Health Fund currently supports a school behavioral health initiative through a partnership with the University of South Carolina School Behavioral Health Team. Using the ECHO model, this work builds peer learning communities and strengthens implementation across states, districts, and schools.
Key elements:
- Vertical alignment across state educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and school teams
- Horizontal learning through state-to-state collaboration
- “All teach, all learn” sessions, combining training with case-based problem solving
The Mental Health Fund’s Impact
After just four sessions in 2025, 95 percent of participants reported increased confidence in improving school behavioral health.
State teams are sharing practices and overcoming barriers in areas such as workforce development and funding. With sustainable funding, CEC can expand cohorts and extend this learning network, so states are not one-time participants, but part of an ongoing community of practice.
The long-term goal is to support all 50 states and help states build ECHO satellites that deepen local impact.
Why this matters for students with disabilities
Strengthening a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) leads to stronger academic, behavioral, and social-emotional supports for all students, with greater consistency and shared ownership across the system. When schools and systems have the capacity to implement evidence-based practices well, students with exceptionalities benefit from clearer pathways to the services and supports they need to succeed.
Questions About Giving?
Email [email protected] or call (703) 264-9434 (voice) to explore giving options or discuss a commitment.