About the Program: Program Overview

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Mental Health First Aid is a groundbreaking public education program that helps the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. Mental Health First Aid USA is managed, operated, and disseminated by three national authorities — the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Mental Health First Aid is offered in the form of an interactive 12-hour course that presents an overview of mental illness and substance use disorders in the U.S. and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments. Those who take the 12-hour course to certify as Mental Health First Aiders learn a 5-step action plan encompassing the skills, resources and knowledge to help an individual in crisis connect with appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care.

The 12-hour Mental Health First Aid USA course has benefited a variety of audiences and key professions, including: primary care professionals, employers and business leaders, faith communities, school personnel and educators, state police and corrections officers, nursing home staff, mental health authorities, state policymakers, volunteers, young people, families and the general public. See how you can get involved — find a 12-hour Mental Health First Aid course near you or learn how you can become a certified instructor to teach the 12-hour course in your community.

Governments are paying attention to Mental Health First Aid.

Mental Health First Aid is featured in USA Today.

Mental Health First Aid has been featured in national media on NPR Morning Edition, NPR Talk of the Nation, and ABC News Now.

Upcoming Instructor Certification Courses

Questions about Mental Health First Aid USA? Contact Us.

U.S. Joins Brazil, Peru to End Forced Labor, Child Labor

The U.S. Department of Labor's International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) is providing a $5.35 million grant to support efforts by the governments of Brazil and Peru to end child labor and forced labor.
The grant will fund a project implemented by the International Labour Organization that builds on Brazil's pioneering efforts to combat forced labor through a trilateral partnership with the United States and Peru.

In Brazil, the project will help link victims and their households to social and livelihood programs. In Peru, the project will share good practices developed in Brazil to strengthen Peru's ongoing efforts to combat forced labor.

Since 1995, ILAB projects have rescued approximately 1.5 million children from exploitive labor. The U.S. Labor Department has funded 260 such projects implemented by more than 65 organizations in 91 countries. ILAB currently oversees more than $210 million of active programming to combat the worst forms of child labor.

For more information, see the Labor Department news release.