Mental Health Initiatives – Stars Scholarship Fund

The Stars Scholarship Fund and the LaMantia Family is proud to announce a groundbreaking initiative aimed at addressing the growing need for mental health professionals in our communities. This innovative program, announced by Texas Senator and Stars Board Chairperson Morgan LaMantia, will provide significant financial and logistical support to Master of Science in Social Work graduates aspiring to become Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs). This initiative will help remove the barriers that often deter students from pursuing this critical career path. The program will cover the majority of supervision costs and provide necessary training support, ensuring that our community benefits from culturally and linguistically competent mental health professionals. The LaMantia family has pledged $1 million to initiate programs at universities in South and West Texas. The first program will be in partnership with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and will begin in the 2024-2025 school year with a cohort of 36 students. The second program will be in partnership with the University of Texas at El Paso and is projected to start in Spring 2025.