Therapy has proven to be wonderfully beneficial for children, helping them develop into mature and well-rounded adults. Unfortunately, for many parents, therapy can be expensive and inaccessible when they need it most. Those expenses can make mental health cost-prohibitive and keep your child from receiving the care they need before they experience a crisis. That’s where a scholarship for therapy might help.
Nationally, about 8 percent of children are under private insurance policies that don’t cover mental or emotional challenges. That number jumps to almost 12 percent in Florida according to a study conducted by Mental Health America. To fight the problem and provide students with mental health services, the Florida Empowerment Scholarship helps cover the cost of therapy—and it is available every year in the state of Florida.
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Therapy
The Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) Program is a way to supplement the cost of therapy and assessment testing for students. There are many incredible benefits to the scholarship and a wide range of children are eligible to receive it. The scholarship is administered through Step Up for Students. According to the organization, scholarships averaged between $6,900 and $7,500 for the 2021-22 school year.
The FES scholarship can be used toward a variety of school expenses including tuition, books, transportation, uniforms, testing, after-school care services, and other fees, including the cost of therapy. There are four primary types of FES programs.
FES Scholarship Programs
FES Educational Options (EO) – An income-based program that provides eligible students a scholarship to attend a private school selected by the parent. Alternatively, this option can provide funding for transportation to a Florida public school other than the one the student was assigned.
FES Unique Abilities (UA) – Created for students with special needs, the FES UA allows parents to personalize the education of their children with unique abilities. Parents are able to use the scholarship to direct funding to a combination of programs and providers including schools, therapists, specialists, curriculum, and technology, among others.
FES Hope – A sad reality for many students, bullying has been a prevalent and persistent problem. The FES Hope scholarship is designed to help K-12 students who don’t feel safe at their school attend a private school or a public school in a different district.
FES Reading – Helping students who struggle with reading, the FES Reading program offers parents access to education savings accounts (ESAs), worth $500 each, to help pay for tuition and fees related to boosting their child’s literacy.
How to Use this Scholarship for Therapy
The FES UA Scholarship is one of many ways parents can help fund their child’s mental health journey with Herrera Psychology. Parents or guardians can apply for the scholarships at Step Up for Students. Once approved, parents are able to utilize FES funds in multiple ways, based on which of the scholarship types they are eligible They can have the office administration at Herrera Psychology bill FES directly for reimbursement, or they can self-pay and seek reimbursement from the program.
If you’d like to use your FES-UA scholarship funds with Herrera Psychology, the process is simple. Contact our main office and let our administrative team know that you are interested in applying your FES-UA scholarship towards therapy and/or testing and evaluations. We’ll take it from there! For more information on the types of services the highly qualified team at Herrera Psychology can provide, please check out our website.
