he American Psychiatric Association (APA) has been awarded a five-year, $7.1 million grant to continue and expand the HHS/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) grant. The dollar amount represents a nearly doubling of annual federal funding for the APA fellowships.The program is intended to reduce health disparities and improve mental health care of minority patients as well as encourage more racial and ethnic minorities to join the behavioral health work force. Fellows are given one-on-one support for their projects on mental health disparities as well as mentorship from APA leadership and former fellows.MFP fellows must be a racial/ethnic minority or have an interest in reducing mental health disparities. Each fellowship is for one to two years, and each fellow is awarded $25,000 for a research project in addressing mental health disparities. The APA has had more than 500 MPF fellows since 1974, and today these fellows serve underserved communities and act as leaders in the field of psychiatry.“Addressing racial disparities in health care is a core part of the APA strategic plan and a specific focus in my presidential term,” said APA President Altha Stewart, M.D. “The increased funding will allow us to expand the work of the fellows and support training that will impact the ability of all our members to provide culturally appropriate care and improve outcomes for all patients, especially those in minority and underserved communities. The fact that SAMHSA nearly doubled the annual funding shows the importance and value of this effort, and we look forward to this APA program supporting our work to achieve mental health equity.”American Psychiatric AssociationThe American Psychiatric Association, founded in 1844, is the oldest medical association in the country. The APA is also the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 37,800 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses. APA’s vision is to ensure access to quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. For more information please visit www.psychiatry.org.