U.S. Senator John Cornyn announced that Region One was awarded a federal grant of $999,952 for five years to expand access to mental health services for schools.

Region One serves eight counties and 38 districts, including the Rio Grande Valley.

According to Cornyn, the funding include training school counselors, social workers or other mental health professionals to "help fill the gap and address the shortage of mental health providers."

The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Education's Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration program.