COVID-19 has increased mental health needs for children and families across the State. Simultaneously, the pandemic has damaged mental health providers, including significant damage to Screening, Assessment, and Support Services (SASS) providers, the 24/7 crisis response programs. Sheltering in place has caused a significant reduction in patient referrals to SASS programs throughout the state of Illinois, decreasing revenue and creating a severe strain on the ability of these agencies to maintain staff and provide critical care and assistance. To aid this mental health system, the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation (ILCHF) has awarded $2,500,000 in total funding to 23 SASS providers working to improve the mental health of Illinois children during the COVID-19 pandemic. SASS is a statewide public mental health crisis intervention program that screens and assesses children in psychiatric crisis and provides intensive community-based services in lieu of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization when possible. SASS programs are staffed 24/7 to provide efficient response to mental health crises. Referrals for SASS services typically occur when families, schools, pediatricians and other child supportive systems become aware of a child’s distress. Due to the pandemic opportunities to see children in these settings have dramatically decreased.