Supporting the mental and emotional wellbeing of youth is a focus of the 4-H positive youth development program, which emphasizes the importance of mental health through its four guiding principles: Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. The University of California Cooperative Extension program prioritizes youth mental wellbeing as part of its goal to promote healthy people and communities.
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a training program that teaches individuals how to provide initial support to those experiencing mental health challenges. Established in Australia in 2000, MHFA has expanded globally to 50 countries, with more than 54,800 instructors having trained over 8.5 million people worldwide as of 2026. In the United States alone, MHFA has trained approximately 4.5 million people.
The objectives of MHFA are “to: 1) educate adults about common mental health challenges, 2) reduce mental health stigma, 3) teach adults how to recognize the signs and symptoms of a person in crisis, and 4) equip adults with skills and resources to support a person having a mental health crisis,” according to Iaccopucci et al., 2024.
A key element of MHFA is the ALGEE action plan. This framework outlines steps for responding to someone facing a mental health challenge: “Assess for risk of suicide and self-harm; Listen nonjudgmentally; Give reassurance and information; Encourage appropriate professional help; Encourage self-help and other support strategies.”
There are three main types of MHFA training: Adult Mental Health First Aid (for adults working with other adults), Youth Mental Health First Aid (for adults working with youth), and Teen Mental Health First Aid (for teens supporting their peers). All these programs use the ALGEE action plan as their core response method.
Research on MHFA includes more than 90 peer-reviewed studies since 2013. For example, a study involving Australian parents found improvements in parental knowledge about youth mental health challenges and adolescents’ perceptions of parental social support compared to control groups (Morgan et al., 2020). Another study with students receiving Teen MHFA reported significant gains in mental health literacy, confidence in helping peers, intentions to seek help, student mental health outcomes, and reduced stigmatizing attitudes (Hart et al., 2016). A separate study among Australian adults showed improved recognition of schizophrenia, increased confidence in offering help, better knowledge about adolescent mental health issues, and greater application of the ALGEE plan (Kelly et al., 2011).
MHFA has been shown to reduce stigma related to mental illness, increase empathy toward those facing such challenges, boost knowledge about signs and risk factors for mental health concerns or substance use issues, improve confidence in providing assistance during crises, and enhance skills for managing one’s own wellbeing.
The California 4-H program offers Adult MHFA, Youth MHFA, and Teen MHFA trainings at $125 per participant. This fee covers online materials plus eight hours of instruction. Limited fee waivers are available for California-based professionals or active volunteers within the organization.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources enhances lives statewide by sharing science-based practices through research facilities located across all California counties (official website). The organization applies University of California expertise via outreach initiatives designed to benefit communities throughout California (official website). UC ANR maintains nine Research and Extension Centers serving as living laboratories across diverse ecosystems (official website).
For further details on Youth or Teen Mental Health First Aid courses within California’s statewide network or inquiries regarding Adult MHFA classes offered by UC Cooperative Extension’s network—which operates offices in every county—interested parties may contact Ally Lemmer or Jenna Colburn at the CA statewide office or Matthew Rodriguez for adult training questions.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources is affiliated with the University of California system (official website) under Vice President Glenda Humiston (official website). For over a century it has provided creative resources focused on nutrition education programs like youth development while maintaining local offices throughout all counties (official website).