The Uvalde massacre has traumatized the entire community ... and now we've learned the U.S. government is stepping in to offer mental health services -- to some members of law enforcement.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection earmarked a little over $15,000 for a mental health specialist to counsel Border Patrol agents who were present during the shooting.
The agency hired trauma expert Carrie A. Elk -- who runs a practice out of Florida. She'll be providing "psychological health training in response to the Uvalde TX School Shooting for Government personnel"... this according to federal procurement docs obtained by TMZ.
The exact amount USCBP dropped to bring Dr. Elk in ... $15,450. This will cover 6 days of therapy.
We spoke to Dr. Elk ... who wouldn't comment on specifics, but did tell us that she's often contracted by Border Patrol and the military to provide counseling after events like Uvalde.
It's unclear if Elk is doing one-on-one sessions with folks at Border Patrol -- whose agents ended up being the ones to take out the shooter in the slow-moving raid -- but she does say she'll often teach techniques to agents about how to identify emotional triggers, how to process painful memories and how to cope with trauma they experience on the job.
As you know, the response by law enforcement -- including Border Patrol agents -- has created national outrage over the 77-minute delay before the shooter was killed. In the process, he slaughtered 19 children and 2 teachers, and wounded a number of other students.