In an effort to address the growing need for mental health support among students, lawmakers in Waterbury, CT scheduled a news conference to discuss newly proposed federal legislation aimed at increasing the number of mental health professionals in schools. The current number of counselors, social workers, and psychologists in schools is not sufficient to meet the demand for support among students. Members of the education community expressed that the current support staff are overwhelmed, with only one full-time school certified psychologist for every 2,672 students in the Waterbury school district.
Advocates highlighted the lack of mental health professionals available, noting that there is only one certified school counselor per 333 students from pre-K to 12th grade in Connecticut. Statewide, there is only one full-time certified psychologist for every 494 students and one certified social worker for every 384 students. These statistics show that schools are struggling to provide adequate mental health support to their students.
The news conference was set to take place at Westside Middle School in Waterbury at 11:30 a.m. Lawmakers such as Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Jahana Hayes planned to argue for the urgent need for the proposed legislation to address the lack of mental health professionals in schools. They emphasized that providing more mental health professionals in schools would help improve student outcomes and reduce dropout rates by addressing the root causes of mental health issues before they become more serious problems that require expensive interventions outside of school settings.
