Mich. lawmakers introduce bill to draw mental health professionals to schools
The Record-EagleApr 22, 2022
Apr. 22—TRAVERSE CITY —
On
If passed, the legislation would establish the Student Mental Health Apprenticeship for Retention and Training (SMART) program, which would provide tuition assistance to individuals seeking certifications in mental health professions as long as they commit to staying with the districts they service after they are certified and complete master's level educational requirements.
The SMART program would be run and funded by the
With a student-to-school counselor ratio of 671 to 1,
"Now more than ever, this legislation is needed to help encourage those that are close to finishing up their certifications and their master's level educational requirements to be able to provide support for these kids in the schools," Kahle said. "I guess, in a nutshell, this bill will create that pipeline that we desperately need from our
Now, such solutions seem even more critical as the pool of candidates for mental health support positions in schools has thinned along with a growing need during the pandemic.
The SMART Plan is going to be "really helpful" when it comes to encouraging more social workers into careers in schools, especially because, with more course requirements and certifications, it can be more expensive to become a school social worker, Conner said.
Along with encouraging more people to work in schools, Conner said she also hopes there is a push to get more certified people to work in rural areas and places like the
"If a
What was once a two to four week process has turned into a months-long ordeal waiting on qualified applicants to apply to job postings, Petz said. The SMART Plan is part of an overall comprehensive solution that is need to be able to sustainably and robustly fund and support these positions, he said.
But Long is aware that her district is an outlier and that many of those positions are funded by temporary grants.
The SMART Plan is a great first step to encouraging people into the profession but another key aspect of addressing the shortage of counselors, social workers and psychologists in schools is making sure these positions are paid well and with consistent, sustainable funding, Long said.
"I think it's the incredible need that many students face that make the field of education really overwhelming," Greilick said. "And at the same time, really rewarding."
Along with tuition assistance, Conner said limits to the number of cases school social workers can take on and more guidelines that set consistent expectations across school districts would also help draw people into the profession.
Despite the current problems, Conner said she is hopeful about the future. The recent focus on this issue in legislation is encouraging. If what has been proposed passes, she thinks there will be a shift.
"I think we'll start to see a shift but part of that is seeing that we have to help everybody around us," Conner said. "There's a lot of burnout happening, a lot of teachers are exhausted, admin's exhausted. So trying to help everybody can be a little daunting. But it's worth it."
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