Confronted with a scarcity of school psychological well being counselors, the state Department of Education is looking for to carry 10,000 extra professionals to campuses at a time when federal public well being officials are calling for motion to handle the nation’s rising youth psychological well being disaster.
The counselor effort, which requires legislative approval, would goal to entice clinicians into colleges by mortgage forgiveness and deferrals, scholarships to offset education prices and doubtlessly scale back the time it takes for psychological well being clinicians to get licensed, Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond mentioned Wednesday throughout a go to to Washington Preparatory High School in South Los Angeles. Thurmond mentioned he’s in talks with legislators and hopes a measure, projected to value $250 million, may be launched in coming weeks.
“I can’t think of anything more important right now in terms of dealing with the trauma that students and families have experienced,” Thurmond mentioned. “But the reality is that there is a shortage, there just aren’t enough counselors at many schools and many communities, urban, suburban, rural.”
For years, educators have warned of a scarcity of psychological well being professionals. A 2018 report by researchers on the Healthforce Center at UCSF discovered that if present traits continued, by 2028, the state may have 41% fewer psychiatrists than wanted and 11% fewer psychologists, licensed skilled scientific counselors and licensed scientific social employees than wanted to meet the state’s healthcare wants.
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