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(KNSI) — Now that the Minnesota legislature is set for 2023, schools are hoping for the passage of funding to staff student mental health programs.

Districts received money from the American Rescue Plan Act, but School Social Work Association of America board president Christy McCoy says more is needed to attract candidates.

“So, here we’ve got this money that has come forth all of a sudden, but we’re having a difficult time finding people to fill those positions.”

This fall, the U.S. Department of Education announced a new round of separate grants for schools to add mental health staff, but Minnesota lost out on the first round. McCoy says states needed more time to gather information for applying and hopes the legislature can step in as student mental health needs can’t wait.

“The needs, they’re just coming out of the woodwork, and I’m hearing that from my colleagues all across the state, all across the nation.”

Her group pushed for dedicated funding in the last legislative session, but gridlock at the Capitol held up any shot at supplemental spending. She’s hoping 2023 can be the year it gets done.

Central Minnesota area school districts say taking care of students’ mental health is a top priority as they prepare for the year.

St. Cloud Area School District 742 Executive Director of Student Services and Special Education Carol Potter says schools have always done their best to help students struggling with mental health, but the COVID-19 pandemic showed the enormity of the problem.

“What the pandemic showed us was that kids were hurting more than what we knew. And so coming back to school again, they were telling us something is happening. We can’t even put words around it. That’s when we really had to dig in and add more support.”

Following school reopenings last year, District 742 added 15 mental health advocates and will add 15 more this year. The district is also setting up more student support rooms. She says district staff also watch for kids struggling with mental health and adds that students need to know there is help for them and how to get it.

The Sartell St. Stephen School District tells KNSI there are several initiatives to help struggling students, including the Bandana Project, a national student-led mental health initiative. Students tie green bandanas to their backpacks to identify them as someone with information to assist students needing mental health help.

Before starting school, certified staff undergoes specialized training to identify mental health issues with virtual simulations.

Two grants will help pay for Youth Frontiers Retreats. ISD 478 7th graders will be involved in Courage Retreats in November, and 9th graders will be part of Respect Retreats in February. The district has also added a counselor and has a handful of other programs.

The Sauk Rapids-Rice School District has a social worker in each building, social-emotional learning teachers in all schools, and several other programs to help students struggling with mental health. ISD 47 says its best asset is its staff, who work daily with the students.

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MNC Reporter Mike Moen and KNSI Reporter Jake Judd Contributed to this story.

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