BETHEL — The school district plans to use a state grant of $261,841 to provide additional social support for Bethel Middle School and Frank A. Berry Elementary School students.
Bethel was one of 20 school districts to receive funding through the state Department of Education’s School Mental Health Worker Grant program, which aims to increase the number of mental health workers in Connecticut’s schools.
The grant will give more students access to much-needed services, Superintendent Christine Carver said.
“We have been underserved in mental health support – we have more children who need services than current staffing levels – and this really fills a gap,” said Carver.
The competitive grant program – funded by American Rescue Plan Act federal money received by the state – awarded a total of $5 million to Connecticut districts to hire and retain mental health professionals during the academic years of 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The school district applied for more funding than it received, Carver said.
“We received about half of what we asked for in funding,” Carver said. “The original grant was for two additional social workers, but we got funding for one.”
The decision to spend the grant money to further support social work in Berry and the high schools was based on need, she said.
“We’re working on the details of how many days, but that’s where our data tells us we see the greatest need,” Carver said.
State funding will have no impact on next year’s budget, Carver said, noting that the district began the FY24 budget planning process with the grant in mind.
“We knew we had written the grant, so it doesn’t affect next year’s budget,” she said.
According to a statement from Governor Ned Lamont’s office, priority for School Mental Health Workers Grant funding was given to districts with high rates of students to school mental health professionals and high rates of use of school mental health services. .
“Connecticut continues to provide critical resources to hire school mental health professionals, which is especially important today because of the effects of the pandemic and social isolation on our children and teachers,” Lamont said in the statement, calling the donations “a step important”. ensure access to mental health services for all children and educators.
U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes, D-5th Ward, agreed, saying strong, reliable, and accessible support services are crucial to helping students recover from the “traumatizing disruption of education” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. .
“Bringing more mental health professionals into schools is vital for children to heal from the pandemic and provide them with a safe learning environment,” Hayes said in a statement.
The state also plans to provide $15 million in funding for school mental health specialists across the state, as well as $8 million for summer camps and summer school programming to support mental health, according to the governor’s statement. .