Federal grants helping to train, keep mental health counselors in Vermont

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – It’s been a tough few years, with staffing still not where it needs to be in Vermont schools. But it’s not just teachers, mental health counselors and psychologists play an important role and are needed as well. Federal grant money is now helping to fill the gaps.

According to the newsletter 802Ed, there were around 200 open positions in the last six months. Now, some jobs have been filled, leaving about 140 open positions. An effort to attract, and retain staff is underway across the state, including at Vermont State University, which has had programs for mental health counseling for years. It just received a federal grant that aims to educate and keep school counselors in Vermont.

Vermont State University recently received a nearly $850,000 federal grant that provides tuition for students and salaries for their internships under the agreement they work here in Vermont. It’s helping to make the university’s psychology and school counseling master’s programs more accessible.

“There is something to be said for that to be familiar with your community and to be a part of your community that has been helping the schools and providing those services to the students,” said Lacy Skinner, an assistant psychology professor at VSU.

Skinner says this additional funding and program comes at a vital time for school mental health positions, which are in a shortage statewide. Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows Vermont’s ratio of school psychologists to students was almost 1 counselor for every 10 students, where the recommendation is 1 to 5.

“We have seen an increase in that and some of what we know is that there are a lot of students who need mental health support. Most of the students that are able to get it, the only place they have access to it is in the schools,” she said.

At Burlington High School, mental health counselor Ryan Nest got his degree from one of Vermont State University’s three programs educating mental health professionals for schools.

“We’re trying to pull kids in with the community, whether it be mental supports, whether it be jobs, whether it be just kind of like getting to know your community a little bit better. We’re always just trying to meet their basic needs,” Nest said.

He’s been on the job since 2020 and says while the pandemic has created more open conversations around mental health, it’s also created more issues related to it.

“It really has taken a village and just within our school system. Within our building right here,” he said.

But why is there a shortage of these positions? Skinner suggests a main reason could be the lack of funding for required internships in the school psychology programs, causing students to move out of state.

“I do think that has an impact and whether or not people choose to move on to graduate career where they’re looking at at least one full year of the graduate program. They’re going to have to be working in the schools. And if we’re not funding that, while they’re doing that, that’s a hard financial expectation,” Skinner said.

The federal grant will guarantee at least 16 students will work in the mental health field in Vermont schools when they complete their degrees.

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