State auditors, school psychologists: NY schools don’t have enough mental health staff
“’We are starting to see shortages in especially our rural areas,’ Boyle said. ‘Positions for school psychologists left open year after year with no one to fill them,’ Boyle said.
Boyle said rural districts, like many in the Southern Tier, struggled to find enough mental health workers long before the pandemic. For most students, she said, the vast majority of mental health care happens within the school setting.
‘The mental health crisis has been a powder keg, and the pandemic was the match that blew it up,’ Boyle said.
The lack of counselors and psychologists — coupled with the effects of remote learning — has had a toll on kids.”