Federal funding helps schools hire mental health counselors [Video]

In 2023 the Maine Department of Education received $9 million dollars in funding through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act for schools to improve access to mental healthcare for students.

Two years since the program began, mental health professionals have been hired in all of the selected districts, but administrators say they are not sure how they will sustain the services when the money runs out.

Only two of the nine districts have been able to hire a daily mental health professional in all schools, and administrators say it is still a struggle to find providers willing to work in remote parts of the state.

“School counselors and general education social workers are definitely areas where we are lacking,” said Karen Paquette, assistant superintendent of Lewiston Public Schools, which received the most funding of the districts.

The nine districts selected to receive the funding span the state, from the western Maine …