Three federal programs that support the work of school counselors, including the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program, Safe Schools and Healthy Students Initiative, and and Integration of Schools and Mental Health Systems are highlighted in the ACA document, "Fund PSC Programs On the Books," found below. These three programs have been approved by Congress and have demonstrated success in providing positive student outcomes such as reducing discipline, improving school climate and teaching social emotional skills to overcome barriers to academic and social success.

ACTION: Please contact your members of Congress and ask that these programs receive full funding as they are effective and immediate ways to help our schools address safety and the mental health of our country’s youth. Increasing our school-based mental health professionals and therefore decreasing our students-to-school counselor ratio, will allow our nation’s schools to address the needs of the whole child, improving our communities and k-12 academic success.