Across the United States, children and youth face an unprecedented mental health crisis.

In the Northeast, with a diverse population of over 50 million, the need is nothing short of overwhelming. In 2019 pre-COVID, 14.4% of Connecticut’s youth ages 12-17 experienced at least one major depressive episode, with 65% receiving no mental health treatment. Studies show a worsening predicament for youth who are low income, minoritzed, or identify as LGBTQIA+, as they have an even higher risk for developing mental and behavioral challenges.

Amid these challenges lies a light of hope: UConn School of Social Work (SSW) is the only college in Connecticut to land a $587,633 training grant from the Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Program that will help several of the most under-resourced school districts in the state.

The grant is part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and will support four diverse, high-need local educational areas: Hartford Public Schools, New Britain Consolidated School District, Vernon Public Schools, and Waterbury Public Schools, which serve a combined total of 50,000 students.

With the funding, UConn SSW will launch “School Social Work Scholars (SSWS),” a groundbreaking program designed to increase the number of diverse social workers in underserved schools. SSWS will place graduate social work student interns in practicum assignments where they will address identified gaps in mental and behavioral health service delivery in these communities.

UConn School of Social Work Uniquely Positioned to Lead Grant

Many UConn SSW faculty and Dean Laura Curran, Ph.D., MSW are nationally recognized experts on diversity and cultural competence.

A widely published scholar and researcher with over 10 years of experience in academic leadership, Curran will lead the program as principal investigator.

“I am part of an excellent team and several of our faculty are experts in youth behavioral health,” she notes. “Our integrative model, strong and robust curriculum, and the deep need for this program in Connecticut helped us secure this grant.”

Curran says SSWS will help build local capacity in districts in the state that need it most.

“We will create a pipeline of diverse social work professionals trained in a multi-tiered system of support approach, service coordination, and inclusive, evidence-based, trauma-informed practices,” she adds.

Additional UConn SSW faculty in SSWS will include: Milagros Marrero-Johnson, MSW, Director of Strategic Initiatives, adjunct faculty;  S. Megan Berthold, Ph.D., LCSW,  Professor; Caitlin Elsaesser, Ph.D., MSW, Associate Professor; Michelle Zabel, MSW,  Executive Director of the Innovations Institute and Associate Extension Faculty; Regina Lester-Harriat , LMSW, Assistant Professor-in-Residence and former school social worker; and Meg Paceley, MSW, Ph.D., Associate Professor.

Paceley, who has extensive experience working with LGBTQIA+ communities, says research findings suggest that when mental health services are available at school, LGBTQIA+ students are more likely to seek counseling.

“LGBTQIA+ youth have even greater incidents of mental health challenges, and so schools are one place where if supports were provided, they could get the support from social work school counselors they may not be able to get at home because they couldn’t be out about their own identifies. This grant will help address this,” they say.

UConn School of Social Work, Community Partners Train Diverse Pipeline

As the largest public MSW program in New England, UConn SSW has trained thousands of social workers. Every year, approximately 200 MSW graduates enter the workforce, with over 30% identifying as BIPOC.

Lester-Harriat has seen first-hand that “representation matters” with students.

She recalled a Connecticut school she worked in with a student population of over 90% Black students, yet she was the only Black social worker.

“It’s so challenging to be in a school environment where you don’t see people who reflect your identity and there’s so many different identifies that our kids are walking into schools with every day. I’m proud to help train the next generation of professionals to meet these needs,” Lester-Harriat says. “We have an opportunity to get our students ready to go into schools to be our allies, to be representatives for these diverse student populations.”

SSWS will also leverage the success of its Connecticut  Adelante ! program for Spanish-speaking social work students, and long-standing partners including Department of Children and Families, the State Department of Education, the Child Health and Development Institute, the Village for Children and Families, and Wheeler Clinic, will advise on the grant.

“This grant is a major step forward in addressing the critical shortage of mental health professionals in schools and ensuring every child has access to the support they need to thrive,” Curran says.