Thousands of students in Pennsylvania have reached out for help to address their mental health during the 2022-2023 school year, according to a new report.

Mirroring national trends, Pennsylvania is facing a social worker shortage that, if left unaddressed, could keep people from getting the support and care that they need.

To help close that gap, officials at the  say they want to offer $10 million in direct financial aid to social services students — including aspiring social workers.

That money would provide an average savings of about $1,500 a year for each student, the agency said in an April 10 statement. Pell-eligible (high-need) students could receive about $5,000, for an average total of $6,500 per year, according to the state system.

“Social services workers relieve suffering and improve the lives of children, seniors and many other Pennsylvanians,” PASSHE said in its statement. “There’s already a shortage of these workers, and communities will need even more of them to support the state’s aging population and address the impacts of the opioid epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic, the rise in social isolation, and the increase in mental health challenges for students.”

The agency, which has oversight of 10 state-owned universities, has asked the General Assembly to approve a $573.5 million funding request for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

That’s a 3.8% inflationary request, more than 2% increase included in Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal, the .

State System officials also are asking lawmakers to authorize an additional $112 million for student aid that would be used to lower the cost of attending a state-owned university, and bolster the system’s ability to produce graduates in high-demand career fields such as nursing, teaching and computer science, the Capital-Star’s Peter Hall reported.

While it’s still possible to find social workers in hospitals and public clinics nationwide, one  that there is a “serious” gap between supply and demand — one that is expected to only worsen in the coming years.

“Our human resources are at the level of a crisis now,” Ron Manderscheid, the executive director of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors, , an industry trade publication. “About 85% of counties have inadequate or no behavioral health services, and 63% of counties have no psychiatrist.”

A number of factors, including the nation’s aging population, homelessness and incarceration, and the ongoing strain of the opioid epidemic, are helping to drive that demand, , an industry website.

Across the border in Maryland, officials in Anne Arundel County also are contending with a social worker shortage, .

As of mid-March, the county had at least 23 open positions, from entry-level to supervisor roles, the station reported, and was moving as swiftly as it could to try to fill them.

“What we believe is going on is that there is a shortage of people applying at the colleges for the degree programs,” Nicole Fogg, a county social work supervisor, told the station. “We are going to colleges and universities, forming partnerships with them and attending the job fairs. So, we are right there on location trying to entice students to join the profession.”

During an appearance before the House Appropriations Committee last month, state System Chancellor Daniel Greenstein told lawmakers that Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities offer the most cost-effective option for Pennsylvania residents to earn a degree. Over the course of a career, PASSHE graduates see a nearly $1 million increase in earnings, Greenstein said.

“We are an engine of social mobility,” Greenstein said. “We’re not only fueling the workforce, we’re creating ladders of opportunity that people are climbing up and doing really well on and it makes me proud and actually a little bit emotional to be able to say that.”

In its April 10 statement, the state System asserted that its plan for social services workers would allow more people to begin their education in a high-demand field.

“Affordability is especially important for rural and urban students. Increasing financial aid also lowers student debt, another incentive to enter a career field that traditionally has a lower starting wage,” the agency said in its statement.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John Micek for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on and .

They’re the stuff of every happy ending in movies or on tv: Proud parents in the stands or in the auditorium seats, cheering on their children as they succeed on stage, in the classroom, or on the athletic field.

But for too many American families, the demands of work and the economy make it hard for parents to be there when their kids need them the most. But a bill sponsored by two Democratic lawmakers from Philadelphia .

On Monday, Reps. Donna Bullock and Elizabeth Fiedler  for a bill requiring employers to give eligible parents eight hours of unpaid leave a year to attend school-related activities.

Parents of children living with a disability, or those with an individualized education program would be allowed an additional four hours of leave, the two lawmakers wrote in a memo seeking support for their proposal.

“As legislators, we have an obligation to provide a framework for employers to allow parent-employees the scheduling flexibility to be involved with their children’s education,” Bullock and Fiedler wrote in their memo to their House colleagues.

 that  leads to better outcomes for students, from higher grades and test scores to more regular school attendance and better social skills.

“Parent involvement motivates children to learn, leading to higher grades,” according to the education website Positive Action.

That level of involvement “is crucial in producing a high impact on the student’s performance. The higher the degree of parental involvement, the higher the impact on the child’s academic achievement,” the group .

In their memo to their colleagues, Bullock and Fiedler offered a similar sentiment.

“Students with engaged parents or other caregivers earn higher grades and test scores, have better social skills, and show improved behavior,” the two lawmakers wrote. “The connection can make a difference at all age levels and the more intensively involved parents are, the greater the positive impact.”

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John Micek for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on and .

Pennsylvania is set to receive the first installment of federal funding to improve and expand broadband internet access across the commonwealth, Gov. Tom Wolf said last week.

State and federal officials joined Wolf in the Governor’s Reception room of the state Capitol on Thursday to announce that $6.6 million from President Joe Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative is on its way to Pennsylvania.

The federal infusion is the first installment of more than $100 million Pennsylvania is set to receive for projects that expand and improve high-speed internet access in urban and rural areas of the commonwealth.

“We really need to do a good job of making sure every corner of Pennsylvania is connected in a robust way to the internet,” Wolf, who leaves office in January, said. “This $6.6 million is the beginning of a generational change waiting for Pennsylvanians.”

The funds, and broadband projects statewide, are overseen by the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority, created by Wolf in 2021 as a independent agency of the Department of Community and Economic Development.

In mid-November, the authority released its for spending the money to expand broadband access in Pennsylvania.

“With guidance from the Pennsylvania Broadband Authority, distribution will be carefully targeted for guaranteed progress,” Wolf said.

Wolf said that the lack of affordable and accessible broadband is hindering Pennsylvania’s economic growth.

“The lack of consistent, affordable, quality statewide broadband keeps children from learning. It keeps businesses from growing, it keeps the job market for workers much more limited than it should be, and it reduces medical care options for all of us,” Wolf said. “It’s one of the biggest challenges holding Pennsylvania’s economy back right now.”

Western Beaver County School District and Blackhawk School District Superintendent Dr. Rob Postupac echoed Wolf’s comments, adding that “families living without broadband face significant barriers in educational opportunities, employment opportunities and access to basic needs such as healthcare through telemedicine.”

“For too long now, those in our rural communities have had to live in digital darkness,” Postupac said. “The time has come to tackle this issue.”

Earlier this week, the Wolf administration’s broadband authority asked Pennsylvanians to review Federal Communications Commission (FCC) maps, which are used in accessibility and infrastructure projects, for accuracy before they are finalized in mid-January.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John Micek for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on and .