(The Center Square) — South Carolina state officials said they are making “significant progress” in improving access to mental health counselors in Palmetto State schools.
During his 2022 State of the State address and in an executive order, Gov. Henry McMaster requested the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services review the state’s public school mental health services initiatives.
A January survey of mental health services available in South Carolina’s schools revealed that the mental health counselor-to-student ratio improved from 1,300-to-one in 2022 to 829-to-one in 2023. Additionally, the number of districts where all schools had access to mental health counseling increased from 35 to 42 in 2023.
“South Carolina has made remarkable progress over the last year enhancing student access to mental health services,” McMaster, a Republican, said in an announcement. “However, our work is not done. We will continue to prioritize professional mental health counseling services for our students and look forward to seeing even more progress made in the coming years.”
SCDHHS conducted the survey in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Education.
It also found that 118 schools added mental health counselor access this year, and school-based mental health counselors increased by 65.8% — to 995 from roughly 600 last year. Additionally, nine districts that did not have access to mental health counseling services last year now do.
“This improvement is a testament to the collaborative approach we have developed with the school districts, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, and the private sector and the increased reimbursement rates we have enacted for these services with your support and the support of the South Carolina General Assembly,” SCDHHS Director Robby Kerr wrote in a Monday letter to McMaster.
SCDHHS requested an additional $3.8 million in state funds in this year’s budget request to cover the anticipated increased uses of school-based mental health services, an SCDHHS spokesman confirmed to The Center Square.
