Ohio Schools Add Counselors as Student Needs Mount

Ohio school districts are expanding their mental-health staffing — counselors, social workers, and psychologists — in response to mounting student need. But the effort runs into a familiar wall: a shortage of qualified professionals means the positions are easier to fund than to fill.

The demand is not in dispute. Educators report rising anxiety, disengagement, and crisis among students, and schools have become the de facto front line for mental-health support. Meeting that demand requires people who are in short supply.

Districts are experimenting with telehealth partnerships and grow-your-own pipelines to widen the pool. But administrators concede that money alone cannot conjure professionals who do not yet exist.