Government Relations Action Alert

Support Funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program!

THE ISSUE AT HAND

The House and Senate are preparing to go to conference on the omnibus FY03 appropriations bill that will include funding for all of the non-military/defense programs in FY03.  The Senate version of the bill funds the program at approximately $32 million, a drop from last year, and the House Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill provided zero dollars for the program!  The Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program is in serious jeopardy of being cut from the federal budget! 

The following states, and the District of Columbia, all have at least one school district that has received funding through the ESSCP or the Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Program (as the ESSCP was formerly known):  Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Washington, DC, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

ACTION NEEDED

If you are represented by one of the Senators or Representatives listed below, please contact him/her by dialing the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 225-3121 (you may also find the numbers at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov).  Once you have reached that office, ask for the Legislative Assistant who handles education and/or appropriations issues.  Let this person know that as a constituent and member of NASW, you want your Representative/Senator to support the inclusion of funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program in the omnibus bill.  Let the staff know how important this program is to the students in the Member’s district—adequate access to school counseling services, which are often provided by school social workers, is proven to help improve students’ academic achievement and school safety.

You may also e-mail a letter to your Representative and Senators through Congress Web.  To do so, please view http://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/grassroots/congressweb.asp.

Please feel free to edit the form letter to better reflect how you or your school district has benefited from this program. 

The following Senators and Representatives will serve as Conferees and should be contacted:  Sen. Bennett (UT); Sen. Bond (MO); Sen. Brownback (KS); Sen. Burns (MT); Sen. Byrd (WV); Sen. Campbell (CO); Sen. Cochran (MS); Sen. Craig (ID); Sen. DeWine (OH); Sen. Domenici (NM); Sen. Dorgan (ND); Sen. Durbin (IL); Sen. Feinstein (CA); Sen. Gregg (NH); Sen. Harkin (IA); Sen. Hollings (SC); Sen. Hutchison (TX); Sen. Inouye (HI); Sen. Johnson (SD); Sen. Kohl (WI); Sen. Landrieu (LA); Sen. Leahy (VT); Sen. McConnell (KY); Sen. Mikulski (MD); Sen. Murray (WA); Sen. Reid (NV); Sen. Shelby (AL); Sen. Specter (PA); Sen. Stevens (AK)

Rep. Bonilla (TX); Rep. Dicks (WA); Rep. Hobson (OH); Rep. Istook (OK); Rep. Kaptur (OH); Rep. Kingston (GA); Rep. Knollenberg (MI); Rep. Kolbe (AZ); Rep. Lowey (NY); Rep. Mollahan (WV); Rep. Moran (VA); Rep. Murtha (PA); Rep. Obey (WI); Rep. Regula (OH); Rep. Rogers (KY); Rep. Sabo (MN); Serrano (NY); Rep. Taylor (NC); Rep. Visclosky (IN); Rep. Walsh (NY); Rep. Wolf (VA); Rep. Young (FL)

BACKGROUND

The House and Senate failed to pass eleven of the thirteen appropriations bills before adjourning in December.  Therefore, they are now working to pass an omnibus bill that will include the funding for all non-military/defense programs in FY03.

The Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP), formerly known as the Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Program, is a discretionary grant program that provides grants to school districts to establish or expand comprehensive counseling programs and mental health services through qualified school social workers, school psychologists, and school counselors. 

The ESSCP was reauthorized as part of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002.  While the reauthorization expanded the program to include secondary schools, it also included a funding trigger.  This funding trigger requires that the program be funded at over $40 million before secondary schools can participate.

For more information, please contact Ann Bradford, NASW Government Relations, at abradford@naswdc.org or (202) 336-8237.