March 4, 2005
The Elementary and Secondary School Counseling
Program is in Jeopardy!
THE ISSUE AT HAND
For the fourth year in a row, the Bush Administration is attempting
to eliminate the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling
Program (ESSCP) by providing zero dollars for the program in
its FY06 budget request. Despite last year 's budget request
of zero dollars , NASW, working in coordination with several
other national organizations that represent school counselors,
school psychologists and psychiatrists, and school social workers,
was successful in our efforts to lobby Last year, Congress
to continue funding the program in FY05. It will once again
be an uphill battle to maintain, much less increase, funding
for the program this year.
If the ESSCP is eliminated, students will lose the counseling
and mental health services they desperately need, and school
personnel will be in jeopardy of losing their jobs due to a
lack of funding. Therefore, NASW is requesting that Congress
continue to fund this program in FY06.
ACTION NEEDED
NASW government relations staff will be meeting with
the offices of Senate and House Appropriations Committee
members over the next two weeks regarding this issue. These
meetings will have a much bigger impact with the Members
and staff if they hear from constituents about the importance
of funding the ESSCP both before and after the meetings.
You may contact your Senators and Representative by calling
the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121 and asking for a particular
Member's office. You can also locate their phone numbers through
their Web sites by visiting www.senate.gov or www.house.gov To
view the membership roster of the Appropriations Committees,
please refer to http://appropriations.senate.gov/ and http://appropriations.house.gov/
Sample Script
“My name is _________, as a constituent, social worker, and
member of the National Association of Social Workers, I am
calling to voice my concern about President Bush's FY06 budget
request which eliminates funding for the Elementary and Secondary
School Counseling Program. This is the only federal program
devoted to supporting counseling programs in our local schools.
I would like to ask that the Senator/Representative support
continued funding for this vital program.”
To e-mail or fax a letter to your Representative and Senators
through NASW's Congress Web, please view http://www.socialworkers.org/adv
o cacy/grassroots/congressweb.asp
When possible, please edit the form letter to better reflect
how you or your school district has benefited from this program.
BACKGROUND
The 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.
For more information, please contact Ann Bradford Vaughan,
NASW senior government relations associate, at avaughan@naswdc.org or
(202) 336-8237.
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