Ever since Congress appropriated $20 million for the Elementary School Counseling Demonstration program (ESCD) in late November 1999, the U.S. Department of Education has been working to award the grants in a timely manner. The first decision the Department had to make was if and by how much the program's funding would be reduced by the mandatory .038 percent across-the-board spending cut and then, which office in the Department would be responsible for administering the grant.

Under the mandatory spending cut in the fiscal year 2000 Consolidated Appropriations bill, the Department could have reduced the $20 million awarded to the ESCD anywhere from $76,000 to $3 million, but -- in another victory for school social work -- officials decided to spare the counseling program and take its share from other programs. The Department then tapped the Safe and Drug Free Schools program (SDFS) staff in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education to manage the grant process.

The SDFS staff have developed a tentative schedule, which would award the grants in time for the beginning of the 2000-2001 school year, but the dates could slip. The Department is seeking an "emergency clearance" from the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval of the application package.

As of the end of January, the Department's tentative schedule is as follows.

• Application Notice Printed and Application Package Available: (Late) February 2000.
• Application Deadline: April 2000.
• Grants Awarded: May 2000.

Eligible grant applicants are local educational agencies, which are defined as public boards of education or other public authorities legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or for such combination of school districts or counties as are recognized in a State as administrative agencies for its public elementary or secondary schools.

The grants, to establish or expand elementary school counseling programs, would be for up to three years with a maximum amount of $400,000 per year. Grants are to be distributed equally among geographic regions and among urban, suburban and rural areas. Priority will be given to projects that (1) demonstrate the greatest need for new or additional elementary school counseling services, (2) propose the most promising and innovative approaches, and (3) show the greatest potential for replication.

Grant funds must be used for programs which:

• Are comprehensive in addressing the personal, social, emotional, and educational needs of all students;
• Use a developmental, preventive approach to counseling;
• Increase the range, availability, quantity, and quality of counseling services in the elementary schools of the local educational agency;
• Expand counseling services only through qualified school social workers, school counselors, and school psychologists;

The term "school social worker" is defined as "an individual who holds a master's degree in social work and is licensed or certified by the State in which services are provided or holds a school social work specialist credential."

• Use innovative approaches to increase children's understanding of peer and family relationships, work and self, decisionmaking, academic and career planning, or to improve social functioning;
• Provide counseling services that are well-balanced among classroom group and small group counseling, individual counseling, and consultation with parents, teachers, administrators, and other pupil services personnel;
• Include inservice training for school social workers, school counselors, school psychologists, other pupil services personnel, teachers, and instructional staff;
• Involve parents of participating students in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the counseling program;
• Involve collaborative efforts with institutions of higher education, businesses, labor organizations, community groups, social service agencies, or other public or private entities to enhance the program and promote school-linked services integration; and
• Are evaluated annually for their effectiveness and outcomes.

As NASW continues to promote the role of school social workers in providing school-based mental health and other pupil services in the context of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), one priority remains the inclusion of a new authorization and increased funding for the Elementary School Counseling Demonstration program.

The bill to reauthorize and expand the program to secondary schools, the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Improvement Act (S. 1443), was introduced by the program's original champion, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), in July 1999. S. 1443 increases the program's funding authorization to $100 million. As of late January, the bill had only 6 cosponsors, all of whom are Democrats: Senators Tom Daschle (D-SD), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Paul Wellstone (D-MN). Chances of successfully including the bill in the reauthorization of ESEA, would increase substantially with additional cosponsors, especially Republicans. If you have not yet contacted your Senators to cosponsor S. 1443, please do so today!

To contact your Senators:

• By Phone: All Senators can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121.
• By Mail: The Honorable (first name, last name), United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510; Dear Senator (last name):
• By Email: Addresses can be accessed through www.senate.gov .

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For additional details on NASW’s legislative advocacy on behalf of school social work, please see NASW's School Social Work Section webpage: www.socialworkers.org/sections/SSW.