On October 22, it was announced that the Rapid City School District was awarded nearly $3.5 million by the US Department of Education for school-based mental health services. The hope is that the funding will help respond to service gaps in that District's schools.

According to the interim superintendent Cory Strasser, the District is hoping to hire a behavioral analyst, 3 middle school counselors, and 3 high school social workers. The District is also hoping to invest in more culturally sensitive programming, because the Rapid City School District has the highest percentage of indigenous students among the districts not located on Native reservations.

In response to that news, SDCA Government Relations Chair, Anne Dilenschneider, encouraged her contacts at South Dakota Public Radio to contact Duane Kavanaugh, former SDCA president and Director of Counseling Services at the School of Mines. 

 

During his October 24th radio interview on SDPB, Duane pointed out that, while the money is helpful, money is not enough. He explained that Rapid City currently needs at least 30 more counselors, and right now thousands of people in that area do not have access to mental health providers. Duane also described the process and commitment it takes to become a counselor. As you know, it takes 3-4 years to earn the necessary 60-hour master’s degree (twice the number of hours required to graduate from other master’s programs), not to mention any additional speciality training needed to be in scope-of-practice in areas of care.

 

Duane also noted that, during the 2022 legislative session’s appropriations process, a scholarship fund for masters level counseling students was cut out of the budget. He pointed out that SDCA’s hope for that scholarship was that it would bring people into the profession and then have them stay in South Dakota for at least three years after licensure to serve the people here. We don't know if that scholarship bill will come up again in the 2025 legislative session, but we hope it does.

 

Media stories like this help educate the public, including our legislators, about the real mental health needs in our state all year — not just during the few weeks of our legislative session. In addition, as a supporter of SDPB, SDCA has regular ads that let listeners and viewers know about the presence and work of counselors in our state.

 

If you would like an opportunity to impact the scholarship process, and other bills that may be presented, plan to:

1) Join our weekly Zoom legislative discussions — you’ll learn a lot!

2) Attend our Day on the Hill gathering in Pierre — Sunday evening to Monday afternoon, February 9 & 10 (housing provided).

Day on the Hill is a day of legislative advocacy that assists with our visibility as an organization. Even when there aren't specific issues concerning us at the time of the event, we are there to remind the legislators who we are as constituents, who our organization represents, and who our clients are. It’s a great way to let legislators know we are available to serve as a resource to them.