especially coming out of the COVID-19# pandemic.

Many states are trying to## make sure there are adequate# resources for schools' needs.

From PBS Wisconsin, Steven Potter# reports on how peer support,## school staff, and psychology# researchers are trying to keep## up with the growing rate of mental health# issues among K-12 students in Wisconsin.

It's part of our series Early Warnings:# America's Youth Mental Health Crisis.

ANDY FARLEY, Principal,# Brookfield East High School:## I think every school principal would love# to have more mental health STEVEN POTTER: Despite having a handful# of counselors, a school psychologist and## a social worker on staff, Andy Farley,# principal of Brookfield East High Sch says they still have trouble meeting the# mental health needs of their 1,400 students.

ANDY FARLEY: It's never going to be enough.

STEVEN POTTER: Farley knows firsthand how# devastat can become.

A few years back, a number of students# at Brookfield East High Sc ANDY FARLEY: Incredibly difficult,# incredibly difficult at our school level,## incredibly difficult at our community# level.

We all knew we had to do STEVEN POTTER: They created a# local chapter of the national,## student-led mental health support# network called the H STUDENT: Does anyone want to# share about some of the positives?

STEVEN POTTER: On a weekly basis, the school's# 60 student members discuss new strategies to## help their classmates stay mentally healthy,# from the importance of getting enough sleep## and social-emotional learning techniques# to recognizing suicide warning signs.

Brookfield East sophomore Ledra# Ashenbrenner is a Hope Squad member.

LEDRA ASHENBRENNER, Student:# From a student standpoint,## we are like the eyes and the ears of# st udents and counselors and teachers,# because, like research has shown,## students are more likely to go to their peers if# they're having an issue that they need help with.

KATIE EKLUND, University of Wisconsin-Madison:# Twenty percent of kids have some type of## behavioral or social-emotional concern.

STEVEN POTTER: Katie Eklund KATIE EKLUND: But we know, out of that group,## only 20 percent of tho STEVEN POTTER: Eklund works to find solutions to# the increasing rates of young children suffe from anxiety and depression, including those# harming themselves or considering suicide.

KATIE EKLUND: Unmet mental health concerns we# see often by the time kids get to high school,## we see kids not coming to school, we see# lower grades, we see higher incidence in## the juvenile justice system, and just lower,# poor psychosocial outcomes throughout life.

STEVEN POTTER: Eklund says children aren't# getting the help they need because of a## shortage of mental health professionals such as# therapists, counselors, and school psychologists.

According to the National Center for# Education Statistics, 70 percent of## public schools say more students are seeking# mental health services.

but 87 percent of## those schools say they can't provide such# services to all of the students in need.

Eklund and her colleagues, however,# have a plan and new resources to address## this shortage with a $10 million grant# from the U.S. Department of Education.

KATIE EKLUND: It's designed to increase# the pipeline of school psychologists,## school social workers and school counselors who# are working in K-12 schools around the STEVEN POTTER: She says# the need speaks for itself.

KATIE EKLUND: In 2018, we had 60 to 70# sc hool psychologists.

We anticipate that# school social workers and counselors## are experiencing similar shortages, both# here in the state and across the country,## and that those shortages have only# increased over the last five years.

STEVEN POTTER: While everyone from school# administrators to the students themselves agree## that more mental health professionals are needed# in schools, they would sti And that's where the state# legislature could come in.

Democratic State Representative Robyn Vining# in creasing funding K-12 mental health services# she says were well past the time for action.

STATE REP. ROBYN VINING (D-WI): We# know there's a mental health care## crisis.

We know that.

And so we cannot move forward right now without# acting on mental health care.

STEVEN POTTER: One of Representative Vining'S# bills would increase state spending on mental## health care services in the state'S# school system by $100 mill STATE REP. ROBYN VINING: We're talking# about children who are experiencing anxiety,## depression, suicidality.

And We're trying# to get professionals to be work with them to help them survive# this very difficult stage of life.

STEVEN POTTER: And so, at the# local, state and national level,## Wisconsin is working to respond to the growing# mental healt For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Steven# Potter in Brookfield, Wisconsin.