"Up to one in five kids living in the U.S. shows signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder in a given year. So in a school classroom of 25 students, five of them may be struggling with the same issues many adults deal with: depression, anxiety, substance abuse.

And yet most children — nearly 80 percent — who need mental health services won't get them."
....
"According to one model, every school should have one social worker for every 250 students. The reality is that in some schools, social workers are responsible for many more."

Click here to read more on npr.org.

How Schools Can Help Break the Cycle of Poverty: A Whole Child Approach

More than 16 million children in the United States—nearly one out of four—live below the federal poverty level with their families earning less than $23,550 annually. These low-income households face many challenges, from lacking economic resources, to little or no access to health and wellness care. Children raised in poverty often have to go without critical basics such as a well-balanced meal or reading glasses, putting them at a severe disadvantage when they enter school.

Click here to learn more about how schools can help.

The People's Emergency Center issued a policy brief indicating "historic increases in the number of children and youth experiencing homelessness in United States and Pennsylvania"

24,504 Children and Youth in Pennsylvania and 1,301,239 in the United States experienced homelessness in the 2013-2014 School Year -- reading and math scores dramatically declined.

Read more... 

http://media.wix.com/ugd/6c2427_819ab77ee6fe4bef99e45ac012b6ed36.pdf

http://media.wix.com/ugd/6c2427_4a7acd4bcdef49c19703393d6871e909.pdf

http://media.wix.com/ugd/6c2427_819ab77ee6fe4bef99e45ac012b6ed36.pdf

/resources/Documents/Help%20your%20picky%20eater%20eat%20a%20variety%20of%20foods%20by%20Katherine%20K.%20Dahlsgaard.pdf

/resources/Documents/Helping%20kids%20who%20have%20difficulty%20swallowing%20pills%20By%20Katherine%20K.%20Dahlsgaard.pdf

/resources/Documents/School%20Refusal%20and%20Kids%20What%20can%20you%20do%20by%20Katherine%20K.%20Dahlsgaard.pdf

/resources/Documents/Taking%20the%20sting%20out%20of%20needle%20fears%20and%20phobias%20By%20Katherine%20K.%20Dalhsgaard.pdf