Expiring federal grants could gut school counseling programs across Washington, with rural youth facing higher suicide rates than their urban peers.
BLAINE, Wash. — The pandemic officially ended in Washington state more than three years ago, but its toll on children’s mental health is far from over — and in rural Washington, the safety net supporting struggling students may be close to breaking.
School districts across the state added mental health staff during the pandemic using federal grants, bringing the number of counselors to 21 in Whatcom County. But those grants — totaling $1.6 million — are expiring, and support from the Trump administration for social
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