December 9, 2025<\/p>\n
Comptroller Lander\u2019s report uncovers critical staffing shortages, fragmented care, and a lack of transparency in New York City Public Schools <\/p>\n
New York, NY <\/b>\u2014 Under resourced New York City Public Schools are facing a growing youth mental health crisis, according to a new report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. With close to 40% of New York City high school students reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness, Comptroller Lander\u2019s report finds that fragmented funding, severe workforce shortages, and uneven access to care prevent the New York City Public Schools from adequately addressing this public health emergency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter decades of underinvestment in our schools, a global pandemic, and now unprecedented social upheaval, our city\u2019s young people are left facing the direct impact all at once,\u201d said Comptroller Brad Lander<\/b>. \u201cA city that invests in young people\u2019s mental health is a city securing its future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The report, leveraging data analysis and stakeholder interviews, reveals that New York Public School students are 21 times more likely to seek mental health support at school than at a community clinic. Yet the system is failing to meet this demand: over 70% of schools do not meet national standards for social worker staffing, and 53% fall short for guidance counselors. Moreover, for many students of color, an estimated 88,000 English Language Learners students (ELLs) attend schools with no bilingual mental health staff member at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Key Findings from the Report:<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n A Roadmap for Action: Core Recommendations<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n The report outlines a multi-pronged strategy to build a sustainable, equitable mental health infrastructure:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are failing to connect tens of thousands of students to the care they need, with potentially devastating consequences,\u201d Comptroller Lander continued<\/b>. \u201cThis is a solvable crisis, but it requires treating student mental health as a real policy priority. Every dollar invested in early intervention saves significantly more in the long term. We have solutions that work; what we lack is the coordinated will and investment to bring them to every student. Our children\u2019s well-being and academic success depend on it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are grateful for Comptroller Lander\u2019s tireless advocacy on behalf of the wellbeing of all young New Yorkers in our public schools,\u201d \u00a0said Mart\u00edn Urbach, The Circle Keepers<\/strong>. Our children face systemic barriers\u2014poverty, racism, classism, ableism\u2014that create what Mayorga & Picower (2014) describe as a hydra-like set of challenges, where addressing one obstacle often gives rise to others. These barriers continue to limit students\u2019 access to the mental health supports they need and deserve. It is unacceptable that in one of the nation\u2019s wealthiest cities, students still cannot reach counselors when they need them and schools cannot provide these services as part of their daily framework. NYC students deserve culturally responsive mental health care delivered by professionals who reflect their communities, and administrators deserve transparent funding to sustain these services. This report\u2019s multi-faceted approach moves us closer to the kinds of schools all New Yorkers deserve; healing-centered, truly integrated, and fully funded public schools. A+!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCountless young people are struggling with mental health challenges, and our schools can play a critical role in identifying and meeting their needs,\u201d said Maria Odom, Executive Director, Advocates for Children of New York. <\/strong>Yet too often, AFC hears from families of students who have been unable to access the behavioral and mental health services they need to learn and succeed in school and are inappropriately disciplined and excluded from their school communities. We thank the Comptroller\u2019s Office for highlighting these inequities in access and urge the incoming administration to ensure that every school has a school-based mental health clinic or a partnership with a community-based provider that can provide expedited referrals and support for students who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"December 9, 2025 Comptroller Lander\u2019s report uncovers critical staffing shortages, fragmented care, and a lack of transparency in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":109714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-436345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115691725256046125","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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