CPS, UC team up to expand mental health support for students
Media covers new program to address the shortage of mental health professionals in K-12 schools
UC faculty member Amanda La Guardia is spearheading a federally funded program that will train more mental health providers in Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS).
La Guardia, an associate professor in UC’s School of Human Services, and UC social work graduate student Jae'auna Felton, who is participating in the program, have appeared in local news segments to explain the need for the program and how it works.
The five-year, 3.75million program will train graduate students in mental health degree programs onsite at the top high-needs schools within CPS: Aiken New Tech High School, Woodward Career Technical High School and Hughes STEM High School. The graduate students will work alongside mental health providers at the schools for 20 hours a week and receive a stipend and tuition reimbursement.
Felton expounded on her personal history, as someone lost a parent to gun violence. Her interaction with social workers at the time impacted her career choice, she says.
According to La Guardia, in 2022-23, only 12% of all CPS students were referred to community-based mental health providers. Of these, 1,298 students did not receive services, largely due to long waitlists driven by shortages in the workforce.
Reporters from both Spectrum News and WCPO Channel 9 covered the new program.
SPECTRUM NEWS: New program looks to increase number of mental health professionals in Cincinnati Public Schools
WCPO: 'There's a massive shortage' | CPS, UC team up to expand mental health support for students
Featured image at top courtesy of iStock/KatarzynaBialasiewicz.
Impact Lives Here
Related Stories
UC researcher adds Chicago collaboration
February 11, 2026
University of Cincinnati research examining how public art and murals influence foot traffic, neighborhood vitality and economic development is now shaping planning conversations well beyond Cincinnati.
UC trial tests new nonpharmacological treatments for depression
February 11, 2026
The University of Cincinnati’s Fabiano Nery, MD, PhD, has received a five-year, approximately $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health to launch a clinical trial testing two new nonpharmacological treatments for teens and young adults with depression.
Yahoo! News promotes UC botanist's solution for honeysuckle
February 10, 2026
Yahoo! News shared University of Cincinnati botanist Denis Conover's method for eliminating honeysuckle without using chemicals.