March is National Social Work Month, and April brings several observances tied to children’s mental and emotional well-being, including National Counseling Awareness Month, Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month and Stress Awareness Month. Together, they offer an important moment to reflect on how Louisiana can strengthen the pipeline of professionals who support kids and families. 

Before joining the Louisiana Blue Foundation, I served as an elementary school principal in North Baton Rouge. During my second year, the Great Flood of 2016 displaced many of our students and families. The trauma they experienced continued to affect learning and behavior long after the waters receded. 

We quickly realized academic support alone was not enough. Bringing a school social worker onto our team transformed how we supported students and families. That experience underscored the critical role school-based mental health professionals play in helping children heal, learn and thrive. 

Years later, that same social worker, Sarah Harrell, helped turn a shared concern into a statewide solution. 

Now an Associate Researcher at LSU’s Social Research & Evaluation Center, Harrell and her colleagues recognized a growing challenge: Louisiana faces a shortage of behavioral and mental health professionals serving children and families. While these roles require different licenses — social workers, school counselors, psychologists and others — they all share a common goal: supporting young people’s mental health. Building interest in these careers early is key. 

That idea became Shaping Futures: Mental Health Leaders of Tomorrow. 

Addressing a Workforce Gap 

School-based mental health professionals are essential to students’ academic success and emotional well-being. National guidelines recommend one school social worker for every 250 students — a benchmark that Louisiana does not meet. With more than 665,000 students in public schools, the need to grow and diversify the mental health workforce is clear. 

Shaping Futures: Investing Early 

Shaping Futures is a one-week summer program that launched last July at LSU’s Baton Rouge campus for rising high school seniors from across Louisiana. Participants explore careers in social work, school counseling, psychology, psychiatry and related fields while learning about college pathways and real-world practice. 

Students engage with topics like early intervention, ethics, active listening and self-care, and meet professionals working in schools, healthcare systems and community settings. The program also includes site visits, including a visit to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. 

By the end of the program, students’ interest in mental health careers increased by 32%, reinforcing the value of early exposure and mentorship. 

Looking Ahead 

Whether we recognize Social Work Month in March or the many April observances focused on children’s mental health, the message is the same: strong communities depend on a strong mental health workforce. 

The Louisiana Blue Foundation is proud to support Shaping Futures and its partners as they work to expand the pipeline of future school-based mental health professionals across the state. 

Interested in supporting Shaping Futures or sharing ideas to address Louisiana’s behavioral health workforce needs? We invite you to connect with us. 

Watch a highlight video from the Shaping Futures experience to see the impact firsthand.