As the mental health crisis among K-12 grade students continues to increase, whether the problems are cause by extreme isolation during Covid, overexposure to social media, or adverse childhood experiences. The American Academy of Pediatrics publishes an article that show that mood disorders, suicidal tendencies, and substance abuse is common among youth between 1-19 years of age.
There's an awareness that more money and staff are not the answer. The challenges these kids face go a lot deeper than that, and that could explain why there is a new and growing demand for chaplains in schools.
A key organization that stands ready to meet that need is the National School Chaplain Association (NSCA). It is a Christian ministry that was established to promote school chaplains as legitimate and necessary members of a school staff through national standards for school chaplains. The vision is to have a certified chaplain on every school campus, and according to their year-end report of 2024, they're operating in 23 countries with nearly 43,000 certified chaplains who are bringing faith, hope, and transformation to public schools.
Jim Schmidt, the legislative ambassador for NCSA, talked about this on an episode of American Family Radio (AFR)'s "The Stand Radio" program, saying that it is a no-brainer.
"If we're going to improve schools, what superintendent — unless they have some other agenda — wouldn't say ‘let's put a chaplain in’?" questions Schmidt. "It's been recognized for 250 years in America. It's been legal. The U.S. capitol and the state capitols have chaplains. So, why wouldn't we do it?"
Chaplains that are part of NSCA have to be highly qualified. For example, NSCA requires 2,000 hours of ministry experience that NSCA will verify. NSCA also does a background check: internationally, nationally, and state.
Rocky Malloy, the founder of NSCA, also spoke with AFR.
"If anything comes up inappropriate, they're disqualified," informs Malloy. "We also need letters of recommendation, really an endorsement from their pastor that they would trust this person with their children or grandchildren."
Character letters from employers and non-family members are also necessary. There is an even training to qualify as a first responder.
Chaplains, which wear clothing to identify themselves as such, must report activities every day. No names are recorded, rather details on what chaplains did, how long conversations lasted, and the themes of those conversations.
"Chaplains are also required to keep up with training every month to keep up with trends, laws, and everything else in their states," says Malloy. "And they're recertified every year, which includes a thorough background check."
