National School Chaplain Association has published a new article entitled The Real Cost of Ignoring School Chaplains, which sheds light on the most important aspects to the question of who pays for school chaplains. Moreover, who pays a substantially higher cost by not having chaplains to help avert downstream financial burdens affecting society as a whole? For example; one state alone, North Carolina spends over $4,000 a minute on downstream consequences of failed childhood resilience. This is of particular interest to tax payers, mental health providers, legislators, school administrators, teachers, parents, law enforcement and employers. Health, safety and productivity are at stake. Beyond the widespread financial drain, is the crippling mental and emotional damage due to lives destroyed from risky behaviors, drugs, violence, and increasing suicide rates. Read the full article at https://www.nationalschoolchaplainassociation.org/editorials/therealcostofignoringschoolchaplains One of the most important pieces of information the article tries to convey is that investing in a school chaplain is significantly less burdensome to taxpayers than managing the consequences of escalating social issues. The best example of this is perhaps found in the following extract: 'The financial toll of suicide and attempted suicide among the youth is immense; for instance suicide deaths in North Carolina alone cost over 16 billion in 2022, averaging 1,554 per person (CDC WISQARS Cost of Injury Report) ' In discussing the article, the author, Dorothy Kozar, Editorial Contributor at National School Chaplain Association said: "Declining student accountability, poor coping skills, and lack of motivation translate into diminished academic achievement, poor work ethics, lack of vision and productivity. Therefore, we’re left with the costly aftermath of a remaining future workforce void of mutual respect among co-workers, lacking conflict resolution skills and without concept of excellent customer service." "Since 1960, secular strategies alone have failed to manage rising hopelessness. However, School Chaplains can help right the ship by restoring clarity, purpose and a sense destiny." Regular readers of National School Chaplain Association will notice the article takes a familiar tone, which has been described as having current relevance with timeless insight that is non-confrontational, but compels a fresh look and deeper perspective with a call to action. National School Chaplain Association now welcomes comments and questions from readers, in relation to the article, as they are intent on having an exchange of ideas that may otherwise go undiscovered. The reason is simply because, together, a better and comprehensive impact can be developed. Anyone who has a specific question about a past, present, or future article can contact National School Chaplain Association via their website at https://www.nationalschoolchaplainassociation.org The complete article is available to view in full at https://www.nationalschoolchaplainassociation.org/editorials/therealcostofignoringschoolchaplains. National School Chaplain Association City: Norman Address: PO Box 720746 Website: https://www.campuschaplains.org
