More than 167,000 children in the United States — roughly 1 in 450 — lost at least one caretaker to COVID-19 as of December 2021, according to a report from the COVID Collaborative and Social Policy Analytics.
The pandemic underscored the importance of supporting grieving children in school settings as well as in medical and behavioral health ones, said David J. Schonfeld, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, which coordinates the Coalition to Support Grieving Students.
The loss of parents or other primary caregivers — among the most tragic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for students — has sparked a need to provide bereavement support in schools.
Learn More About Best Practices for Embedding Bereavement and Grief Support in Schools.
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