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Carmel Unified joins countywide behavioral health billing initiative to expand school-based services
Summary
District leaders described plans to join Monterey County’s CYBHI consortium and use a vendor platform to bill Medi-Cal and private insurance for school-based behavioral health, aiming to create a sustainable revenue stream for mental-health services at schools.
Carmel Unified outlined plans to participate in the California Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) through a Monterey County consortium, using a vendor platform to bill Medi-Cal and private insurers for school-based behavioral health services at no cost to families.
Steve Gonzales, director of special education, introduced the item and said the district wants to scale up in-district mental-health supports and make them sustainable. He introduced Allison McHenry of Healthy Campus, the platform vendor contracted by the Monterey County Office of Education to support CYBHI implementation.
“Allison described a platform that families, practitioners and administrators can access and said the County Office of Education will act as the lead Local Educational Agency for a county consortium,” Gonzales said. Healthy Campus will provide a secure platform for clinicians’ progress notes, consent workflows for families and a billing mechanism intended to reimburse districts for behavioral-health services delivered in schools. Allison McHenry said the platform will be rolled out with training and family outreach; families can opt out and the program will not change services for families who prefer not to participate.
Why it matters: the initiative is intended to create a sustainable revenue stream so schools can keep or expand mental-health clinicians, counselors and related services. McHenry said the goal is to begin billing in the 2025–26 school year after training and county-level onboarding. The vendor told the board the platform will accept Medi-Cal and commercial insurance, and that Healthy Campus will provide administrative support and family-facing assistance.
Board reaction and next steps: board members responded positively and asked clarifying questions about privacy, data security and whether local community partners could be added to data-sharing agreements. District staff said they will secure contracts and coordinate countywide onboarding; Healthy Campus said the Monterey County rollout will likely occur in phases but Carmel Unified is expected to be ready for the 2025–26 launch.
What was decided: the item was informational and no formal board action was required. Staff will continue planning and report back as the county consortia finalize timelines and contracts.
Ending: district officials said the initiative aims to expand access to school-based behavioral health while protecting family privacy and consent.
