House Education hears advocates on school mental health; lawmakers told staffing and funding limit services

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Presenters before the Vermont House Education Committee on Jan. 29 urged lawmakers to preserve and strengthen partnerships between public schools and designated mental health agencies — a model they said improves access and quality of K–12 mental health services but is constrained by staffing, licensing and funding shortfalls.

“It's better in partnership,” said Matt Abadank, early childhood and school-based services director at NCSS, speaking to the committee about the Success Beyond 6 Medicaid-funded school-based services model. He told members the program leverages Medicaid and local school dollars to place clinicians and behavior specialists in schools across regions of the state.

Abadank said Success Beyond 6 uses a Medicaid match — about 42.5 percent this year, he said — so schools pay roughly that share in local funds while Medicaid covers the remainder. He said the model supports a range of services in his region, including embedded school clinicians, one-on-one behavior interventionist programs, a PBIS-style consultant role and an independent therapeutic program called SOAR Learning Center.

The program’s local flexibility is a strength, Abadank said, but it also creates uneven capacity across the state. “The state has a high need,” he said, adding that DAs and schools both face vacancy and turnover problems that mean “we have not gotten back to capacity” since COVID-era departures. He estimated Success Beyond 6 brought about $10,000,000 in Medicaid funding into his region this year.

Amy Irish, program manager for school-based services at MCFS, described the clinical and oversight standards DAs apply when billing Medicaid under Success Beyond 6 and noted the specialized training and supervision that support complex cases. She said that clinical oversight, credentialing and supervision available through designated agencies often exceed what individual schools can sustain on their own.

“Those kids are some of the most vulnerable kids in our communities,” Irish said, arguing the designated-agency structure provides layered clinical oversight and training that improves the quality of services delivered in schools.

Two clinicians who work directly in schools described different delivery models and gaps. Jen Coleman, founder of Green Mountain Mobile Therapy, described a privately run mobile therapy trailer she brings to five schools in one county. “Green Mountain Mobile Therapy is 8 and a half by 20 foot cargo trailer that's been converted into a mobile office, play space, and therapy space,” she said, adding that about 98 percent of her caseload is covered by Medicaid and that the device allows her to deliver services where schools lack adequate therapeutic space.

Courtney Slovaniac, a licensed clinical mental health counselor employed by her local supervisory union, argued that clinicians who are district employees provide important continuity, stronger day-to-day relationships with students and easier access during the school day. “The benefits to children of having a school-based clinician as an employee of the district or school far outweigh any negative aspects when taking the perspective of what is best for children,” Slovaniac said.

Speakers identified several recurring barriers: insufficient staffing and clinician turnover, the administrative burden of Medicaid billing, regional variation in available services, limited private-insurer coverage for school-based services, licensing barriers for mental health providers in Vermont, and lack of dedicated physical space in some schools for therapy.

Committee members and presenters discussed trade-offs when districts develop in-house mental health programs: districts may gain stability and integration but also compete with designated agencies for a limited workforce. Abadank warned that, without staff, “you can't draw it down right now,” referring to unused Medicaid revenue tied to unfilled positions.

Presenters also emphasized equity and access benefits of school-based care: providing services during the school day can reduce transportation and scheduling barriers for families, cut stigma by normalizing care as part of a school routine and allow clinicians to consult regularly with teachers and other school staff.

On potential policy levers, witnesses suggested raising Medicaid and DA funding to make pay competitive in Vermont’s high cost-of-living environment, pursuing private-insurer coverage for evidence-based school services, clarifying licensing pathways for school-based providers, and identifying creative funding to sustain partnerships rather than duplicative local programs.

The committee heard that regional differences are substantial and that any statewide changes would require careful design to avoid unintended consequences, such as reducing local school oversight. The panel paused for a break after the presentations; no formal committee vote or motion on legislation was recorded in the transcript excerpt.

The presenters who addressed the committee were available for questions from members and offered to provide written testimony and further detail on licensing, billing procedures and program capacity.