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Behavioral Health reports expansion of school-based services and wellness centers; county pursues sustainability and fee schedule billing
Summary
Behavioral Health Services presented a semiannual update showing thousands of students served through family engagement, prevention/early intervention and school-based outpatient programs, reported 27 open wellness centers and said it is working on a sustainability plan and multi-payer fee schedule to reimburse school-based services.
Behavioral Health Services told the Children, Seniors and Family Committee on March 27 that school-based programming and wellness-center openings have expanded countywide, and staff described steps to pursue sustainable funding for on-campus behavioral-health services.
Program performance and scope Division Director Catherine Spares outlined cumulative metrics for the first two quarters of the fiscal year: school-based family-engagement coordinators received about 4,700 referrals and linked about 81% to services, the prevention and early-intervention program delivered universal supports to roughly 12,000 students and families, and the school-based outpatient program served more than 700 students year-to-date. Spares said family-engagement coordinators organized more than 500 one-time workshops with a reported 65,000 attendees and facilitated 76 multi-session workshop series attended by about 9,000 families.
Wellness centers and sustainability Behavioral Health said 27 wellness centers are open and an additional center was preparing a soft opening in April. The department said a county grant through the Mental Health Student Services Act (MHSSA) will be used to develop a sustainability plan for school-based behavioral-health services and that it is coordinating with the county office of education on technical assistance for a multi-payer billing fee schedule for school-linked services.
Fee schedule additions and expansion The county reported 10 local educational agencies had opted into the initial fee schedule cohort, with eight more expected to add billing capacity; Behavioral Health said the fee schedule allows reimbursement by managed-care and commercial plans for mild-to-moderate school-based services and is a tool the county is encouraging districts to use for ongoing funding.
Equity and site selection When expanding school-based services the department said it prioritized school sites using an equity lens (high-need ZIP codes, Title I status, high free-and-reduced-lunch rates) and planned further outreach to districts and superintendents to identify additional sites.
Committee questions and next steps Supervisors asked for lists of specific wellness-center sites included in pilot sustainability planning and for a breakdown of which schools are receiving tiered services (universal, targeted early intervention, and selected intensive outpatient services). Behavioral Health agreed to provide that information and to continue coordinating with supervisors offices to identify local needs and possible expansions.
Ending: Behavioral Health said it will continue to develop sustainability strategies for wellness centers and expand school-based services in high-need areas; the committee received the report.
