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State behavioral health chief says school‑based mental‑health programs reach thousands but face workforce limits
Summary
Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities told lawmakers the APEX school‑based clinician program expanded services but faces staff turnover and clinician shortages, and that telehealth and regional partnerships are being used to extend care to rural areas.
Kevin Tanner, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, told a joint Senate–House Education Committee that school‑based mental‑health services have expanded but face persistent workforce and access challenges.
Tanner said APEX clinicians — licensed counselors and social workers embedded in schools — provided about 231,000 services during the 2023–24 school year, serving more than 16,000 students. He said 6,328 students had received APEX services for the first time last year and that 47% of APEX services were provided in rural areas and 53% in urban areas.
Tanner cautioned that staffing is the program’s chief constraint: APEX funded 468 licensed positions that supported 550…
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