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County reviews expansions of school-based mental-health services and Linkages to Learning
Summary
Montgomery County officials reviewed proposed FY26 enhancements to school-based health and wellness services including full-time Linkages to Learning suites at Greencastle and Silver Spring International Middle, a new Linkages site at Burnt Mills, Bridge to Wellness contracting plans, and a bilingual therapist pay-differential proposal to retain scarce staff.
Laurie Garabe Aquino, acting chief for Children, Youth and Families, told the joint Education and Culture and Health and Human Services committees that Linkages to Learning now serves 32 schools and reported positive outcomes in FY24: about 80% of participating families improved at least one domain of self-sufficiency and roughly 80% of therapy clients stabilized or improved within six months.
"So today, the Linkages to Learning program serves 32 schools," Garabe Aquino said, summarizing reach and FY24 outcomes. She described planned FY26 expansions to open full-time Linkages suites at Greencastle Elementary and Silver Spring International Middle and to add a site at Burnt Mills Elementary.
Kirsten Anderson, administrator for Linkages to Learning and Bridge to Wellness, explained the Bridge to Wellness model for high schools without full wellness centers and said services are delivered through contracted vendors and embedded staff teams (therapist, care manager, youth development specialist). "For those for Linkages and Bridge to Wellness, the staff are year‑round employees," Anderson said, noting teams can provide virtual services and summer programming to maintain continuity.
Council staff briefed the panel on the county executive’s proposed costs: about $100,000 to transition Greencastle to full-time Linkages services (adding a family care manager and a child-family therapist) and roughly $114,000 for Silver Spring International Middle. MCPS capital staff told the committee Greencastle’s construction is on track for an August 2025 opening; internal renovations at Silver Spring face unforeseen conditions and an undetermined timeline.
Committee members split on how to treat the two schools in the FY26 reconciliation process. Members agreed to keep Greencastle funded and to place Silver Spring on the recommended reconciliation/reduction list pending an administration update on interior renovations and contiguous suite availability. The committee asked MCPS to identify temporary spaces if interior work delays the Linkages suite.
Burnt Mills, a recently rebuilt school with an estimated 87% FARMS rate, was presented as ready to host a Linkages suite. Staff recommended $200,000 to establish full-time family care management and therapy there, which committee members supported keeping in the proposed budget.
On workforce, the executive proposed a $65,000 supplemental to increase pay differentials for bilingual and multilingual therapists. Council staff noted prior-year requests and the committee emphasized the difficulty of recruiting bilingual clinicians; members signaled support for maintaining or phasing in differential funding to retain providers.
The committee requested follow-up materials that compare outcomes, operating costs and space needs across the Linkages, Bridge to Wellness and full health-and-wellness center models to inform future CIP and operating-budget decisions.
