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Council roundtable scrutinizes DBH's plan to bring school behavioral health services in house
Summary
On Nov. 5 the Committee on Health examined the Department of Behavioral Health's FY26 comprehensive plan, which would transition most school-based clinicians to DBH employment by 2027-28; witnesses raised questions about data transparency, hiring capacity, and the role of community-based organizations.
Chair Christina Henderson convened the Committee on Health roundtable on Nov. 5 to review the Department of Behavioral Health's FY26 School-Based Behavioral Health Comprehensive Plan, required by the Budget Support Act.
Henderson said the plan must clarify staffing, budget allocations, timelines and metrics for measuring progress. "We're here today to examine how DBH intends to operationalize this plan," she said, noting unresolved implementation details and limited transparency on future-year budgets.
Panelists and dozens of public witnesses described competing priorities. DBH Director Barbara Basron presented a phased timeline that would begin a transition in school year 2025-26 and aim for full in-house implementation by 2027-28, using four delivery models: full-time clinicians, part-time clinicians, cluster teams and telehealth. Basron told the committee DBH had "awarded 12 CBO grants and 3 LEA grants," was hiring additional staff and would use monthly scorecards to monitor performance.
Across multiple panels, community-based organizations (CBOs), clinicians and advocates asked DBH to release the raw environmental-scan data and to provide more detail on staffing and salaries before the transition. "DBH has failed to do that today," Leah Kaslas of Children's Law Center said of the plan.
The committee asked DBH to provide its environmental-scan instruments, the scorecard metrics, and a three-year budget and hiring plan. Written testimony will be accepted through Nov. 19; Henderson signaled further committee oversight as the plan moves to the budget process.
