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Parents, educators and community groups urge DBH to preserve culturally competent CBO partnerships
Summary
Parents, teachers and community organizations urged the Committee to protect community‑based providers, preserve trust built in schools, and allow schools a role in selecting mental‑health models; witnesses described successful programs, bilingual services and school‑embedded supports that would be lost under a rapid in‑house shift.
Multiple parents, teachers, and community group representatives appealed to the Committee to preserve community‑based partnerships that they say provide culturally competent and wraparound support. Lupi (Lupe) Quinteros Grady, president of the Latin American Youth Center, and Sabrina Sermeno read letters from partner schools describing the value of embedded clinicians who build trust through daily presence. Asia Felder Watkins, a school‑based clinician, urged investment in ongoing presence and bilingual services, saying many families would be less likely to engage with a purely government‑run model.
Parents and school leaders also urged predictable funding and a clinician pipeline that allows schools or LEAs to hire clinicians directly under clear guardrails. Carrie Savage of PAVE encouraged a slower phase rollout that retains clinicians in schools that already have effective providers and prioritizes expansion to schools without consistent coverage.
