LEAs most frequently used short-term behavioral health funds to expand internal staffing and direct services rather than partnerships and structural investments¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Analysis of SBHIP project plans found LEAs most frequently leveraged funds to expand behavioral health staffing and services provided directly by the LEA rather than investing in partnerships and structural investments. → Caparas 2024 q2 i? Hiring behavioral health practitioners away from community-based organizations can exacerbate those organizations' workforce shortages and reduce their capacity to serve youth outside school time. → Caparas 2024 (2)

Evidence¶

Caparas 2024¶

Caparas, R., Eisenberg, L., Krausen, K., & Lias, C. (2024). Schools can't do it alone: Developing sustainable systems of care for school-based behavioral health in California. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED655746

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Analysis of SBHIP project plans, corroborated by interviewed COE and MCP leaders, found LEAs favored internal capacity building; the brief notes this mirrors research on pandemic relief spending favoring direct services over systems change.

"the analysis of SBHIP project plans found that LEAs most frequently reported leveraging their funds to expand behavioral health staffing and support services provided directly by the LEA rather than investing in partnerships and other structural investments."

Caparas 2024 (2)¶

Caparas, R., Eisenberg, L., Krausen, K., & Lias, C. (2024). Schools can't do it alone: Developing sustainable systems of care for school-based behavioral health in California. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED655746

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

The brief's qualitative analysis reports that hiring practitioners from community-based organizations may leave those organizations with exacerbated workforce shortages and less capacity to serve young people outside school settings.

"One of the trade-offs of LEAs hiring new behavioral health practitioners is that those practitioners often come from community-based organizations."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• California LEAs cobble together school-based behavioral health funding from short-term funds, ongoing education funds, and Medi-Cal reimbursement, with no ongoing dedicated source — related
• LEAs' technical assistance needs for school-based behavioral health span care coordination, sustainability, infrastructure, and services for students — related
• LEAs' most frequent sustainability strategy in SBHIP project plans was Medi-Cal billing, despite many LEAs lacking billing infrastructure — related
• SBHIP needs assessments show LEAs' critical needs fall mainly into workforce needs and structural needs, with workforce needs described much more frequently — related
• Interviewees identified leadership prioritization, staff buy-in, and investments in staffing, training, partnerships, and funding as facilitators of trauma-engaged implementation — related
• Community organizations and public agencies in Silicon Valley rarely hold formal partnerships with schools, but nearly half report engaging in collaborative community vision setting — related
• Most educationally related mental health services were provided by LEAs even though funds for them are allocated to SELPAs — related
• School-based mental health supports benefit students, but staffing ratios and service availability fall far short of recommendations — related