Health plans can actively partner with schools by directing networked providers to school-based activities, providing TA, placing care coordinators on campus, and funding prevention through grant-making¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The brief outlines steps Medi-Cal managed care plans can take beyond SBHIP's end: direct or incentivize networked providers to support school-based activities, provide TA to in-network providers on integrating services into school settings, bring case managers and care coordinators into school settings, and directly fund school-based prevention work through grant-making including required Community Reinvestment funds. Interviewed MCPs reported the SBHIP expanded their understanding of school-based health.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Health plans must maintain partnerships with COEs and LEAs beyond the SBHIP's December 2024 conclusion

Constraints¶

• MCP interviewees reported their ongoing financial or structural contributions were still being discussed internally

Target Learners¶

• TK–12 students in California public schools, particularly Medi-Cal-enrolled students

Target Learning Goals¶

• Sustained access to school-based behavioral health services through education–health partnerships

Related Strategies¶

• Partner with community-based organizations to deliver critical services, since districts and schools alone cannot reduce chronic absenteeism
• Assign tiered fiscal responsibility: education funds Tier 1 and some Tier 2 supports, while the health system funds expanded Tier 2 and Tier 3 services
• Two alternative models for statewide behavioral health TA: integrating it into the existing SSOS versus a separate but connected structure led by county behavioral health departments
• Sustain district mental health initiatives by braiding grant funding into annual plans, ongoing surveys, and reimbursement streams
• Continue studying alternative funding structures for behavioral health improvement efforts to identify which best promote cross-sector collaboration and student benefit

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• 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