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¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The brief recommends structuring sustainability so that schoolwide programs (Tier 1) and some limited targeted interventions (Tier 2) are the education system's fiscal and implementation responsibility, while targeted and intensive services (Tiers 2 and 3) draw health-system funding. It states that "Tier 2 and Tier 3 services, regardless of whether they are funded by health care partners, could still be offered at the school site to mitigate barriers to access." This division leverages each sector's strengths while keeping services accessible.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• State, county, and health-plan actors must clearly delineate fiscal responsibilities between education and health system entities

Constraints¶

• Exception: special education services and related supports under IDEA remain LEAs' legal responsibility

Target Learners¶

• TK–12 students in California public schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• Access to sustained school-based behavioral health supports across universal, targeted, and intensive tiers

Related Strategies¶

• 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
• Continue studying alternative funding structures for behavioral health improvement efforts to identify which best promote cross-sector collaboration and student benefit
• Sustain the school mental health system through braided funding, LCAP indicators, and ongoing program mapping
• Implement a web of supports for students in foster care: one-stop resource centers, school-based liaisons, tiered services, and cross-system collaboration

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