Delay in CA Mental Health Program threatens the profits in schools

California made a huge A one -off investment in youth mental health During the Covid-19 pandemic, a percentage of depression, anxiety and eating disorders appeared among children and teenagers. One part of the country’s plan included a way to keep money for schools that wanted to expand mental health services for students.

It included allowing K-12 schools and colleges to charge Medi-Cal And private health insurance for behavioral health care provided on the campus, a change that will allow them to provide more services and hire additional mental health staff.

But these efforts – among the first of its kind in the country – are in a slow start, slowing dollars and resources for schools to help students with mental health Challenges.

Only 14 schools and district education offices have started charging for behavioral health services under the program for the schedule of fees for the initiative for the behavioral health of the youth, according to state health officers. Forty -six school areas and district education offices began the application process in January 2024 and had to start invoicing last July. A total of 494 school areas, district education offices and colleges have registered to participate in the new billing program.

Some school staff are disappointed with the delay of the program. It is said that the state is slow to release guidance and necessary training to provide claims for mental health services. Officials in schools who have hired mental health employees say they may soon have to fire recent rents, as payments for the services provided do not enter as expected. This means that students can lose recently acquired access to services.

“There are so many unknowns and the deadlines are simply continuing to push themselves,” says Trina Fraser, assistant head of student services at Freshno County Education Office. “And it’s really sad because it has so much potential.”

The California Department of Health Services, which controls the implementation of the program, told Calmatters in an email that while the goal was to start charging in mid -2024, “the scale and complexity of implementation require adjustments to provide additional flexibility for schools.”

“The main reforms of this kind take time, coordination and a gradual implementation,” says the department in his email.

The department said it continues to work with schools to deal with all exceptional challenges. Its new goal is to start charging this first group of 46 districts and educational services by the end of the current school year.

Impetus to mental health in schools

California and the nation have observed a jump in mental disorders among students. For example, about 284,000 children and teenagers in California deal with great depression and Two -thirds of them do not receive treatmentAccording to state evaluations.

Despite the slow start for the new school billing program, other mental health efforts are being implemented through other $ 4.7 billion components of $ 4.7 billion in $ 4.7 billion Initiative for children and youth behavioral health This started in 2021, this money was paid for applications for mental health, educational campaigns and programs for training in mental health, among a number of other efforts. Around $ 400 million of that money It was distributed in the form of one -off grants to educational institutions to hire suppliers and prepare for this new billing program.

In response to the delays in the billing program, a group of legislators recently sent governor Gavin Newo A letter requesting bridge funding That they say it will allow schools to continue to build mental health services while the program increases. The letter does not indicate the amount in a dollar.

In the last 30 years and through a separate program, schools in California have been able to obtain a recovery from Medi-Cal, the state program Medicaid for low-income residents, For certain physical and mental health servicesS But there has long been a difference for children with private insurance. This new billing program must handle this as well as allow schools to expand the types of mental health services that can provide and charge.

Mental health experts are looking at the school for the ideal environment for children to receive help. It is there that they spend the bigger part of their weekdays and generally feel safe. This is also “solving logistics problems” as schools solve some potential barriers to care, such as transportation to meetings, said Sarah Broom, a Medicaid school consultant. Teachers and employees also see children every day and can notice when things are excluded.

Broome said that the challenges facing the state and schools in the deployment of this new fee schedule program are a little predictable, partly because what California is doing is new. “So it’s not even like you can call your peers and be like,” Hey, how did you know how to do this? “You create a lot of it while you are walking.

What is behind the delays?

State legislators are heard from disappointed local employees of the billing delay. Freshno County’s Education Service filed his first claim to restore recovery on February 28, but last week he continued to face challenges, according to Frazier.

Fraser told the legislators at a hearing last week that the program is being considered “feels like building an aircraft while flying it.”

In Santa Clara County, the local education office has set up 25 Wellness Centers in its schools and hired 50 new mental health workers, including clinicians and wellness coaches. But the delays prompted the service to notify its new staff of the possible cuts, said Amanda Dicky, Executive Director of the Government Relations of the Santa Clara County Office, told the legislators during the hearing.

“Since we did not receive a one -time claim up to 15 months after (launching the program) … By March we were forced to pink slip 27 of our employees. So 27 of the approximately 50 we hired,” she said.

Dicky told the legislators that the state and the third -party administrator had concluded a contract for the processing of claims, behavioral health of the carnium did not provide schools with access or training for the billing software used to file claims by the end of last year.

In the meantime Collecting Health Insurance Information to Students – A new task for schools and one that requires parents and careful care to cooperate when sharing information about their health plan. (Mental healthcare provided in schools under this program should not lead to any expenses for families, according to the state.)

Tanya Ward, the project director of the Los Angeles County Education Office, said her office has not yet filed a mental health claims under this new program, but expects to do it later this month.

The California Department of Health Services attributes the delay in a “training curve” for both the state and the schools.

According to the department, a number of factors have contributed to the delays, including the fact that some schools have requested edits of contract documents to participate in the program and that others expressed confusion about the process and need additional support.

The department stated that the areas were allowed to file claims with rear dates back to July 1, 2024, as long as these claims were filed by June 30.

The 14 districts and educational services, which are already able to file claims, are beginning to do so in a larger issue, Autumn Boylan, Deputy Director of the Strategic Partnership Service in the State Health Department, told the lawsters in the hearing last week.

“This is a significant change for the whole system and changes to this scale take time,” Boylan told legislators.

“We still have to do the job, but I think we are making progress,” she said.

Taking into account each other in the hearing of last week, Boylan and Fresho’s Freesm could not agree how many in the claims were actually paid to the Fresh County County Office.

Of the first 40 requests that were processed for Freen, they were denied, Fraser said. Boylan said some claims were denied because they were incomplete or not filed correctly. The legislators asked whether the schools were filed incorrectly as they were not adequately taught how to do it.

“This is brand new for schools,” said Senator Caroline Menjar, Democrat from Van Nuys, during the hearing. “It is imperative for us to guide them the right path if we want them to take something that is completely beyond their scope.”

Supported by the California Foundation for Health (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the necessary care when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.