School-based mental health is now coming to the forefront as a location for children and adolescents to receive care. According to the Center for Mental Health in Schools, between 12 and 22 percent of school-aged children and youth have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Many advantages exist in providing services at the school. First, school personnel such as teachers and nurses are excellent observers of behavior patterns in a child act as the referent for service. Second, most schools have the space to provide a confidential office for therapy or other services to occur. Third and most important, having a child improve their emotional functioning also improves their attendance, citizenship, and grades. This is a winning result for the district, the child, and the parents.
Some schools may object to pulling a child out of instruction. However, agencies can argue that a mental health appointment is not any more disruptive than a dental or medical appointment. Plus, the services can be held onsite rather than needing transportation to go and return.
But school-based mental health is a luxury that many districts cannot afford. For example, the State of California is now recruiting 10,000 clinicians to become school counselors. In a time of the Great Resignation, salaries, loan forgiveness, and other strategies may not be enough to find employed therapists. Furthermore, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the emotional well-being of children at school has taken a hit due to social isolation and lack of educational continuity.
Behavioral health agencies have 3 opportunities to advance into the school-based mental health void, helping schools with their youths experiencing mental health challenges.
1. Medi-Cal services in the school. For youths with Medi-Cal, services that would be provided at a clinic or in the community can also be provided in the school. The youth’s treatment is paid for by Medi-Cal or Medicaid, depending on the state. The school thus can have the child seen for services and benefit from treatment without paying for their treatment.
2. Non-public agency. In California and Washington, as an example, behavioral health agencies can apply to become non-public agencies (NPA’s) which allow them to treat children whose Individualized Education Plan (IEP) requires mental health treatment. It can take several months to receive the certification, but it opens doors to agencies that do not have the resources to help children in need. For example, a school district in Los Angeles contracted with a behavioral health agency to avoid sending their students to out-of-state residential facilities, thereby reducing costs and also keeping students at home and functioning in school.
3. Managed care services. If a youth is covered by private insurance or managed care companies, the agency can begin the process of credentialing and contracting with these agencies. As with the NPA, the course of time can be lengthy but advantageous in the long term as it expands the flow of clients through the schools for services.
School-based mental health provides many opportunities for agencies to expand their service reach and also help the community. The more flexible an agency can be, the more likely they are to have a stable base of referrals and generate revenue.
Praxes offers consulting services to behavioral health organizations, including school-based mental health. For more information, please contact us.
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PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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