Schools face resource challenges
Public schools face persistent pressure to serve as the central point for addressing children’s overall health and well-being. Behavioral health and access to care challenges were a growing concern affecting school populations even before the Covid pandemic.
Youth are experiencing behavioral health crises at an alarming rate, and schools are struggling with insufficient resources for students to receive the necessary person-centered care and support. Sustainable funding streams, including options like Medicaid and alternate funding methods, could help schools effectively cover expenses. New temporary funding streams are available (e.g., CMS School Based Health Services Program, Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and multiple state funding initiatives) but schools often lack the necessary infrastructure, administrative support, and awareness of community resources to effectively utilize these funds.
Our Clients
HMA works with state and local education agencies, school districts, county offices of education, departments of public instruction, social service agencies, public health, school boards, and family and parent organizations to support school-based mental health initiatives.
Through innovations in community partnerships, evidence-based programming, and design that support healthy children and promising futures, there is opportunity to enhance school outcomes. Students’ well-being and mental health directly impact their overall educational experience and achievement. By addressing these challenges and investing in comprehensive BH support within schools, we can help schools design an environment that furthers the well-being and success of all students.
HMA can help school systems:
Add capacity for project management support for whole-child approaches to improved health
Reduce duplication of services
Assess opportunities to better leverage new and existing resources and dollars through blended and braided funding and existing community-based supports to enhance utilization
Strengthen infrastructure and awareness and establish collaborations and partnerships to ensure effective utilization of available funding and shared resources
Break down bureaucratic silos and promote interagency cooperation
Improve information and data sharing
Emphasize preventative behavioral and physical care
Assess strategies for workforce shortages
Develop and implement evidence-based integrated care clinics within schools
Deliver training for administration, staff, parents, and community partners that helps achieve successful adoption
Implement targeted initiatives to address ongoing and pervasive stigma surrounding behavioral health, particularly in specific cultures and communities
HMA has the right team
With our expertise and collaborative approach, we empower schools and school districts to proactively address the youth behavioral health crisis and create a supportive educational environment for all students.
Our team members have extensive careers in school-based mental health, direct clinical behavioral health practice, healthcare systems, as well as government social services and public health, community organizations, and school-based leadership. Our experts have worked with every type of stakeholder, gaining invaluable insights and understanding. We meet schools where they are and help to right-size service offerings. HMA can bring a fresh perspective on school-based services, and help you shift from reactive to proactive.
Contact our experts:
Annalisa Baker
Associate Principal
Michael Butler
Associate Principal
John Eller
Managing Principal
Jennifer Hodgson
Principal
