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# Raise the Bar: Mental Health and Wellbeing

# Raise the Bar: Mental Health and Wellbeing

                                    -        *Goal: Invest in every student's mental health and well-being by  increasing school-based health services for students and building schools that  support students' overall well-being.*  The Problem:**Raise the Bar One-Pagers**EnglishEspañol
  When students feel  connected to school, their mental health and academic performance improve;  however, the consequences of the pandemic—social isolation, illness, and family  hardship among them—have led to decreased feelings of connectedness for  students. For example, approximately 1 in 3 high school students have  experienced poor mental health amid the pandemic, and rates of poor mental  health have been higher for historically marginalized groups of students. For  students to thrive in school, they need a strong foundation of overall  wellness.
  Our Strategies:
  The Department is committed to working with parents, families,  educators, and others to meet students’ mental health needs. We are assisting  state and local leaders to grow the knowledge and skills of professionals  currently in schools, expand the supply of mental health professionals who can  work with students, and increase access to funding through the Medicaid program  to support school health services, including mental health services. Robust  investments and strategic action in the areas below represent key levers to  address the youth mental health crisis. 
  Increasing the Supply and Capacity of School-Based Mental Health  Providers:
  Personnel shortages  are among the leading factors that limit schools' ability to effectively  provide mental health services to students. Many schools do not meet  recommended ratios for psychologists to students (500:1) or counselors to  students (250:1). Going into the 2022-2023 school year, 19 percent of public  schools have vacancies for mental health professionals. Among schools with  these vacancies, 84 percent reported it will be somewhat or very difficult to  fill these mental health positions. At the same time, with the help of American  Rescue Plan (ARP) funds and previous rounds of pandemic relief dollars, the  number of mental health professionals working in schools has increased  significantly relative to the pre-pandemic period. In the infographic below, vacancies  reflect shortages as well as new efforts by districts to hire these staff. 

**School-based Mental Health Professionals as of May 2023**(download data as a spreadsheet)

To  meet President  Biden's goal of doubling the amount of mental health professionals in schools,  the Department will continue to assist states so they may recruit and retain these  vital school staff members and offer professional development for teachers around trauma-informed and  other mental health practices. The Department has awarded $286 million to date  across 264 grantees in 48 states and the District of Columbia to support mental  health services in schools—investments that are estimated to support more than  14,000 new mental health professionals in schools in the coming years.

  This work is necessary when  the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has conveyed alarming  findings regarding the prevalence of mental health or substance use disorders  among our nation’s youth. These findings support the critical need for schools  to expand school-based services and to connect youth and families to  community-based sources of care. 

  Simply put, schools are a  gateway to needed services that otherwise might be inaccessible for many young  people. Community health centers are part of the solution. These centers provide  comprehensive primary-care services, and many are located in our nation’s  schools and facilitate access to essential services for both students and other  members of the community. Roughly 50 percent of school-based health centers are  supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The map  below demonstrates the significant variation in the number of HRSA-funded  school-based health sites per 100 Title I schools. The table that follows shows  that the number of these centers has increased significantly in many states. 

**HRSA Funded Health Center School-Based Sites**(download data as a spreadsheet)
  The  Department also will continue to provide guidance, oversight, and technical  assistance to states to implement efforts supported by $2 billion in funding  through Stronger Connections grants, the School-Based Mental Health Services program, and the Mental Health Service Professional  Demonstration program under  the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. More information about these programs is  provided below.  Increasing  Access to Reimbursement for School-Based Health Services:
  Medicaid  funding can be leveraged to provide crucial health and mental health services  at schools. The Department of Education is collaborating with the Department of Health and Human Services to increase access to school-based  health services by assisting state educational agencies and local educational  agencies to maximize the benefits of the Medicaid program by providing health  and mental health services at school to Medicaid-enrolled children. The  Department of Education also will engage in rulemaking to simplify the process  for parents of students with disabilities in schools.

  The  Department will release a technical assistance guide on Medicaid school-based  services to help schools work with their Medicaid agencies. The Department also  will include a technical assistance center to help states shape policies that  allow them to financially sustain essential health and mental health services.
  Sampling of ARP  Funding Highlights:- From the 10 percent of funds       set aside for state use through the Elementary and Secondary School       Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund, approximately $1 billion has been dedicated       to support the mental health and overall well-being of students and school       staff across the country, according to calculations by the Council of       Chief State School Officers'  COVID Relief Data Project . For example:
The District of Columbia has        committed $1 million in ESSER II funds to Educator Wellness Technical        Assistance grants. These grants will be used to address root causes of        educator stress and to adopt and implement educator wellness programs in        25 public and public charter schools.
The Illinois State Board of        Education has committed $23.5 million to launch the Resilience Education        to Achieve Community Health (REACH) initiative and to establish seven        regional Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Hubs. Through this statewide        initiative, school communities participate in a trauma assessment and        action planning to address the mental and social-emotional health needs        of students and staff. Teams at 270 schools participated in professional        development collaboratives to better understand and address trauma.
The Iowa Department of        Education committed up to $20 million to support a partnership with the        University of Iowa's College of Education Baker Teacher Leader Center to        develop the Iowa Center for School Mental Health. The center will expand        training opportunities for student teachers and practicing teachers,        provide professional development resources and services to support mental        health needs in schools, and support research on the effective delivery        of these services to students. As part of this partnership, the        University of Iowa asked institutions of higher education to apply for        grants to support research that can help improve social, emotional, or        behavioral outcomes for students in P-12 schools.

Grants and  Resources:- Nearly $1 billion in funding       through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act's Stronger Connections       program is helping states to support safe, inclusive, and welcoming       learning environments for all students.
- The Department awarded $46       million in competitive grants to 67 states, school districts, and       institutions of higher education through the Mental Health Service       Professional Demonstration program. Nearly half of the awardees included a       partnership with a Minority Serving Institution, Historically Black       College or University, or Tribal College. With these funds, grantees will       train school-based mental health services providers for employment in       schools and districts.
- Through the School-Based Mental       Health Services program, $141 million is helping 103 grantees—including       states and districts—to increase the capacity of school-based mental       health service providers to deliver services to students.
- Through the  Full-Service Community Schools  program ,  the Department is investing in integrated health, education, and other comprehensives  services. The Department has released several guidance documents to support  schools in implementing community schools. And because of the President’s  commitment to this model, federal funding for the Full-Service Community  Schools program has increased five-fold over the course of this administration.  While the program supported 170 schools before 2021, it is now reaching more  than 1,700 schools, serving almost 800,000 students.
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