Funding Expanded School Mental Health Programs

Abstract

Mental health services for students across the developmental spectrum are often limited and difficult to access. In order to meet the needs of all youth, it is critical to identify funding of mental healthcare in natural settings (i.e., schools). Expanded school mental health (ESMH) programs have been successful in overcoming logistical barriers to care and decreasing the stigma of mental help seeking, which has resulted in dramatic improvements in access to care to youth who may not otherwise receive those services. Expanded school mental health programs face a challenging funding environment due to persistent budgetary deficits at the local, state, and national levels. Additionally, funding opportunities change and evolve over time, and the differences between local, state, and national budgets and specifications of how awarded funds can be utilized further complicate funding of ESMH programs. This chapter will identify barriers to funding ESMH programs in schools, summarize funding strategies to support ESMH programs, and review the differences in funding opportunities of ESMH programs at the local, state, and national levels. We build on prior overviews of school mental health funding, discuss cost analyses of ESMH, and consider ESMH funding within the context of healthcare reform and economic analyses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)