NCDHHS awarded $2.5M to expand school-based health services

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to expand school-based health care in North Carolina. The grant will support NCDHHS’ ongoing work to ensure school-aged children and their families have equitable access to health care and behavioral health services readily available in the same places where they learn and grow.

“Schools provide a unique opportunity to connect students with behavioral health services by reducing barriers like cost, transportation and missed work for parents or caregivers,” said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “It is critical that kids get the right care at the right time, which is why school-based health services play such an important role in addressing the youth behavioral health crisis.”

North Carolina has been ranked 39th among states nationwide for access to mental health services for children. While youth suicides have doubled in the last decade, schools across the state continue to face critical shortages in behavioral health resources. When last surveyed in 2022, North Carolina schools had less than 20% the recommended number of school psychologists and school social workers for the state’s student population.

NCDHHS has committed $80 million of the state’s historic $835 million investment in behavioral health to innovative services that meet children and families where they are — including in schools. The department this year announced a $7 million investment in school-based behavioral health services, such as telehealth and school-based health centers, that provide treatment and support for children. The department is also engaging community-based partners to implement behavioral health programs that serve students across school districts, helping to reach children in rural and underserved communities. Additionally, more than 1,200 school staff across the state have been trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid to ensure they know how to identify and respond when students need support.

“Unaddressed mental health needs translate into behavioral challenges that take school staff away from teaching and students away from the classroom,” said NCDHHS Director of Child and Family Strategy Hanaleah Levy Hoberman. “By investing in school-based health services, we’re giving schools the resources they need to better support students’ behavioral health, but also to improve academic performance, decrease suspensions, reduce chronic absenteeism and increase graduation rates. We are grateful to CMS and to the schools across the state who are partnering with us in this important work on behalf of the children and families they serve.”

The grant announced today is part of a nationwide initiative by CMS to invest $50 million from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into helping states implement, enhance and expand the use of school-based health services through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). North Carolina is one of 18 states to receive funding.

“While school-based services are a great resource for all students, they can be especially important for children enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP whose families are disproportionately impacted by social determinants of health,” said Deputy Secretary for NC Medicaid Jay Ludlam. “This new grant will help us expand eligibility for school-based services so that Medicaid- and CHIP-enrolled families have convenient access to preventive care, behavioral health and primary care services – available right at their child’s school whenever they need it.”

NCDHHS will use the funds to support schools over the next three years in operationalizing new policies from CMS that expand eligibility for school-based services to all students enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP. The goal is to improve schools’ capacity to provide critical health and behavioral health services by maximizing Medicaid reimbursement potential, while also reducing the administrative burden on school personnel.

This initiative is a collaboration between the NCDHHS Division of Child and Family Well-Being, NC Medicaid and the NC Department of Public Instruction. The department will continue to work closely with Local Education Agencies, schools, school-based providers and integrated care organizations to expand access to school-based services in North Carolina.