In FY 2024, DBHDS managed school-based mental health pilot grants which funded mental health services and trainings within school divisions in collaboration with a public/private community partner. There were 23 school divisions that received funding to implement services and trainings. At the end of FY 2024, over 3,000 students had received some form of mental health support under the school based mental health funding and over 400 school personnel had been trained in some form of mental health curriculum to provide supports to students, families, and caregivers.

In FY 2025, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) was appropriated $15M to collaborate with the Department of Education to provide grants to establish school-based health clinics. Funding in the amount of $15M is also allocated in FY 2026 to continue these activities.

The new budget language that passed represented a major departure from the successful pilot program from FY 2024. The language shift to school-based health clinics put the pilot efforts at risk of an abrupt end and makes it difficult for DBHDS and partners to continue to make substantial progress in building a secure foundation of school-based mental health services. These efforts were designed to build on the progress of the mental and behavior health transformation in Governor Youngkin’s Right Help, Right Now plan.

DBHDS and the larger behavioral health workforce and the Department of Education (DOE) worked on a transition plan to support schools while the new language is being implemented. This has involved utilizing mental health block grant funds ($2.8M) to provide mental health supports to schools to minimize service gaps while we transition to the school clinic model.

These new activities also necessitated that DBHDS stretch its two personnel assigned to school-based work to now manage three major school-based projects, including the priority Youth Mental Health First Aid program. This consumes substantial time in contracting, budgeting, and service monitoring (quarterly calls, technical assistance outreach, data monitoring, and collaborating with DOE) of three different programs. No additional resources were provided to support the administrative requirements, which causes delays in implementation of all projects.

Since the change in funding, DBHDS has been working to increase knowledge on the structure of school-based health clinics, information gathering on existing school-based health clinics (in state and across the nation), and elements needed to build infrastructure/support for clinic implementation. In addition, DBHDS created maps of Federally Qualified Health Clinics (FQHCs) locations relative to DBHDS and Department of Education regions. This information will be used to inform a data-driven and needs-based approach for expansion of school-based clinics. In November 2024, DBHDS posted a Request for Information (RFI) with the intent of utilizing responses to build the criteria for future funding announcements. As of December 2024, DBHDS received 3 responses from this announcement. The agency anticipates Spring 2025 will be used to develop and advertise for formal funding announcement. Table 1 on numbered page 5 of the report provides a timeline of activities since notification of funding.

This report provides a summary of how DBHDS has worked with school divisions to sustain services while transitioning to the new clinic language. The report concludes with next steps for program implementation and continued support for school divisions during program transition.