The Colorado Alliance for School Health aims to transform how healthcare and education partners collaborate to support physical and behavioral health for youth and young people across Colorado.  We believe that schools and the education system are an integral part of behavioral health prevention and intervention.

Today, we stand united with Children’s Hospital Colorado in its declaration of a State of Emergency for Pediatric Mental Health.

We call upon our state’s leaders to prioritize increasing the presence of behavioral health resources in the daily settings of families - especially in schools - and on improving the wellbeing and resilience of Colorado’s youth.  We implore our state leaders to invest in:

• Direct services for behavioral health (i.e., screening, assessments, counseling, therapies). There are critical gaps in resources for behavioral health staffing and support for students.  Colorado does not have adequate school health professional staffing to meet current needs.  Although districts and schools across the state are leveraging partnerships with community providers and mental health centers, these programs have room for expansion to more buildings, with more staff and better resources.

• School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs).  Colorado currently has 53 School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs), which also provide behavioral health services to students at the school, and often, their siblings and other students within the district.   More SBHCs are needed to fill geographic gaps (i.e., there are zero SBHCs in southern and eastern Colorado). We need additional funding directly into CDPHE’s SBHC Program in order to minimize administrative burden and immediately respond to community need by building appropriate staff and access points (either through physical locations or telehealth extension sites) for screening, interventions, and referrals.

• Professional development for all school staff.  Critical gaps exist in the number of educators aware and knowledgeable about youth mental health and resources to address these needs.

• Funding to supplement School Health Services until in-person services and reimbursements are restored to pre-pandemic or more sufficient levels.  There have been severe reductions in federal Medicaid reimbursements through the School Health Services Program, which serves students with special healthcare needs, over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a consequence of remote learning and the inability of schools to provide certain essential health services to students in-person.

• Prevention: Social emotional learning and resiliency programs.  Colorado has state academic standards to be met by all students that focus on social emotional wellness as part of Comprehensive Health Education.  Research shows a focus on building youth resiliency and social emotional skills will lead to better health and education outcomes throughout the lifespan. 

• Equitable distribution of resources.  Use existing state data systems to collect behavioral health-related risk and protective factors (Healthy Kids Colorado Survey) and behavioral health-related school program and policy data (Healthy Schools Smart Source) to more equitably allocate resources.

In all, staffing and support for behavioral health in schools (direct services and interventions, as well as universal prevention efforts) are critical to help youth and young people thrive, yet we have gaps in the supports, services, and staffing that are available to help.  The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the already alarming dearth of behavioral health resources for Colorado’s youth.

The members of the Alliance thank you for reviewing these considerations and prioritizing the behavioral health of Colorado’s youth as funding decisions are made. If you would like to discuss further or have questions, please feel free to contact Susan Goldenstein at 720-777-4807 or susan.goldenstein@childrenscolorado.org. 

Members of the Colorado Alliance for School Health

American Academy of Pediatrics, Colorado Chapter
Children’s Hospital Colorado
Colorado Association of School-Based Health Care
Colorado Association of School Boards
Colorado Children’s Campaign
Colorado Immunization Coalition
Colorado School Medicaid Consortium
Every Child Pediatrics