DATE: May 23, 2023
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Adopt Resolutions Authorizing the City Manager to Accept and Appropriate $235,100 From Alameda County Health Care Services and $120,000 From the Hayward Unified School District For School-Based Mental Health Care Services For Fiscal Year 2023 Through 2024 and to Negotiate and Execute Agreements With Those Entities For Such Services
RECOMMENDATION
That the Council adopts resolutions (Attachment II and Attachment III) authorizing the City Manager to execute agreements with the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency (ACHCSA) and the Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) to accept and appropriate $235,100 and $ 120,000, respectively, for school-based mental health care services provided by the City in fiscal year 2023 through 2024.
SUMMARY
Consistent with best practices on the most effective way to serve youth in a school setting, the Youth and Family Services Bureau (YFSB) School-Based Mental Health Programs take a broad approach to serving students by offering a continuum of interconnected school-based behavioral health services that include prevention, early intervention, and treatment for students and their families who attend HUSD schools. The key components of the program include:
Mental health counseling and clinical case management services for youth and families; Therapeutic and positive youth development groups;
Mental health consultation and classroom support for teachers, administrators and other school staff; Workshops, support groups and other consultation for parents/caregivers; Mental health crisis response in the aftermath of school-related tragedies; Participation in school site-based multi-disciplinary teams who work together to address the needs of referred youth and manage support resources available at the schools; and Active participation in school-wide efforts to create a positive school climate, prevent conflicts and violence, and enhance the community setting for all members.
Under the recommended agreements, 4.0 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Family Counselors will provide the services above to four identified schools.
Council approval is requested to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute: 1) the annual contract with the County for the Our Kids Our Families Program; and 2) the annual MOU with HUSD for site-based mental health services to maintain these important mental health services for students.
BACKGROUND
Preparing students to thrive and graduate high school ready for college and a career is one of the primary goals of K-12 education. Increasingly, educating the whole child to promote social-emotional and character development as well as academic skills is becoming a recognized best practice in education. The field of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) offers a framework for how to incorporate a focus on the emotional needs of students into the daily tasks of education. The research shows that with this approach, students demonstrate significantly improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance. Moreover, forming and maintaining relationships with caring adults at school has been linked to long-term success and can serve as a protective factor against trauma and other challenges.
In 2009, the ACHCSA, Center for Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC) launched a School-Based Behavioral Health Initiative to address student social-emotional issues as a critical ingredient for learning. The initiative supports a wide variety of services, including the Our Kids Our Families Program, which offers:
School-based mental health services for youth and their families; Mental health consultation training for teachers, staff, administrators, and parents; Development and improvement of referral and service coordination systems; and Consultation on school-wide efforts to create positive, culturally inclusive school environments.
As part of the Our Kids Our Families Program, these services are provided by County staff and a network of community-based behavioral health providers, including the YFSB.
For nearly two decades, the YFSB has had an annual contract with the ACHCSA to provide school-based counseling and other support services in Hayward schools. With the development of the School-Based Behavioral Health Initiative in 2009, the focus of the work shifted to include both counseling services (individual, group, and family) as well as significant work with the whole school climate (including, parents, teachers, administrators, community providers, and others). The framework shift sought to amplify opportunities for youth to make crucial connections to adults by supporting the whole school, which included offering a range of services to both the youth and adults in the school system.
In 2016, through a new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the State of California changed the way public schools are funded resulting in an increase in funding for the HUSD. LCFF requires schools to engage their communities to develop Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP) on how they plan to use the funds. Through town hall meetings with students and families, HUSD determined more school-based counseling services were the greatest need in the schools. Partially as a result of the infrastructure built to deliver the already successful Our Kids Our Families program funded by the County, HUSD initiated an agreement with the City to expand the school-based services provided by YFSB to include additional school sites.
Together, the services described above and provided under the recommended agreements are YFSB’s School-Based Mental Health Programs. These services are integrated and serve as part of a larger system of support for Hayward students. Currently, the County provides funding in the amount of $235,100 annually to offset the cost of three full-time equivalents (FTEs) YFSB Family Counselors to provide services in three Hayward schools. The District provides funding in the amount of $120,000 annually to offset the cost of one full-time equivalent (FTE) YFSB Family Counselor to provide services in an additional Hayward school, as well as provide additional services for all schools, such as crisis intervention and linking students to off-site support services.
The tables below summarize the services provided in the 2022-23 school year by the four YFSB Family Counselors assigned to the School-Based Mental Health Programs. In FY22-23, services were provided to the following HUSD Schools:
Stonebrae Elementary School
Ochoa Middle School
Bret Harte Middle School
Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School
Table 1. School-Based Mental Health Program Totals – Academic Year 22-23 (through 4/30/23) Number of Unique Individuals Served (Students, Family, Teachers, School Administrators, Other Providers) 5155
Unique Activities of Direct Service
1514
Table 2. School-Based Mental Health Program Services by Type – Academic Year 22-23 (through 4/30/23) Individual and Family Clients
246 students
Group Clients
860 students
Student and Family Case Management
186 individuals
Crisis Support
48 students
Classroom Support
44 hours
Consultation and Training for Staff and Administration
189 hours
Workshops and Assemblies
1108 individuals
Intern Supervision and Training
72 hours
Table 3. School-Based Mental Health Program Services by Focus Area – Academic Year 22-23 (through 4/30/23) Social Emotional Learning and Wellness
54% of contacts
Mental Health
18% of contacts
Social Skills/Relationship Support
14% of contacts
Climate and Culture Activities
6% of contacts
Coordination of Services
4% of contacts
DISCUSSION
The YFSB School-Based Mental Health Programs have successfully served Hayward students for over a decade. At a time when the needs of Hayward youth and families are only increasing, it is more important than ever to maintain critical mental health services for students at school. The services that will be provided under the recommended agreements have been developed in partnership with HUSD and the Alameda County Center for Healthy Schools and Communities. They reflect best practices for school-based mental health by taking a broader, school-wide approach to allow for the greatest impact possible with limited resources. Moreover, the program model allows for universal access to services with all students being eligible to participate at no cost, regardless of insurance or immigration status. Programs like YFSB’s School-Based Mental Health Programs have been shown to have a positive impact on key young adult outcomes across multiple domains of education, employment, criminal activity, substance use, and mental health.
Components of YFSB School-Based Mental Health Services – Academic Year 23-24 Mental health counseling and clinical case management services for youth and families to ensure that children and youth in need of early and intensive intervention services are receiving and benefitting from appropriate care, as well as removing or minimizing environmental contributors to problems; Therapeutic and positive youth development groups;
Mental health consultation and classroom support for teachers, administrators and other school staff to enhance the capacity of adults to better meet the social-emotional needs of children, youth, and their networks; Workshops, support groups, and other consultation for parents/caregivers; Mental health crisis response in the aftermath of school-related tragedies, including crisis intervention and management, triage, psychological first aid, and follow-up with students, parents, and school staff; Participation in school site-based multi-disciplinary teams who work together to address the needs of referred youth and manage support resources available at the schools; Active participation in school-wide efforts to create a positive school climate, prevent conflicts and violence, and enhance the community setting for all members in order to create optimal conditions for learning and development; and Clinical supervision of interns to support the school-based interventions above.
School-Based Mental Health Program Staff
The YFSB staff assigned to the School-Based Mental Health Programs are highly qualified to provide the described services. Of the three counselors assigned to the County-funded Our Kids Our Families Program, two are Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, and the third is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. The counselor assigned to the HUSD-funded program is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. All four (4) YFSB counselors assigned to the school-based programs reflect the diversity of the Hayward community and one is a bilingual, bicultural Spanish speaker. They range in years of clinical experience from 5 to 25+ years.
Program Sustainability
It is anticipated that these programs will be able to continue for many years to come. The current contract amount received annually from Alameda County is $235,100. County financing comes from a combination of Measure A Funds and Tobacco Master Settlement Funds and is a recurring expenditure in the County’s operating budget. Moreover, should additional County funds become available, it has been communicated that they would be likely to invest more in the City of Hayward to expand the services provided. The $120,000 received annually from HUSD comes from the Local Control Funding Formula. As part of this, school districts are required to create a new three-year Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) each year. The services are in the current three-year LCAP and given the ongoing demands for more mental health counseling for students, it is anticipated that this funding will continue to be part of HUSD’s three-year plan, and relatedly their operating budget.
The YFSB School-Based Mental Health Services are part of the YFSB’s overarching strategy to reduce and prevent juvenile involvement in the justice system by linking youth to services and opportunities that help them stay positively connected with the community. Keeping youth engaged in school is one of the most important protective factors in their success, and by extension, prevents them from getting into trouble with law enforcement. This has a clear nexus with public safety and contributes to the overall well-being of Hayward families.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item supports the Strategic Priority of Support Quality of Life. It specifically relates to Project 9: Expand existing support services offered by the Hayward Police Department Youth and Family Services Bureau to include life skills, diversion, and restorative justice.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
As stated above, supporting the emotional needs of students while they are in school has been shown to have positive outcomes on education, employment, criminal activity, substance use, and mental health that last for years to come. This has a positive economic impact on the Hayward community, as it addresses many of the factors that underlie poverty and a lack of economic opportunity. Moreover, the positive impact this program has on overall public safety contributes to a safe and thriving City which attracts residents and local businesses.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City will receive $235,100 in funding through the agreement with ACHCSA and $120,000 in funding through the agreement with HUSD. The four Family Counselor positions (4.0 FTE) discussed above are included in the City’s FY 2024 Operating Budget; accepting and appropriating these funds will help to offset the cost of these positions. While the revenue from these agreements does not fully cover the cost of the positions, the costs are further offset by additional revenue from the Medical Administrative Activities (MAA) agreement. Any remaining net costs to the City’s General Fund are already included in the budget.
NEXT STEPS
If the Council authorizes this action, staff will work to 1) execute the agreement with ACHCSA to provide Our Kids Our Families services for FY23-24; 2) execute the agreement with HUSD to provide school-based mental health services for FY23-24; 3) accept and appropriate $355,100 in payment; and 4) continue providing essential mental health services to youth in schools.
Prepared by: Emily Young, Youth and Family Services Bureau Administrator Recommended by: Bryan Matthews, Acting Chief of Police Approved by:
Kelly McAdoo, City Manager
AEI-Brookings Workgroup on Poverty and Opportunity, Opportunity, Responsibility and Security: A Consensus Plan for Reducing Poverty and Restoring the American Dream. December 3, 2015. Accessed August 24, 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/research/opportunity-responsibility-and-security-a-consensus-plan-for-reducing-poverty-and-restoring-the-american-dream/ Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D. & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1): 405–432.
Scales, P.C., Boat, A., & Pekel, K. (2020). Defining and Measuring Social Capital for Young People: A Practical Review of the Literature on Resource-Full Relationships. Minneapolis: Search Institute. Report for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Damon E. Jones, Mark Greenberg, and Max Crowley. (2015). Early Social-Emotional Functioning and Public Health: The Relationship Between Kindergarten Social Competence and Future Wellness. American Journal of Public Health 105, 2283_2290,