DATE: June 24, 2025
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to 1) Accept and Appropriate $246,855, from Alameda County Health for School-Based Mental Health Services for Fiscal Year 2025 Through 2026, and 2) Negotiate and Execute an Agreement with the County for Such Services
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with Alameda County Health (AC Health) to accept and appropriate $246,855 for school-based mental health services provided by the City in Fiscal Year 2025 through 2026.
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, 3.0 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Family Counselors will provide the services above to three identified schools.
Council approval is requested to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute the annual contract with the County for site-based mental health services to maintain these important 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.1 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.2 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.3
For nearly two decades, the YFSB has had an annual contract with AC Health to provide school-based counseling and other support services in Hayward schools. In 2009, AC Health, Healthy Schools and Communities launched a School-Based Behavioral Health Initiative to address student social-emotional issues as a critical ingredient for learning. The initiative shifted the YFSB’s focus to include work with the whole school climate (including parents, teachers, administrators, community providers, and others) in addition to the counseling services (individual, group, and family) that were already being provided. 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.
Current services offered include:
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
1 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/
2 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.
3 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
Consultation on school-wide efforts to create positive, culturally inclusive school environments.
The services offered by the YFSB are integrated with other social emotional learning strategies provided by County staff and a network of community-based behavioral health providers and serve as part of a larger system of support in HUSD for Hayward students.
Currently, the County provides funding in the amount of $246,855 annually to offset the cost of three full-time equivalents (FTEs) YFSB Family Counselors to provide services on site in three Hayward schools.
The tables below summarize the services provided in the 2024-25 school year by the three YFSB Family Counselors assigned to the School-Based Mental Health Programs. In FY24-25, services were provided to the following HUSD Schools under the agreement with AC Health:
Ochoa Middle School
Bret Harte Middle School
Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School
Table 1. School-Based Mental Health Program Totals – Academic Year 24-25 (through 4/30/25)
Number of Unique Individuals Served (Students, Family,
Teachers, School Administrators, Other Providers)
2558
Unique Activities of Direct Service 978
Table 2. School-Based Mental Health Program Services by Type – Academic Year 24-25 (through 4/30/25)
Individual and Family Clients 132 students
Group Clients 331 students
Student and Family Case Management 521 individuals
Crisis Support 25 students
Consultation and Training for Staff
and Administration
151 hours
Workshops and Assemblies 1121 individuals
Intern Supervision and Training 5.5 hours
Table 3. School-Based Mental Health Program Services by Focus Area – Academic Year 24-25 (through 4/30/25)
Social Emotional Learning and Wellness 58% of contacts
Mental Health 25% of contacts
Social Skills/Relationship Support 6% of contacts
Climate and Culture Activities 4% of contacts
Coordination of Services 2% 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 agreement have been developed in partnership with HUSD and AC Health, 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.4
Components of YFSB School-Based Mental Health Services – Academic Year 25-26 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, one is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and two are Licensed Clinical Social Workers, both bilingual Spanish speakers. They range in years of clinical experience from 10 to 25+ years.
4 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,
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 $246,855. 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 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 Enhance Community Safety and Quality of Life. Specifically, this item relates to Project Q17: Continue to provide family support programs through the Youth and Family Services Bureau.
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 that attracts residents and local businesses.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City will receive $246,855 in funding through the agreement with AC Health. The three Family Counselor positions (3.0 FTE) discussed in this staff report are included in the City’s FY 2025 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 AC Health to provide school-based services for FY25-26; 2) accept and appropriate $246,855 in payment; and 3) continue providing essential mental health services to youth in schools.
Prepared by: Emily Young, Youth and Family Services Bureau Administrator
Recommended by: Bryan Matthews, Chief of Police
Approved by:
Michael Lawson, J.D.
Acting City Manager