Testimony Before the Council of the District of Columbia Committee on Health at the Budget Oversight Hearing on the Department of Behavioral Health

By Nicole Travers, Senior Director of School Support & Program Data at the DC Charter School Alliance

Good morning, Chairperson Henderson and members of the Committee. My name is Nicole Travers, and I am the Senior Director of School Support & Program Data at the DC Charter School Alliance, the local non-profit that advocates on behalf of public charter schools to ensure that every student can choose high-quality public schools that prepare them for lifelong success. 

Students nationwide are experiencing a mental health crisis.

According to a recently released survey of adolescents aged 12-17, about one in five reported symptoms of anxiety or depression (1). And results from a 2021 CDC survey revealed around one in three high school girls have seriously considered suicide, a staggering increase from the less than a fifth of teen girls who reported so a decade earlier (2). Whether these troubling trends are a result of isolation and loss from the pandemic or other societal factors such as increased violence in their communities, there’s no question that it’s critical we ensure the physical and mental needs of the whole child are met.

DC public and charter school leaders alike understand the pandemic’s lasting impact on how students show up to school, and they are doing all they can to prioritize mental health service resources. This includes focusing on social and emotional learning curricula and activities, providing restorative justice interventions for students, incorporating extracurricular programs before and after school, increasing field trip opportunities, and utilizing outdoor space for learning and school community events, all as a thread of enhancing their school-wide culture. We at the DC Alliance are working hard to support them. In the fall, we launched a monthly collaborative learning community for charter LEA Student Support Leaders to come together and share best practices and strategies to address challenges with student behavior, chronic absenteeism, safety, and social-emotional health. To date, 41 LEAs have engaged in this network to collaborate on better serving our city’s youth. 

We appreciate all the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) has done to ensure more schools have access to clinicians through its School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) program. So many of our schools rely on these clinicians to support their students. We’re also grateful the agency has worked hard to identify solutions to fill clinician vacancies with a pilot program that provides funding directly to charter schools when the SBMH program faced challenges with meeting staffing needs. Based on the pilot criteria, charter schools were eligible to apply for this pilot if they 1) were not partnered with a community-based organization (CBO), 2) were partnered with a CBO but did not yet have vacancies filled, or 3) had a CBO disruption.

When DBH initially put out a Request for Applications (RFA) to this pilot program, many charters were hesitant to apply because of some challenges with eligibility and requirements. The agency worked collaboratively with us to respond to these challenges and reissue the RFA. The DC Alliance provided technical assistance to charter LEAs with the application process, which included checklists, templates, and a workshop. As a result, twelve charter schools applied, and DBH awarded seven schools in the pilot program, with awards for services provided starting March 1, 2024. We then worked closely with DBH to ensure an opportunity was offered for the five schools that were denied to revise their applications and reapply.  One of the five was subsequently matched with a CBO; the remaining four are resubmitting their applications.  With services starting this spring, we are hopeful that through this innovative pilot, nearly 30,000 students will have access to a clinician when they previously did not without this program, which accounts for 67% of the charter school enrollment population. 

Additionally, we know offering competitive compensation packages is critical to retaining and recruiting high-quality clinicians. That’s why I want to thank the Office of State Superintendent (OSSE) for providing an ARROW grant to schools so that they could fund a one-time $1,000 bonus for mental health professionals. This is a positive incentive to encourage & recognize the mental health professionals who work tirelessly to provide clinical services to our city’s youth. 

As you consider the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, I’d like to share recommendations for how DBH can improve students’ mental health supports, including (1) continuing the SBMH pilot program, (2) growing the pool and pipeline of high-quality clinicians for DBH’s SBMH, and (3) refining the pilot program to ensure the funding provided to schools for clinicians is comparable to funding provided to CBOs.

Continue the DBH Pilot Program

First, we understand in this challenging budget cycle, deep cuts have been proposed to DBH’s budget. As the Council makes tough decisions over the next couple of months to finalize the budget, we urge you to retain as much funding as possible for the School-Based Mental Health program, especially to extend the pilot program for another fiscal year. A successful pilot creates opportunities to fill these roles in an efficient way that directly meets schools’ and students’ needs. Hiring a clinician to only have services disrupted due to the ending of the pilot grant would have an adverse impact on students who have experienced deep trauma and loss.

Grow the Pool and Pipeline of High-Quality Clinicians

Second, while we appreciate that DBH has worked hard to address staffing vacancies with the pilot program, we urge the District to consider longer-term solutions to grow the pool of qualified clinicians. We’re grateful to the Council for responding to our asks for innovative recruitment strategies, such as funding higher education and licensure programs for DC residents to pursue careers in mental health. Councilmember Robert White’s bill that finances a Master of Social Work degree for DC residents shows great promise in training more mental health professionals and growing the pool of qualified clinicians.

As we’ve previously testified, we believe that one additional way to more immediately address the numerous vacancies across the SBMH program is by joining 17 other states in the Social Work Licensure Compact or pursuing reciprocity agreements with Maryland, Virginia, and other surrounding jurisdictions. Pursuing these innovative solutions could quickly grow the pool of providers, and we recommend DBH explore these options.

Refine the Pilot by Making the Funding Structure More Flexible

Finally, we urge DBH to refine the pilot program to make the funding structure more flexible, which would ensure that the funding provided to charter schools for clinicians is comparable to the funding provided to CBOs for clinicians doing the same role. Currently, CBOs receive a lump sum of $99,370.85 to hire clinicians. Charter schools in the pilot program receive $89,366.22 with a mandated breakdown to spend the money in specific ways, including $63,153 for the clinician, $16,666,67 for supervisory costs, $1,000 for workforce development, and an $8,546.55 one-time funding for retention. We urge DBH to ensure schools are receiving comparable funding to CBOs and are provided the flexibility to use that funding in the most efficient manner while ensuring appropriate staffing and supervision of clinicians.

Moving Forward

As always, the DC Alliance is committed to working together with our schools and the District to ensure our students’ mental health needs are met. We’re confident that extending the pilot program and making funding more flexible will help our schools provide consistent, reliable support for their students. We believe a pilot program with these changes can be an efficient way to deal with some of the challenges the SBMH program has faced with vacancies while pursuing other longer-term strategies to grow the pool of qualified clinicians. 

Thank you for your time and attention, and I welcome your questions.

(1) KFF. Recent Trends in Mental Health and Substance Use Concerns Among Adolescents. Feb. 6, 2024.
(2) CBS News. Nearly a third of teen girls say they have seriously considered suicide, CDC survey shows. Feb. 13, 2023.