[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-583319-105":59,"doc-detail-583319-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","funding-for-school-mental-health-services-trends-and-policy-implications","Funding for School Mental Health Services: Trends and Policy Implications","","Funding streams for school mental health expanded rapidly through ESSER dollars, grants, and expanded Medicaid billing, enabling districts to grow service-delivery capacity. The document argues that this expansion has emphasized adding providers and targeted interventions rather than investing in broader improvements that strengthen how schools address learning barriers and student support needs. It distinguishes school mental health from mental health in schools, summarizes evidence on student need and access, and outlines shifting public financing after 2024.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/funding-for-school-mental-health-services-trends-and-policy-implications/583319/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/funding-for-school-mental-health-services-trends-and-policy-implications/583319.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Jake","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-16","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What funding streams supported rapid expansion of school mental health services?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The document highlights ESSER dollars, grants, and expanded Medicaid billing as major drivers that enabled districts to expand mental health services quickly.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the document differentiate “School Mental Health” from “Mental Health in Schools”?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"School Mental Health focuses on services delivered in schools (e.g., counseling, assessment, therapy, crisis intervention), while Mental Health in Schools covers broader school policies, practices, curriculum, and whole-school conditions that promote well-being and enable early identification and intervention.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What changed after 2024 regarding school mental health funding?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The expiration of ESSER funds and reductions in federal budgets increased funding uncertainty, leading districts to rely increasingly on Medicaid as a primary strategy for sustaining services.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},583319,1792113644,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":52,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},962084928904,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Funding for School Mental Health Services: Trends and Policy Implications  \n(2026)  \nHoward Adelman & Linda Taylor University of California, Los Angeles  \nRecent funding streams – ESSER dollars, grants, and expanded Medicaid billing – enabled districts to expand mental health services quickly. However, these funds primarily support the expansion of service-delivery models instead of also being invested in improving how schools address mental health and redesign student/learning supports. As a result, the narrow focus on service expansion continues to outpace investment in major improvements that will enable schools to address a fuller range offactors interfering with learning and teaching.  \nThis document was prepared by Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor, co-directors Center for MH in Schools & Student/Learning Supports at UCLA,*  \nEmail contact: [adelman@psych.ucla.edu](adelman@psych.ucla.edu) [Ltaylor@ucla.edu](Ltaylor@ucla.edu)[ ](Ltaylor@ucla.edu)Website: [http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu](http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu)  \nTo facilitate efforts to address barriers to learning, this resources is freely accessible online.  \n[http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/briefguide.pdf](http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/briefguide.pdf)  \nPermission to reproduce is granted.  \n*Initially, the Center was named the Center for Mental Health in Schools; in 2017, to more fully underscore the breadth of the work, the Center name was expanded.  \nFunding for School Mental Health Services: Trends and Policy Implications  \nThis document highlights major funding streams for what is commonly referred to as School Mental  \nHealth. It contrasts the prevailing school mental health model with the broader concept of Mental Health in Schools and argues for policies that support a more comprehensive approach  \n– one capable of addressing the needs of far more students and schools.  \nDifferentiating School Mental Health and Mental Health in Schools  \nSchool Mental Health widely is used to refer to a set of services provided in schools – by school-employed and/or community mental health professionals – to address students’mental health needs. Examples are counseling, assessment, therapy, and crisis intervention. Some schools, especially those that have adopted a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), expand their focus to include mental health promotion and prevention; nevertheless, the primary emphasis generally remains on providing services for targeted supports for students at elevated risk, as well as playing a role in caring for those in need of intensive, individualized mental health treatment (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2026; Dragoo & Duff, 2025) .  \nMental Health in Schools is defined more broadly to encompass the policies, practices, curriculum, supports, and whole-school approaches and conditions within a school environment that promote students’ psychological well being, help prevent mental health problems, and provide early identification and intervention when challenges arise. Examples are interventions to foster connectedness, reduce barriers to learning, and create supportive climates (Adelman & Taylor, 2020; Dragoo & Duff, 2025) .  \nSchools and Mental Health Services  \nMultiple large-scale studies estimate that roughly one-third one half of U.S. students exhibit mental health symptoms serious enough to warrant professional support. CDC (2026) estimates that 30-40% of adolescents show symptoms that merit screening or intervention, with 10-20% likely needing more intensive services. While these findings are robust across studies, most rely heavily on student self-report surveys (Green et al., 2023; National Center for Education Statistics, 2024). In general, caution is warranted related to most estimates.  \nSchools have long been viewed as a primary access point for youth mental health services. Recent estimates indicate that approximately 18% of students used school-based mental health services during the 2024–25 school year (Panchal, Cox, & Rudowit","cbCaivGOBThaGIMv","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivGOBThaGIMv","pdf",525562,"English","# Funding for School Mental Health Services: Trends and Policy Implications\n## Distinguishing School Mental Health and Mental Health in Schools\n## Schools and Mental Health Services\n## Primary Funding Streams and Estimate of Total Funds Expended for School Mental Health","[{\"question\":\"What funding streams supported rapid expansion of school mental health services?\",\"answer\":\"The document highlights ESSER dollars, grants, and expanded Medicaid billing as major drivers that enabled districts to expand mental health services quickly.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the document differentiate “School Mental Health” from “Mental Health in Schools”?\",\"answer\":\"School Mental Health focuses on services delivered in schools (e.g., counseling, assessment, therapy, crisis intervention), while Mental Health in Schools covers broader school policies, practices, curriculum, and whole-school conditions that promote well-being and enable early identification and intervention.\"},{\"question\":\"What changed after 2024 regarding school mental health funding?\",\"answer\":\"The expiration of ESSER funds and reductions in federal budgets increased funding uncertainty, leading districts to rely increasingly on Medicaid as a primary strategy for sustaining services.\"}]","Funding for School Mental Health Services: Trends and Policy Implications | PDF",1792046798,25]