Across California, students face increasing pressures that impact their mental well-being—whether it’s stress from academic demands, social pressures, or broader life challenges. Schools have become a frontline for identifying and supporting behavioral health needs, but funding, access, and administrative barriers have often stood in the way of delivering consistent, equitable services.
The State of California is helping change that narrative through a groundbreaking school-based behavioral health program designed to ensure every public school student can access free support when and where they need it. And it’s serving as a blueprint for other states as they look to implement similar programs across the country.
School-Based Behavioral Health Services, Without Barriers
The Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative provides outpatient, non-specialty mental health services to all public school students at or near their school sites—covering individuals up to age 25. For families, this means access is simple, stigma is reduced, and care is available close to where students spend most of their time.
A defining feature of this program is financial accessibility. The program eliminates copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs, ensuring no student or family is deterred from receiving help. By requiring all health plans—commercial, Medi-Cal Managed Care, and Disability Insurance—to reimburse services at published rates regardless of network status, the program creates a consistent, sustainable funding model for schools.
Streamlining Support for Our Schools
Schools and educational institutions have long struggled with fragmented payer requirements and inconsistent reimbursement rates. This program changes that by creating a uniform reimbursement schedule across all payers.
For Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and Institutes of Higher Education (IHEs), that means one streamlined process for claims, rather than navigating multiple contracts and negotiations. It also opens up an additional revenue stream to reinvest in school-based behavioral health, supporting the expansion of services and the hiring of more providers.
Already, more than 500 LEAs and IHEs have been enrolled and supported through the program—evidence of how deeply this initiative is reaching into communities across the state.
Carelon Behavioral Health: A Trusted Administrator
As the state’s selected third-party administrator, Carelon Behavioral Health manages the operational backbone of the program on behalf of the Department of Health Care Services, the Department of Managed Health Care, and the California Department of Insurance.
It starts with building and managing a strong network of qualified providers, making sure schools and communities have access to the right professionals. When a school joins, Carelon guides administrators through the paperwork so they can claim funding for student services without confusion.
Once services are delivered, the Carelon team handles the behind-the-scenes work — reviewing and routing claims to the correct health plans while checking real-time eligibility data from across the state to ensure accuracy. Carelon then reimburses schools directly and provides weekly reports so they can easily track payments.
Throughout the process, Carelon is available to support both schools and health plans with technical guidance whenever it’s needed. Most importantly, by taking on the administrative burden, this program frees up educators and providers to do what matters most: focusing their time and energy on students.
Today, over 42 health plans are being onboarded into this framework, helping ensure the program functions seamlessly statewide.
Data That Demonstrates Impact
Early results underscore the value of this model:
- As of November 2025, more than 6,000 unique students have been served through school-based behavioral health services.
- 700+ LEAs/IHEs supported and continuing to expand.
- 42+ health plans engaged and aligned with a unified reimbursement model.
Behind each number is a student, a family, and a community experiencing greater access to care.
Building a Healthier Future for California’s Students
The need for accessible behavioral health care has never been more urgent. By aligning state policy, payer responsibility, and school-based access, California is creating a sustainable model that prioritizes the well-being of its students.
At Carelon Behavioral Health, we are proud to play a role in advancing this vision and bringing best practices and different ways of modeling care to meet specific needs. Our work with communities, schools and partners across the state underscores a shared belief: when students receive timely behavioral health support, they are better equipped to learn, grow, and thrive.
Together, we are not only addressing today’s needs—we are investing in a healthier, more resilient generation of Californians.
Briana Duffy is Western Region Leader at Carelon Behavioral Health, part of Elevance Health
