Mental Health Clinic Administrators' Perspectives on the Impact of Clinic-School Partnerships on Youth Mental Health Services Continuity and Quality

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Janet Cummings, Emory University; Yidan X Zhang, Emory University; Adam Wilk, Emory University; Steven C Marcus, University of Pennsylvania
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-08-09
• Publisher: SPRINGER
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12310-022-09531-4
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 1086
• End Page: 1097
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH095823). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
• Keywords: OF-CARE; DISORDERS; Policy; ADOLESCENTS; Social Sciences; Engagement; Psychology, Developmental; Psychology; Psychology, Educational; Community mental health; Medicaid; Targeted interventions; CHILDREN; PRACTICE PARAMETER; Quality
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Health Care Management; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Partnerships between mental health (MH) clinics and school systems in which providers deliver MH services on school grounds are growing. To date, however, there is little research examining MH clinic administrator perspectives on how this service delivery model affects continuity and quality of MH services among low-income youth. We conducted a state-wide (online and mail) survey of administrators at MH clinics (n = 60) to assess their perspectives on the advantages and challenges of school MH services for Medicaid-enrolled youth. Among survey respondents (n = 44), 86% reported that their clinic had at least one school partnership. With respect to advantages, more than four-fifths reported that school-based MH services (compared to clinic-based services) were very helpful or extremely helpful (versus not helpful at all, a little helpful, or somewhat helpful) for: (1) reducing gaps in MH treatment (86.8%); (2) improving communication between MH providers and teachers (86.9%), and (3) improving the overall quality of MH care (89.5%). In addition, the estimated no-show rate for appointments in school settings (7.2%) was lower than the estimated no show-rate for clinic appointments (23.9%; p < 0.01). Several challenges were also reported; more than two-thirds of respondents reported difficulties when delivering school-based services related to parent engagement (i.e., appointment attendance [89.5%], communication [81.6%], timely consent [68.4%]) that occurred sometimes, often, or always (versus rarely or never). As MH clinics continue to enter into and expand partnerships with schools, stakeholders should implement family-centered strategies to enhance engagement. Nevertheless, MH clinic administrators highlight potential benefits of school MH services (compared to clinic-based services) with respect to continuity and quality of MH care.