Urge Your State Legislators to Support School-based Medicaid Services in Maryland

Please vote YES on SB 201/HB 82. SB 201/HB 82 is a win for school-based mental health services in Maryland as it reduces barriers for delivering mental health services in schools, such as difficulty with reimbursement, scaling effective treatments, and equitable access. 

SB 201/HB 82 addresses these issues by authorizing reimbursement to providers under existing programs such as the Maryland Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) and Maryland Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This would allow Maryland to tap additional federal dollars to provide these needed services in school-based settings.

Since children spend much of their productive time in educational settings, schools offer a unique opportunity for early identification, prevention, and interventions that serve students where they already are. Data has shown that youth are almost as likely to receive mental health services in an education setting as they are to receive treatment from a specialty mental health provider.

School-based mental health services are delivered by trained mental health professionals who are employed by schools, such as school psychologists, school counselors, school social workers, and school nurses. By removing barriers such as transportation, scheduling conflicts and stigma, school-based mental health services can help students access critical services during the school day. 

As your constituent, I urge you to vote YES on SB 201/HB 82 and support school-based mental health services in Maryland.