ERNA DC Testifies to the DC Council Committee on Health Department of Behavioral Health Performance Oversight Hearing

Washington, D.C.

By

January 30, 2024

Minetre Martin
Organizing Manager
Education Reform Now Advocacy DC 

Chairperson Christina Henderson and Committee on Health Members, 

My name is Minetre Martin, and I come before you today not only in my capacity as Organizing Manager for Education Reform Now Advocacy DC (ERNA DC), an organization that advocates for a just and equitable public education system for all students in Washington, DC but also as a former teacher who has navigated the front lines of school-based behavioral health.My experiences within our city’s classrooms have granted me a unique vantage point on the School-Based Behavioral Health Program (SBBH) and its impact on our youth.

Drawing from my tenure as a teacher and the collective expertise of the Strengthening Families Through Behavioral Health coalition, I have seen the intent of SBBH firsthand, which is to remove barriers to mental health resources. When fully operational, its impact is transformative. Yet, the reality that many current educators, social workers, and I have observed is one of resource disparity, where the potential for positive change is compromised by insufficient support, leaving our foundational objectives unmet.

I recall a first-grader, usually filled with curiosity, left silent by the chaos of their home life. Despite their need for Tier 3 interventions, they could only access the general support I could provide within my Tier 1 whole group capacity because the clinicians lacked the hours to deliver services to students who did not have IEPs or 504s. There are various stories of students not having access to clinicians at school, and with students in the District reporting many mental health issues, adequate behavioral health support in schools is vital for addressing these widespread mental health challenges.1

SBBH serves students across 254 District schools, but only 68% have a full-time clinician on average, leaving 32% understaffed generally.2 Last year, this gap affected over 25,000 students and overburdened educators with untrained mental health responsibilities, hindering their educational roles.3

The Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) must do the following through the lens of those who serve our students every day:

  1. Enhance Training and Support for Classroom Staff: Allocate $2.4 million to the SBBH program to pilot the addition of non-clinical staff positions to SBBH teams and train teachers and staff, enhancing social-emotional learning, especially for schools without full clinical teams.4
  2. Streamline the Multi-Tier System of Supports (MTSS): Develop a clear, efficient transition plan within MTSS, ensuring fluid movement through different levels of support, regardless of clinician staffing levels.
  3. Provide compensation and develop guidance for the SBBH Coordinator role: So that every school’s coordinator is equipped to effectively connect staff, students, and families with school behavioral health resources, at least $381,000 is needed.5
  4. Increase Transparency and Outreach: Enhance SBBH service communication to families and students, and establish clear protocols for schools with unstaffed clinicians to sustain student support and engagement in SBBH services.
  5. Facilitate Inclusive District-Wide Strategic Planning for Behavioral Health: Ensure the plan includes diverse community voices: families, students, educators, clinicians, CBOs, and healthcare providers.
  6. Sustain compensation for SBBH’s community-based clinicians Adjust for inflation to maintain clinicians in DC public schools; $98,4656 per clinician across 254 schools, totaling at least $25 million for CBO grants.7

Thank you for your consideration and unwavering commitment to our youth’s health and well-being. I welcome any questions you may have.