Minetre Martin
Advocacy & Communications Manager
Education Reform Now Advocacy
Good morning Chairperson Christina Henderson and Committee on Health Members,
My name is Minetre Martin and I am the Advocacy and Communications Manager for the D.C. Chapter of Education Reform Now Advocacy (ERNA DC), an organization fighting for a just and equitable public education system for all students. Today I am advocating alongside members of the Strengthening Families Through Behavioral Health Coalition (SFC) for a stronger behavioral health system for children and families in D.C.
Before stepping into advocacy, I spent over 10 years as an educator, where I saw firsthand what happens when students don’t get the behavioral health support they need. I watched bright, capable students spiral into chronic absenteeism and academic decline, and while waiting months for mental health support, I saw their issues escalate into a crisis.
I am happy to know the School-Based Behavioral Health (SBBH) Program is now reaching 146 schools to date. However, 111 schools either still have provider vacancies or remain unmatched with a CBO (Community Based Organization). Even where coverage exists, we lack public data on wait times, service access, and outcomes, and families still face barriers to resources.
Meanwhile, the latest 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey reveals the scale of the crisis:
- Over 70% of D.C. middle & high school students reported struggling with behavioral health, and more than 20% have felt this way most of the time or always but don’t know where to go for help.
Without a fully staffed, well-coordinated behavioral health system for our schools, these numbers will only worsen.
The vision for the SBBH program has always been clear to address those issues but as of today, execution is falling short in two key areas:
- We have an inconsistent and unstable workforce.
- Without a sustainable, multi-year workforce plan that keeps pace with inflation to ensure workforce stability, we will continue losing providers to other industries—leaving students vulnerable and without essential services.
- There is a gap in access beyond schools.
- Currently, D.C. does not have a truly easy-to-use, centralized platform specifically for families to find behavioral health services beyond what schools provide. While various directories exist (such as DC Medicaid’s provider search and managed care organization directories), families have not found them to be user-friendly, comprehensive, or well-maintained, making it difficult for them to navigate the system. That leads me to wonder where we are on establishing the Child Behavioral Health Services Dashboard Act of 2024. When can we expect an update on this Bill?
The bottom line is that we cannot afford to let behavioral health support in schools remain unstable—students’ well-being depends on it. We urge the D.C. Council to use this oversight process to push DBH toward a more proactive solution.
Thank you for your time. I welcome any questions.
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