Plain English Breakdown
The official text contains conflicting dates (e.g., September 1 vs. November 1) due to amendments; the final version relies on 'year after appropriation' rather than fixed calendar years.
Fee Schedule Intensive Technical Support for Onboarding Program
This law creates a program to help organizations join an existing system that pays mental health providers who work in schools.
What This Bill Does
- Creates the Fee Schedule Intensive Technical Support for Onboarding Program if funding is approved by the Legislature.
- Requires the State Department of Education to select one local educational agency as a lead entity through competition within one year after funding is approved.
- Allows the lead entity, working with state departments, to choose up to 25 other organizations to join the program over three years.
- Prioritizes applicants who can increase the number and amount of payments made under the statewide fee schedule for school-based care.
- Requires participating groups to commit to increasing the number of youth aged 16 to 25 receiving behavioral health services.
Who It Names or Affects
- The State Department of Education, which selects and funds the lead entity.
- The State Department of Health Care Services, which coordinates with the program.
- Local educational agencies that may be selected as the lead entity to manage the program.
- Up to 25 organizations providing mental or substance use disorder services in schools.
Terms To Know
- Fee Schedule
- A set list of prices that health plans must pay for mental health and substance use treatment provided at school sites to students aged 25 or younger.
- Lead Entity
- The local educational agency chosen to manage the program, select other participants, and provide technical support over three years.
- Transition-age youth
- Young people between 16 and 25 years old who are receiving behavioral health services under this program's requirements.
Limits and Unknowns
- The program only starts if the Legislature approves money for it.
- Specific dates depend on when funding is approved, not fixed calendar years listed in earlier drafts of the bill text.
- The exact amount of funding and which organizations will be selected are unknown until the process begins.