What We Do

OUR VISION (Why)

We envision a day, soon, when all children and youth:

• Have access to everything they need [including limitless hope and opportunity] to [reach their highest potential] [thrive] [be productive and engaged adults] [focus on their academic success]
• Live in [safe][thriving] [neighborhoods] [homes] [environments] designed for them to be healthy and thriving.
• Live among adults that [value] [care for] [protect] them.
• Have a sense of self-worth, value, and agency around their wellness

OUR BELIEFS

We believe:

• School-based health care creates health equity for students from low-income communities;
• Cross-sector collaboration, systems of care, and supports to create equitable opportunity for learning and health to all children—no matter their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, or zip code are critical to achieving health care equity;
• By working together, our schools, public health authorities, health care systems and providers, youth and family services, law enforcement and juvenile courts, community development institutions, interfaith and civil rights groups have the collective power to remediate the effects of detrimental social, environmental, and economic factors (also called root causes) on children’s health and academic success;
• When communities engage students and their families as active stakeholders, leaders, and change-makers in comprehensive, school-centered strategies, they can make every school a place of safety, belonging, connectedness, and limitless opportunity.

CORE VALUED BEHAVIORS

• We invest in people as critical resources for advancing our mission.
• We encourage continuous learning and challenging dialogue.
• We value hard work and balance in all lives to assure well-being.
• We value innovation, creativity, and the application of new ideas to solve complex problems.
• We hold ourselves accountable for results that are meaningful to our field.
• We strive for openness, inclusivity, collaboration, and diversity in our staff, members, and partners.
• We value inclusiveness, diversity, and equitable access to health care for all students from low-income households.
• We budget conservatively and do not waste precious resources.

TARGETS (Who)

School-based health care clinicians, practitioners, administrators; community health organizations delivering medical, behavioral, oral, and vision care; federal, state, and local public health authorities; federal, state, and local education agencies; state school-based health care affiliates; foundations and philanthropies; and health care payers—public and private; elected leaders and policymakers; traditional and social media; students and families in K-12 public schools serving low-income communities are our targets for information and advocacy.

OUR APPROACH (How)

Advocate to grow the number and expand the services of SBHCs nationally. Through education and advocacy for federal and state policies supporting the growth, expansion, and funding of SBHCs, we will expand the number of SBHCs nationally. We will also pursue relationships with national partners and positive media opportunities that further a fully staffed SBHC in every Title I school.

Grow and diversify the school-based health workforce. We will develop and implement plans and strategies to grow and diversify the school-based health workforce by working with national partners, federal agencies, and philanthropies. We will expand our youth outreach and activities to help us meet this challenge.

Develop electronic data collection and analysis capabilities. Working with our national partners, we will pursue government and philanthropic support for modernizing our data collection/analysis for all school-based health services. We will work with education partners to create better collaboration between sectors and address HIPPA and FERPA issues.

Expand the use of telehealth in schools. Telehealth is a great tool for clinicians, but it does not replace in-person clinical professionals.

Disseminate best practices. Our team, working with our national partners where possible, share best practices and current information through learning communities, consulting contracts, and training opportunities.  We provide tailored, in-depth technical assistance and consulting services on a fee-for-service basis to help communities design, plan, operate, and evaluate school-based health care programs. We offer virtual and in-person events and activities.

 OUR GOALS (What)

• Maintain and grow the reputation of SBHA as the subject matter experts on school-based health care;
• Secure federal budget line items for SBHCs both within the 330 program and for non-FQHCs;
• Complete all projects and grants on time and budget;
• Operate a national conference either virtually, in-person, or as a hybrid;
• Continue to grow our national partnerships and media relationships;
• Aggressively seek new funding (philanthropic and government) for workforce development and electronic data collection;
• Seek new funding for youth initiatives, including internships;
• Maintain staffing levels, only increasing where grants or projects require;
• Maintain a healthy work environment for staff;
• Seek funding for general operating expenses