School-Based Health Care Coordination Initiative
What is School-Based Health Care Coordination?
School-based health care coordination unites health, education, and social services to better support students and families and improve outcomes. Led by the School-Based Health Alliance, two initiatives fund dedicated care coordinators to streamline coordination within SBHCs and among partners. The goal is clear: build a sustainable, replicable, and scalable model for care coordination in SBHCs nationwide.
Why School-Based Health Care Coordination Matters?
To keep students healthy and help them thrive, school-based health care coordination connects students and families to the right resources at the right time and helps them navigate systems that are often confusing or overwhelming.
What does School-Based Health Care Coordination Make Possible for Students and Families?
- Identified needs
- Connected services
- Supported systems navigation
- Clear follow-up and follow-through
The School-Based Health Initiative is a project of the School-Based Health Alliance
Highlights
The School-Based Health Alliance, in partnership with federally qualified health centers in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, and Miami, officially launched the School-Based Health Care Coordination Initiative, a transformative approach designed to enhance student health and educational outcomes through comprehensive care coordination. The partner health centers include Whitefoord, Inc. (Atlanta), UI Health-Mile Square Health Center (Chicago), Legacy Community Health (Houston), and Jessie Trice Community Health System, Inc. (Miami).
Learn more about case presentations from the care coordinators and discussions grounded in real world application, emphasizing the importance of care coordination capacity and integration within their school-based health centers (SBHCs), schools, and communities.
Understand the SBHCC
In each community, FQHCs lead city work groups comprised of community members to help advocate, engage, and inform care coordination within their city. The workgroups will include students, parents/guardians, FQHC staff, SBHC staff, local education agency staff, school leadership, school health staff, and local stakeholders such as pediatric primary care providers, community behavioral health organizations, and other child-serving organizations.
Each care coordinator will work in a school that primarily serves students from families that have low incomes. The care coordinators comprehensive training, mentoring, and coaching throughout the initiative. The care coordinators will help students and parents/guardians navigate the health and education systems, including special education, and the landscape of resources to achieve optimal student health and wellness outcomes. The care coordination position will reduce the fragmentation of coordinating services from existing SBHC staff and collaborate with both the school and SBHC so that students can receive the best quality care.
SBHA also will work to enact policies to sustain the care coordinator role via Medicaid reimbursement.
A School-Based Health Care Coordinator...
| Does | Does Not | |
x | Participate in intensive and ongoing standardized training, coaching, and peer learning to build and maintain school-based health care coordination skills. | |
x | Help students and parents/guardians navigate the health and education systems, including special education, and the landscape of resources to achieve optimal health and wellness outcomes for students. | |
x | Assist in facilitating communication between the student and parents/guardians, school and School-Based Health Center personnel, and external health care providers. | |
x | Help students and parents/guardians address related medical needs, including mental, vision, and oral health; social, developmental, and behavioral needs; and barriers to access (e.g., transportation, finances, language). | |
x | Support students and parents/guardians navigate and better understand the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)/Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Medicaid, and other health insurance environments in a school setting. | |
x | Support collaboration and sharing information between the school and the School-Based Health Center. | |
x | Perform delegated tasks (e.g., scheduling referrals, consent forms) to ensure that the direct care professionals can work to the fullest extent of their role and license. | |
x | Provide medical and/or clinical care. | |
x | Require clinical training. | |
x | Require an associate or bachelor’s degree but does require a minimum level of lived work experience and training (case management experience a plus). |