In the Budget Act of 2021, California launched the Children and Youth Behavioral Initiative (CYBHI). This program focuses on enhancing the physical and behavioral well-being of all students by increasing intervention and prevention services at school, where students spend the majority of their time.

This new law requires school districts to partner with health service providers, including Medi-Cal and private insurers, to support students' social and emotional health services. As a result, districts can now receive reimbursement for physical and behavioral health services provided to students during the school day. This presents a significant opportunity for Oakley Union Elementary School District (OUESD) as we navigate budget constraints by receiving reimbursement for existing services, such as screening, assessments, and mental health supports.

The goal of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) is to reimagine the systems that support behavioral health and wellness for California’s children and youth into an innovative, upstream-focused ecosystem. This ecosystem will focus on promoting well-being and preventing behavioral health challenges, and routinely screening, supporting, and serving ALL children and youth for emerging and existing mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) challenges, including substance use disorders and wellness. 

The initiative will be designed and implemented in partnership with CalHHS departments, education community partners from early childhood, K–12, and higher education, other State agencies, subject matter experts, community partners on the ground and in the field, and children, youth, and their families. Focusing on prevention and early intervention can help reduce children and youth’s risk of developing serious mental, emotional, and behavioral challenges. 

The Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) and numerous California departments are partnering with schools to expand access to school-based and school-linked mental and behavioral health services for students aged 25 years and younger.

The CYBHI allows Oakley Union Elementary School District to receive reimbursements for eligible behavioral health services already being provided in school, including screening, assessments, and ongoing mental health support provided to our students. This reimbursement will come directly from the insurance companies that cover the students, at no cost to the parents or caregivers. This program will not affect families’ insurance coverage, and receiving services at school will not reduce or impact students or their family's ability to obtain care outside of school.
As this program is launched in our schools, parents/guardians will be asked for their student’s health insurance information. All health information will be securely stored and only shared in alignment with existing federal and state laws.

This program will not change students’ eligibility to receive behavioral health services. Rather, the program will expand service availability by creating a new, sustainable reimbursement method for providers. Services delivered to students covered by Medi-Cal MCPs and Medi-Cal FFS, most commercial health plans, or disability insurers, with certain exceptions, are eligible to be reimbursed at the CYBHI fee schedule rate.

There will be no cost to parents or caregivers for students who receive services eligible for reimbursement under the CYBHI fee schedule program (i.e., no co-pays). Receiving services at school will not reduce or impact students' or their families' ability to obtain care outside of school.