Mental Health Intervention Team Pilot Program

2018 Legislation

In Sub. for SB 423 and House Sub. for SB 61, the 2018 Legislature created the Mental Health Intervention Team Pilot Program (Program) for fiscal year (FY) 2019 “to improve social-emotional wellness and outcomes for students by increasing schools’ access to counselors, social workers and psychologists statewide” (2018 Sub. for SB 423, Sec. 1(a)). The legislation required school districts and community mental health centers (CMHCs) to enter into partnerships through memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to implement the Program. Additionally, the legislation required mental health intervention teams to consist of school liaisons employed by the participating school districts, in addition to clinical therapists and case managers employed by the participating CMHCs. The legislation specified nine school districts that would participate in the Program.
The Legislature appropriated $10.0 million from the State General Fund (SGF) to the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) to fund the Program. The appropriations included $4.2 million to cover treatment costs for participating students. This included $2.6 million in match for Medicaid costs and $1.5 million for CMHCs. In addition, the appropriations included $3.3 million to cover the costs associated with the school liaisons hired by participating school districts. Finally, $2.5 million was included to create an online database to be used for the Program.

2019 Legislation

In House Sub. for SB 25, the 2019 Legislature reauthorized the Program for FY 2020. The Legislature appropriated $8.0 million from the SGF. The Legislature also made several adjustments to the Program, reappropriating unused funds for the pilot program from FY 2019 to FY 2020, requiring a 25.0 percent local match for the school liaisons hired by participating school districts, and providing the State Board of Education (State Board) with the authority to expand the Program to additional school districts for FY 2020.

Program Overview

Scope of Program

As implemented by KSDE, the Program focuses on providing care to two groups of students.

The “alpha group” consists of youth who are Children in Need of Care (CINC) and are in state custody. These students have experienced multiple placements and moved school districts multiple times throughout the school year.

The “beta group” consists of all other youth (non -CINC) who are in need of mental health support services.

Duties of Intervention Team Members

The duties of school liaisons employed by participating school districts include, but are not limited to:

  • Identifying appropriate referrals;
  • Acting as a liaison between the school district and the CMHC;
  • Helping the CMHC prioritize interventions for identified students;
  • Facilitating connections between identified students’ families and the CMHC staff;
  • Communicating with child welfare contacts to get the educational history of a student who has moved schools; and
  • Gathering outcomes to monitor the effectiveness of the program.

The duties of clinical therapists employed by participating CMHCs include, but are not limited to:

  • Helping the school liaison identify appropriate referrals and prioritize interventions for identified students;
  • Conducting a clinical assessment of the identified student and making appropriate treatment recommendations;
  • Providing individual and family therapy;
  • Communicating with school personnel to help them understand a student’s diagnosis, family circumstance, and suggested interventions; and
  • Gathering outcome data to monitor the effectiveness of the Program.

The duties of case managers employed by participating CMHCs include, but are not limited to:

  • Working with the school liaison and clinical therapist to identify and prioritize students for treatment interventions;
  • Providing outreach to students, families, and child welfare contacts to help engage in treatment;
  • Helping maintain communication between all entities involved, including family, student, school, clinician, child welfare, and community;
  • Making referrals to appropriate community resources; and
  • Helping to reconnect students and families when they are not following through with the treatment process.

Memorandums of Understanding

Participating school districts are required to enter into two MOUs for the Program.
The first MOU is with KSDE; it outlines the basic requirements of the Program and specifies how funding received for the Program is to be spent. The second MOU is between the school district and its partner CMHC. This MOU outlines how the school district and CMHC will cooperate in the implementation of the Program. (KSDE produced and distributed a standard memorandum for this agreement, but did not require school districts to use it.)

Additionally, KSDE has entered into a MOU with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to cover the distribution of the funding for Medicaid-related costs. During FY 2019, the Medicaid funding for the program was distributed to the participating school districts. The school districts then made payments to KDHE. For FY 2020, however, KSDE paid KDHE directly for Medicaid-related costs.

Breakdown of Funding

Total funding for the Program for FY 2020 was $9.3 million. This included the $8.0 million appropriated by the 2019 Legislature and $1.3 million reappropriated from FY 2019 to FY 2020.

Most of the funding for the Program flowed through the participating school districts. The following is a description of the two different grants to school districts and the payments made to KDHE.

School Liaison Grant. This grant is distributed to school districts on a monthly basis. School districts submit requests each month to cover anticipated expenditures. Allowable expenditures for this grant include salary, fringe benefits, travel expenses, and a computer that must be used exclusively by the school liaison. Beginning in FY 2020, participating school districts must cover 25.0 percent of the cost of the liaisons. School liaison grant funding for FY 2020 was $4.0 million, compared to $3.3 million in FY 2019.

CMHC Grant. This grant is distributed quarterly to school districts. School districts must forward all payments to the participating CMHC to cover the cost for treatment and services for students who are uninsured or underinsured.

Grant funding for FY 2020 was $2.1 million, compared to $1.5 million in FY 2019.

KDHE Payments. As mentioned above, KSDE will make payments directly to KDHE to cover Medicaid costs related to the Program. KDHE payments for FY 2020 were $2.6 million, which is the same as in FY 2019.

Reporting Requirements

KSDE requires participating school districts to submit, in conjunction with their partner CMHC, two reports during the fiscal year. A report covering the first half of the school year was due December 20, 2019. The second report covering the entire year was due June 30, 2020.

These reports track the number of students served and various academic performance measures, including attendance, behavior, and graduation. In FY 2020, 3,266 total students received services from CMHCs through the program, including 343 students in foster care.

Additionally, the year-end report includes a financial report on program expenditures for the fiscal year. In the 2018-19 school year, state expenditures totaled $7.3 million, including $2.9 million for school district liaisons and $1.5 million for CMHCs. In the 2019-20 school year, state expenditures totaled $9.0 million, including $4.0 million for school district liaisons and $2.1 million for CMHCs.

Participating School Districts

During the first year of the Program, there were a total of 9 participating school districts, serving 82 schools.

Using the authority provided in 2019 House Sub. for SB 25, the State Board expanded the Program for FY 2020. The Program served students in 180 schools in 32 school districts during the 2019-2020 school year.

According to information provided by KSDE, the Program will serve 232 schools in 56 school districts during the 2020-21 school year.

The tables on the following pages include a list of all school districts participating in the Program during the 2021-21 school year, along with the total state aid requested for each school district.

Mental Health Intervention Team Program
2020-2021 Applications

USDDistrictCountyTotal Budget Request – School LiasonsState Aid Request – School LiasonsState Aid Recommended for School DistrictsState Aid Request – Mental Health ProviderTotal State Aid Request
204Bonner Springs*Wyandotte185,000138,750138,75046,250185,000
233Olathe*Johnson145,656109,242109,24236,414145,656
239North Ottawa Co.Ottawa59,68044,76044,76014,92059,680
255South Barber*Barber46,00034,50034,50011,50046,000
259WichitaSedgwick1,733,6011,300,2011,300,2011,049,0312,349,232
262Valley CenterSedgwick121,42091,06591,06530,355121,420
266MaizeSedgwick119,33789,50389,50329,834119,337
270PainvilleRooks26,96320,22220,2226,74126,963
271Stockton*Rooks26,89920,17420,1746,72526,899
272Waconda*Mitchell14,31210,73410,7343,57814,312
282West Elk*Elk62,32046,74046,74015,58062,320
286Chautauqua CountyChautauqua61,45646,09246,09215,36461,456
293Quinter*Gove84,65463,49163,49121,16484,655
305SalinaSaline372,000279,000279,00093,000372,000
306Southeast of SalineSaline56,99842,74842,74814,24956,997
307Ell Saline*Saline46,00034,50034,50011,50046,000
309Nickerson*Reno52,19439,14539,14513,04852,193
310FairfieldReno43,71332,78532,78510,92843,713
311Pretty PrairieReno54,79941,09941,09913,70054,799
323Rock Creek*Pottawatomie55,75041,81341,81313,93855,751
329Wabaunsee CountyWabaunsee51,53038,64838,64812,88351,531
337Royal Valley*Jackson26,04019,53019,5306,51026,040
349StaffordStafford59,91944,93944,93914,98059,919
382PrattPratt70,01652,51252,51217,50470,016
383ManhattanRiley153,164114,873114,87338,291153,164
402AugustaButler81,26060,94560,94520,31581,260
413Chanute*Neosho66,96550,22450,22416,74166,965
435AbileneDickinson105,28278,96178,961109,088188,049
438SkylinePratt50,93638,20238,20212,73450,936
445Coffeyville*Montgomery60,00045,00045,00015,00060,000
446IndependenceMontgomery98,89674,17274,17224,72498,896
447CherryvaleMontgomery55,56541,67441,67413,89155,565
453LeavenworthLeavenworth54,49540,87140,87113,62454,495
457Garden CityFinney81,07760,80860,80855,500116,308
461NeodeshaWilson60,77445,58045,58015,19360,773
462Central of Burden*Cowley48,59136,44336,44312,14848,591
484FredoniaWilson135,612101,709101,70933,903135,612
489HaysEllis139,056104,292104,29234,764139,056
490El DoradoButler113,56085,17085,17028,390113,560
500Kansas CityWyandotte1,122,786842,090842,090280,6971,122,787
501TopekaShawnee565,921424,441424,441208,000632,441
503ParsonsLabette78,50058,87558,87548,000106,875
506Labette County*Labette57,50043,12543,12514,37557,500
332Cunningham*Kingman55,74441,80841,80813,93655,744
Total Aid Requested Statewide$5,071,456$2,519,010$7,590,466
*indicates a new applicant

Mental Health Intervention Team Program
2020-2021 Applications

M.D. No.Membership District (M.D.)CountyS.D. No.Sponsoring District (S.D.)County
240Twin ValleyOttawa239N. Ottawa Co. (240)Ottawa
403Otis-BisonRush271StocktonRush
291Grinnell Public SchoolsGove293Quinter (291, 292, 274, 275, 468)Gove
292WheatlandGove293Quinter (291, 292, 274, 275, 468)Gove
274OakleyLogan293Quinter (291, 292, 274, 275, 468)Gove
275TriplainsLogan293Quinter (291, 292, 274, 275, 468)Gove
468Healy Public SchoolsLane293Quinter (291, 292, 274, 275, 468)Gove
312Haven Public SchoolsReno311Pretty Prairie (312)Reno
393SolomonDickinson435Abilene (393, 473, 487)Dickinson
473ChapmanDickinson435Abilene (393, 473, 487)Dickinson
487HeringtonDickinson435Abilene (393, 473, 487)Dickinson
511AtticaHarper332Cunningham (511)Kingman
USD 239 includes USD 239 (North Ottawa County) and USD 240 (Twin Valley)
USD 311 includes USD 311 (Pretty Prairie) and USD 312 (Haven)
USD 435 includes USD 435 (Abilene), USD 393 (Solomon), USD 473 (Chapman), and USD 487 (Herington)
Per KSDE, multiple smaller school districts may join together in a consortium to file one application. In this situation, one district serves as the sponsoring district for reporting and financial purposes. The sponsoring district receives all payments from KSDE and files all reports. The other districts are member districts that file reports and receive funding through the sponsoring district.

Jessa Farmer, Research Analyst
Jessa.Farmer@klrd.ks.gov

Marisa Bayless, Research Analyst
Marisa.Bayless@klrd.ks.gov