Report Type: Data Profile Resource/Service Directory
NM School Behavioral Health Services Inventory
YEAR
2021
AUTHOR / ORGANIZATION
NM Dept of Health (Dept of School & Adolescent Health) + Public Education Dept
GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE
Statewide (New Mexico)
What is this?
This is a statewide assessment inventory conducted by the New Mexico Department of Health Office of School and Adolescent Health (OSAH) and Public Education Department in summer 2020. The inventory surveyed school district superintendents about behavioral health services, workforce, barriers, and needs. The methodology involved distributing inventories to all 89 New Mexico school districts, with 56 completing the survey (63% response rate representing 88% of students). The inventory was developed collaboratively by the Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation (PIRE), UNM School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, OSAH, and PED.
Summary
This inventory provides baseline data critical for behavioral health systems change in Bernalillo County and statewide. The findings reveal that school counselors comprise nearly half (48.6%) of the school behavioral health workforce, yet ratios of 414 students per counselor far exceed the recommended 250:1 ratio. School psychologist ratios are even more concerning at 2,834:1 versus the recommended 700:1. Districts consistently report lack of child and adolescent behavioral health providers (75-83% across regions) and transportation (77-100%) as top barriers to accessing services. Only 47.2% of districts have grant funding for behavioral health services, indicating reliance on general funds. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified challenges, with 54.5% of districts reporting difficulties connecting students with providers and 38.2% noting increased need for services. For Bernalillo County systems planners, these findings support prioritizing school-based behavioral health workforce expansion, developing transportation solutions for service access, investing in telehealth infrastructure demonstrated during COVID response, and ensuring school-community behavioral health integration. The data suggests that school-based services represent a critical but under-resourced entry point for youth behavioral health care.
BH Systems Change Recommendations
How This Report Informs Systems Change The inventory does not contain explicit recommendations but provides clear data-driven priorities for systems change: 1. **Workforce Expansion**: The dramatic gap between actual and recommended staffing ratios (particularly for school psychologists at 4x the recommended ratio) indicates urgent need for workforce pipeline development and recruitment strategies. 2. **Transportation Solutions**: Transportation barriers were cited by 77-100% of districts across regions, suggesting need for mobile services, telehealth expansion, or transportation assistance programs. 3. **Provider Availability**: 75-83% of districts cite lack of child/adolescent behavioral health providers as a barrier, indicating need for training programs, loan repayment incentives, and school-community partnerships to extend specialist access. 4. **Funding Diversification**: With only 47.2% of districts having grant funding and $11.8 million in identified unmet funding needs, systems planners should pursue sustainable funding mechanisms beyond general education budgets. 5. **Telehealth Infrastructure**: COVID-19 response showed 45.5% of districts planned to increase remote services, suggesting telehealth as a viable strategy for addressing geographic access barriers.
How to Use for Systems Planning
**What this report IS useful for:** - Establishing baseline data on school behavioral health workforce and services statewide - Identifying regional variations in barriers to behavioral health access - Quantifying workforce shortages and funding gaps for advocacy and planning - Understanding COVID-19 impacts on school-based behavioral health service delivery - Benchmarking local district services against statewide patterns **What this report DOES NOT provide:** - District-level or county-specific data breakdowns - Clinical outcomes or service quality metrics - Cost-effectiveness analysis of different service models - Specific implementation guidance or evidence-based practice recommendations - Information on charter schools, tribal schools, or private schools - Updated post-2020 data reflecting pandemic recovery
Key Facts & Data Points
- 56 of 89 school districts completed the inventory (63% of districts, 88% of students) - Student-to-counselor ratio: 414:1 (recommended: 250:1) - Student-to-psychologist ratio: 2,834:1 (recommended: 700:1) - Student-to-social worker ratio: 686:1 (recommended: 250:1) - School counselors comprise 48.6% of behavioral health workforce; social workers 29.3% - 83.6% of districts have someone coordinating behavioral health services - 58.5% implement a comprehensive behavioral health framework - 47.2% have private or public grants funding behavioral health services - $11,786,500 additional funding needed statewide to address student behavioral health needs - 390 additional behavioral health staff FTEs needed statewide - 75-83% of districts cite lack of child/adolescent behavioral health providers as a barrier - 54.5% of districts reported COVID-19 created challenges connecting students with providers
Priority Services & Findings
**Mental Health / Crisis Care** - 90.9% of elementary and middle/high schools offer individual counseling - 54.7% of elementary and 55.6% of middle/high schools offer group counseling - Youth suicide prevention is among the most common pilot projects underway - 83.9% of districts implement early intervention supports - Psychiatrists represent only 0.4% of school behavioral health workforce **School-Based / Youth Services** - 91.1% of elementary schools offer case management; 90.9% of middle/high schools - 79.6% of elementary and 81.8% of middle/high schools offer peer support/positive youth development - 73.2% implement social emotional learning curriculum - 64.3% have advisory systems - 76.9% of districts have staff trained in Multi-Level System of Support - 51.8% of districts have behavioral health initiatives or pilot projects underway - Social emotional learning curriculum and peer support programs are common initiatives
Immediate Actions for Systems Planners
-Request Bernalillo County-specific data from OSAH/PED to establish local baseline metrics and compare against statewide findings. -Convene school district behavioral health coordinators and community mental health providers to map current school-community referral pathways and identify gaps. -Calculate Bernalillo County school behavioral health workforce ratios and develop targeted recruitment plan addressing the most severe shortages (psychologists, psychiatrists). -Assess telehealth infrastructure capacity in local schools and identify technology/training needs for sustainable remote service delivery. -Identify grant funding opportunities to supplement school behavioral health budgets, particularly for evidence-based programs like social emotional learning curricula. -Establish data-sharing agreements between schools and community behavioral health providers to track student engagement with referred services.
Key Contacts
**/ - Kim Zamarin, MPH, Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation -+ kzamarin@pire.org **/ - NM Dept of Health Office of School & Adolescent Health (OSAH) **/ - NM Public Education Dept (PED) = - UNM School of Medicine Dept of Pediatrics