In this guide, there are a number of resources that explore anti-racist and structural biases in mental health delivery, organizations broadly, and school mental health systems specifically.
As leaders in regional, county, or local organizations and agencies interested in building school mental health systems and programs, please consider these questions as you explore the ongoing work of dismantling biases, racism, and white supremacy in the initiatives you create:
- Reimbursement and sustainability for school mental health services (for example, through Medi-Cal funding) is currently inextricably connected to determinations of eligibility. How does this structure based on eligibility and classifying students for care create barriers to care through a deficit model, often deeply connected to structural biases?
- Are school mental health services structured (i.e. referral protocols, coordination) to be in-service to or as an alternative to punitive discipline practices (i.e. suspensions, expulsions, and interactions with police)? Research shows that school discipline practices have a disproportionately negative impact on students of color.
- What is the racial make-up of your leadership team, decision-makers, school staff, and mental health providers? What is the racial make-up of the student body and the students receiving mental health services? Oftentimes our decision-makers, teachers, and school support staff do not reflect the student populations served which can contribute to bias in the services provided to students. Do educators, staff, and providers receive on-going training in providing culturally-responsive care?
- Explore current racial disparities in your education and mental health systems. Are students of color more likely to be suspended? Are youth of color more likely to receive a formal mental health diagnoses? Are youth of color disproportionately represented in special education? Why do these disparities exist? Everyone’s thoughts and actions have been affected by living in a systemically and structurally racist society – it is important that team members are familiar with implicit bias, how it impacts others, and recognize that even well-intentioned individuals often have room to learn.
- How are school mental health programs and interventions built on resilience, collective care, and empowerment rather than ideas of saviorism or paternalism?