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California’s Students Need More SBHCs
California’s students and families are facing some of the toughest challenges we may see in our lifetime. COVID laid bare the increasing need for health and mental health supports, as well as the low access to those services for historically marginalized communities.
As the statewide organization leading the movement to put health care in schools, particularly through school-based health centers (SBHCs), the California School-Based Health Alliance set an audacious goal to increase the number of SBHCs in California to 500 by 2030.
“Access to SBHC services personally changed my life and I saw how it changed the lives of my peers that struggled with depression, anxiety, and trauma. Services helped us learn how to control our emotions, what our emotions mean, and how to have healthier interactions with others. I can go back to my family and know that even though I didn’t grow up getting what I need, that’s not how my story will end. It flipped the script for me and many others.”
– Irma Rosa Viera, Youth Board Member, California School-Based Health Alliance
SBHCs Are a Proven Approach to Health & Education Equity
The Student Health Index Advances Health & Learning
By identifying where SBHCs will have the most impact for students
The Student Health Index is the first statewide comprehensive analysis to identify the counties, districts, and schools where new SBHCs will have the greatest return on investment for improving student health and education equity.
Key Findings of the Student Health Index
There are counties and districts with significant levels of unmet need
California is 1 of 15 states that does not provide state-level funding and support for SBHCs. Highest need schools are concentrated, especially in the Central Valley and Inland Empire. Existing SBHCs are located at higher need schools but not consistently at the highest need schools.
Highest need schools serve significantly more students of color than lower need schools
The Data Dashboard Is an Advocacy Tool for More SBHCs
To make the Student Health Index more accessible, a dashboard was created that allows users to view and explore the data through a variety of maps and tables.
The Dashboard provides a new way to look at health and educational data together.
- It is a public, interactive mapping tool that spans all large K-12 public schools in the state of California, and allows users to view, download and explore school-level data on health, socioeconomic and school demographics and outcomes
- It enables the retrieval, visualization, exploration and download of uniformly defined data across California for conditions, school characteristics and risk factors that can be improved through access to school-based health care and have been associated with impacts on educational outcomes.
- It can be used by school staff, state legislators, parents, and the general public to assess opportunities for expanding school-based health care access in California.
Click the full screen icon at the bottom right to enlarge the dashboard view.
Take Action
Advocate
Use the Dashboard to advocate for SBHCs in your local community.
Share
Help us spread the word on Social Media. Use our Digital Toolkit.
Learn More
Watch our presentation about the Index.