CYBHI Mental Health Fee Reimbursements

Since the pandemic, students’ needs for mental and emotional health support have increased sharply. 

During the pandemic, both the state and federal governments provided temporary funding to meet this increased need, and AUSD used that funding to implement innovative programs for students in grades TK-12.

Because that funding was temporary (also known as "one-time funding"), however, it will be ending soon. Many school districts are looking for ways to maintain their mental health services in the face of the dramatic cuts in funding that are on the horizon.

Launched in 2021, the "Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative" (CYBHI) requires health insurers to reimburse school districts for certain mental and emotional supports they provide for students under the age of 26, including:

• Social-emotional lessons in the classroom
• Behavioral health screenings
• Teen Mental Health First Aid for all 10th graders
• Substance use screening and counseling
• Individual and group counseling for topics such as friendship/social skills, executive functioning, anxiety, grief, etc.

This program  is a first-of-its-kind effort to make it easier for students and families to get the outpatient mental health care that they need and districts to get the funding they need to continue to provide these mental health services.  

The CYBHI program prohibits health plans and insurers from passing any of the costs of these services to families. It provides other protections for families, as well. For instance, our reimbursement request  will not affect your insurance coverage (i.e., you will not pay co-pays, higher premiums, or deductibles). And receiving services at school will not reduce or impact students’ or their family's ability to obtain care outside of school.

As part of the CYBHI, the "Fee Schedule" sets the reimbursement rate for different types of school-related mental health services.

The new program will enable us to continue providing mental and emotional health services to your children. Here’s how it will works:

• AUSD will ask for your student's health insurance information so that we can submit reimbursement requests for the services we provide. We will keep this information secure and confidential, as required by state and federal laws.
• The request will come via ParentSquare in the spring of 2025. After that, the request for health insurance information will be a regular part of the Data Confirmation process at the start of each school year.
• After providing mental or emotional services or supports to your child, we will submit a reimbursement request.
• This reimbursement will come to the district directly from the insurance companies, at no cost to parents/guardians.  (Remember, state law prohibits passing the costs on to families.)

Under the CYBHI Fee Schedule, districts can be reimbursed for eligible mental health and socio-emotional services it provides to students. The information that you share with us will allow us to verify your coverage and submit a request for reimbursement.

Some services -- such as socio-emotional education -- may take place during classtime. Those lessons do not require parent permission. 

We will ask for your consent before providing more specific mental health services. Please note, however, that minors aged 12 and above are able to consent to certain services without their parents' permission.

Yes. Districts participating in the CYBHI program are required to collect health insurance (or Medi-Cal information) from all families -- whether they receive services or not. 

The CYBHI Fee Schedule will not affect your health insurance.

California Welfare & Institutions Code section 5961.4 and California Health & Safety Code Section 1374.722 (b)(6) prohibit insurance companies from requiring co-payments for CYBHI services or changing a family's insurance based on its use of them.

Video: "School Health Services and Data Privacy"