CAHC Network School Model Demonstration Project

CAHC Network School Model Demonstration Project

The purpose of the Child and Adolescent Health Center Network School Model Demonstration Project is to develop a model of care for underserved children and youth that is fully aligned with the emerging community integrated health care system. This model contains a centralized primary care hub school with 3-5 satellite schools providing school nursing and behavioral health services that work in conjunction with the Pathways to Potential staff at each school.

A full service centralized school-based health center (Child & Adolescent Health Center) serves as the hub for linkages to affiliate schools, providing administrative oversight to the entire network of health services while improving access and engagement to medical homes and integrated care for vulnerable children and adolescents. School-based health centers, through an already established service delivery network, provide on-site comprehensive primary care, oral health and behavioral health services to children and youth 5-21.

Three to five satellite schools are under the administrative management of the hub site. Formal linkages and referrals are ongoing. Satellite schools will provide the following need-based services:

• School nursing and behavioral health to increase coordination of care for children with chronic disease, reduce health-related absenteeism, provide behavioral health services including individual counseling, and ensure adequate emergency health planning and training.
• Behavioral health services providing individual and family counseling, screenings, prevention and early intervention services as well as school-wide promotion activities particularly around bullying and suicide prevention, and school staff professional development and training.
• Limited primary care services through the delivery of services 3 days per week, 24 hours per week.

A case manager/care coordinator is required for each network and assists in making referrals from the satellite sites to the hub site.

Outcomes of Demonstration Project:

• Meets the governor’s triple aim of improving health of the population, reducing cost, and improving the patient experience by providing on-site primary and behavioral health services where children spend the majority of their time – in schools.
• Increased number of medically underserved children with access to core primary care and behavioral health services.
• Reduced absenteeism in Hub and Satellite schools.

View the Demonstration Project map.