Study of the Mount Diablo Unified School District - Mt. Diablo Unified ...

Service Delivery Options and Continuum of Servicesdepartment administration indicated during onsite visits that all salaries and expenses forthese services are covered by monthly billings generated by the school psychologist toMedi‐Cal, and SB90, a claiming mechanism for students who qualify for services underAB3632. In order to access these services, students must be evaluated and diagnosed witha mental health disorder as defined by the DSM‐IV. The school psychologist positionsassigned to the collaborative provide the mental health assessments, and the Contra CostaMental Health Services reviews and verifies the mental health diagnosis for eligiblestudents, thus qualifying the student for mental health counseling provided by thecollaborative.According to the department, this collaboration by the district and Contra Costa HealthServices is considered a model program. In November 2007, the Contra Costa County Boardof Supervisors recognized this program for its exemplary services to students.The district funding match required by the Contra Costa Mental Health Services is $930,952.Based on documentation provided by the Contract Costa Health Services, this local matchsupports five separate contracts, two directly with MDUSD, Sunrise/Alliance and Fair OaksMedi‐Cal clinic, and three community‐based contracts with Families First, Fred Finch, andSeneca. The contracts total $7,469,462, most of which is drawn from Medi‐Cal and SB90claiming.With 352 students enrolled in the program, the average cost per student is $2,644. Basedon data provided by the Department, each nonpublic school placement for students withmental health needs costs the district $35,000 to $40,000 or more, depending upon theadditional related services and mental health services offered. The data further estimates a$19,000 to $24,000 cost savings per student by maintaining students in the Mental HealthCollaborative rather than providing education in a nonpublic school. According to districtadministration, if the mental health collaborative contracts are maximized, the MDUSD’sshare of the cost would be 12.5 cents for every dollar of service. Further, it is reported bydistrict administration that the cost/benefit to MDUSD could be significant, especially giventhe professional level of programming.During school visits and classroom observations, MGT consultants found very high adult‐tostudentratios, typically ranging from one adult to two or three students at all grade levels.MGT recognizes that best‐practice models have a high adult‐to‐student ratio for studentswith severe emotional or behavioral challenges; however, in some cases, MGT consultantsobserved situations where there were more adults than students in classrooms and instudent isolation areas. During classroom observations of numerous programs across thedistrict, MGT consultants did not observe any consistent and active engagement of studentswith mental health personnel or instructional staff. MGT consultants did not observe anycounseling sessions or mental health interventions by the school psychologists assigned tothe collaborative. MGT consultants observed disengagement of students and/or whole‐classinstruction in 87 percent of classrooms observed.MGT of America, Inc. Page 3‐24