Minetre Martin’s Testimony on DBH Performance Oversight

DC Council, Committee on Health
Department of Behavioral Health
Performance Oversight Hearing

Minetre Martin
Organizing Manager
Education Reform Now Advocacy DC 

Chairperson Christina Henderson and Committee on Health Members,

My name is Minetre Martin, and I come before you today not only in my capacity as Organizing Manager for Education Reform Now Advocacy DC (ERNA DC), an organization that advocates for a just and equitable public education system for all students in Washington, DC but also as a former teacher who has navigated the front lines of school-based behavioral health. My experiences within our city’s classrooms have granted me a unique vantage point on the School-Based Behavioral Health Program (SBBH) and its impact on our youth.

Drawing from my tenure as a teacher and the collective expertise of the Strengthening Families Through Behavioral Health coalition, I have seen the intent of SBBH firsthand, which is to remove barriers to mental health resources. When fully operational, its impact is transformative. Yet, the reality that many current educators, social workers, and I have observed is one of resource disparity, where the potential for positive change is compromised by insufficient support, leaving our foundational objectives unmet.

I recall a first-grader, usually filled with curiosity, left silent by the chaos of their home life. Despite their need for Tier 3 interventions, they could only access the general support I could provide within my Tier 1 whole group capacity because the clinicians lacked the hours to deliver services to students who did not have IEPs or 504s. There are various stories of students not having access to clinicians at school, and with students in the District reporting many mental health issues, adequate behavioral health support in schools is vital for addressing these widespread mental health challenges.1

SBBH serves students across 254 District schools, but only 68% have a full-time clinician on average, leaving 32% understaffed generally. 2 Last year, this gap affected over 25,000 students and overburdened educators with untrained mental health responsibilities, hindering their educational roles.3

The Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) must do the following through the lens of those who serve our students every day:

1. Enhance Training and Support for Classroom Staff: Allocate $2.4 million to the SBBH program to pilot the addition of non-clinical staff positions to SBBH teams and train teachers and staff, enhancing social-emotional learning, especially for schools without full clinical teams.4

2. Streamline the Multi-Tier System of Supports (MTSS): Develop a clear, efficient transition plan within MTSS, ensuring fluid movement through different levels of support, regardless of clinician staffing levels.

3. Provide compensation and develop guidance for the SBBH Coordinator role: So that every school’s coordinator is equipped to effectively connect staff, students, and families with school behavioral health resources, at least $381,000 is needed.5

4. Increase Transparency and Outreach: Enhance SBBH service communication to families and students, and establish clear protocols for schools with unstaffed clinicians to sustain student support and engagement in SBBH services.

5. Facilitate Inclusive District-Wide Strategic Planning for Behavioral Health: Ensure the plan includes diverse community voices: families, students, educators, clinicians, CBOs, and healthcare providers.

6. Sustain compensation for SBBH’s community-based clinicians Adjust for inflation to maintain clinicians in DC public schools; $98,465 6 per clinician across 254 schools, totaling at least $25 million for CBO grants.7

Thank you for your consideration and unwavering commitment to our youth’s health and well-being. I welcome any questions you may have.

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1 Metz, R. (2023, August 21). DC Must Continue Tackling the Youth Mental Health Crisis. https://www.wearedcaction.org/blog/dc-must-continue-tackling-youth-mental-health-crisis
2DBH Coordinating Council on School Behavioral Health slides, presented January 16, 2024
3Data source: FY 23 Oversight Question 67 Attachment 1 of 6 List of Schools with DBH CBO or both.xlsxI.The number of students attending schools without clinical support was determined by summing the reported student enrollments from schools lacking a clinician using My School DC, totaling over 25,000 students.
4Base salary of $52,672 based on bottom 10th percentile of salaries for bachelor-level Health Educators in DC (data from Salary.com as of November 13, 2023). Fringe and overhead calculated at 25% ($13,168 for each). Supervision cost is calculated based on a supervisor’s salary of $80,766 (bottom 25th percentile of salaries in DC from Salary.com as of November 13, 2023) plus 25% each fringe and overhead, shared between six supervisors. An inflationary adjustment of 4.5% for SY 2024 is based on the most recent 2023Q2 Medicare Economic Index (Forecast, Productivity Adjusted). Together, these costs total $103,663 per professional per school.
5 As a reference point, DC Public Schools pays $1,500 to schools’ “wellness champions” who perform additional duties that are comparable to the SBBH Coordinator role. At this level for all 254 Coordinators, an investment of at least $381,000 is required.
6 Base salary for clinicians of $74,033 is based on the bottom 10th percentile of salaries in DC (data from Salary.com as of November 13, 2023). Fringe and overhead calculated at 25% ($18,508 for each). Supervision cost is calculated based on a supervisor’s salary of $80,766 (bottom 25th percentile of salaries in DC from Salary.com as of November 13, 2023) plus 25% each fringe and overhead, shared between six clinicians. An estimated average of insurance billing revenue for each clinician is about $37,016. An inflationary adjustment of 4.5% for SY 2024 is based on the most recent 2023Q2 Medicare Economic Index (Forecast,Productivity Adjusted).
7 The grant amount for Community-Based Organization (CBO) clinicians in previous fiscal years comprised a combination of vacancy savings, American Rescue Plan ACT (ARPA) funds, and a consistently low base salary, cumulatively amounting to $99,371.9. With the expiration of ARPA funds, an adjustment in the base salary is necessary to offset the loss of these and other one-time funds. For Fiscal Year 2025, the proposed grant amount per CBO clinician is set at $98,465. This figure includes a base salary of $74,033, along with additional costs for fringe benefits, overhead, and supervision. Adjusting the base salary is critical for ensuring financial stability for both clinicians and CBOs, which is fundamental for enhancing retention and recruitment. The total expenditure to implement this adjustment across all 254 schools involved in the program is estimated at $25,010,110.