Following cuts from the federal government in 2025 and 2026 to funding for mental health services/ support. There was over $1 billion in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act’s funding which was intended to help create school counselors/psychologists/social workers through recruiting and training, and much of that will be gone due to cuts being made that have resulted in layoffs, freezes on hiring and cancellation of scheduled services in schools/communities – most notably for rural & high-need locations.
In order to maintain their ability to provide support/programming for students, many schools/SD’s in CA are implementing/looking at telepsychiatry, as an alternative means of delivery, at a lower cost to students/SD’s. Using video conferencing will allow children and teens the ability to see a child/ adolescent psychiatrist or therapist, rather than wait several weeks or months for traditional, in-person care. A 2025 study indicated that telepsychiatry has been effective at decreasing depressive and anxiety type symptoms for youth, has resulted in satisfied families/students, and has provided greater access to mental health services in rural communities/high-need schools.
Comparative studies on face-to-face versus virtual services show that telepsychiatry can be as effective or more so with regards to outcomes; therefore, when telepsychiatry is integrated into school-based mental health programmes, attendance rates for students improve because they do not need to travel long distances. Caregivers also do not have to take off work due to travel. Given that some school districts have lost staff due to government funding cuts, telepsychiatry helps fill this gap by allowing smaller on-site teams to coordinate with providers outside of the district.
However, this shift has raised questions about equity and access; not all children have reliable access to the internet or have a private place to conduct telehealth services in their home. Additionally, some families prefer traditional face-to-face interactions within school-based mental health programmes. Advocates for childhood mental health believe that federal funding needs to be restored and stable, so that telepsychiatry can supplement rather than replace in-person care.
Through all these disruptions in policy and funding, school mental health programmes have demonstrated their need for resiliency because schools, mental health care providers, and families have formed creative partnerships to maintain service delivery when traditional service delivery fails — demonstrating that when systems break down, communities often are able to step in to assist. It is hoped that future budgets will acknowledge the importance of school mental health programmes to student safety, education, and overall lifetime well‑being.
Source: FasPsych review of federal budget cuts and telepsychiatry in school mental health programs.
Leave a Comment