Tennessee aims to place mental health clinicians in every school
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is pushing for funding to place a mental health clinician inside every school, similar to what the state does for school resource officers.
During a budget hearing with TDMHSAS Wednesday, Commissioner Marie Williams asked Gov. Bill Lee for almost $6 million to create 85 additional school-based behavioral health liaison positions, bringing the total number of positions to 472 and expanding access to 15,000 additional students.
"We'd like to have one in every school like we have one SRO in every school," Williams said.
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School-based behavior health liaisons are masters-level clinicians who help schools become more "trauma-informed" and provide mental health services to students who need them.
The program was established in TN years ago, but only recently expanded to all 95 counties thanks to new funding. During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, TDMHSAS received an extra $8 million in Tennessee's budget to create another 114 behavioral health liaison positions, bringing the current, total number of positions to 387.
"Our liaisons have increased the number of students receiving direct services by more than 250%," Williams said. "That's more than 26,000 individual students receiving direct services last year."
Over the past five years, more than 91,000 students received direct services through the school-based behavioral health liaison program, according to Williams. TDMHSAS says the program has helped students boost their grades, improve attendance, and build stronger relationships.
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During Wednesday's budget hearing, Gov. Lee asked whether TDMHSAS struggled to find staff to fill the new positions the state recently funded to kickstart the "robust rollout" of liaisons.
"It was a big move up at one time," Gov. Lee said. "Sometimes that's hard, sometimes you can't find the people, sometimes it's problematic."
However, unlike SROs, which some law enforcement agencies have struggled to staff despite ample funding from the state, TDMHSAS's commissioner told Gov. Lee the liaison positions are currently 80% filled, and she's confident the department will be able to fill all the positions by adding the new spots slowly.
"That's why we're phasing it in this way. We're not asking you for the full amount to cover all schools," Williams said. "We believe that our providers, because of what you've given them with scholarships and their ability to give bonuses and increase rates of pay, we'll be able to hire these individuals."
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Gov. Lee will consider the TDMHSAS's request when drafting the next budget. The General Assembly will then have to approve the proposed budget.
It would cost around $120 million to fund the more than 1,700 behavioral health liaison positions needed to place one in every school in Tennessee.
