School breakfast can improve attendance!
Eating school breakfast increases student attendance by an average of 1.5 days of school per year.
Attendance at school is essential for academic success. Yet, chronic absenteeism (missing 10% of more of school for any reason) is negatively impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of California kids.
Visit the California Food Policy Advocates website.
By Elyse Homel Vitale, Senior Advocate, California Food Policy Advocates
As community schools build out their comprehensive support for students, it doesn’t hurt to go back to the basics: Is everyone who’s eligible getting free school meals? And are we doing all we can to make it easy and welcoming for students to sign up?
Here in California, 3 in 5 public school students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals. However, on an average school day, nearly one million or about one-third of eligible students miss out on the health benefits of school lunch. The numbers are worse for school breakfast. Two million students, about two-thirds, miss out on breakfast. Access to school meals matters – well-nourished kids are better-prepared students; they are able to learn, grow, play, and achieve to their fullest potential.
So what can we do to improve access? For a student to receive a free or reduced-price school meal, they must first be certified as eligible for the program. There are a couple of ways school districts can certify students as eligible, including paper applications and direct certification. California’s existing direct certification process uses other entitlement program data, such as CalFresh, to identify low-income students and certify them for free school meals – no separate paper application for meals is required. With 1 in 3 Californians now enrolled in Medi-Cal, there is a ripe opportunity to get students signed up by leveraging the reach of Medi-Cal.
Medicaid (Medi-Cal) Direct Certification is a powerful tool that school districts will be able to use to increase their paperless enrollment in school meals. It is believed that if fully adopted across the state, an additional 500,000 students OR MORE will be paperlessly enrolled in school meals. Students in Medi-Cal households will be identified through a secure data matching process; school districts will be notified of these matched students; and eligible students will be paperlessly enrolled in free and reduced-price school meals.
For the coming school year, California’s public school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools are approved to participate in Medicaid Direct Certification, upon completion of a required training.
Medicaid Direct Certification has important benefits for students, families, and school districts alike. Here’s how:
First, decreased application burden and decreased error rates. The burden – for both schools and parents – of submitting and processing a paper application will be removed when a student is directly certified. The error rates associated with paper applications also decreases as direct certification increases.
Second, increased school funding. Previous pilots of Medicaid Direct Certification show that the program is likely to result in more students actually consuming school meals, on top of just being enrolled. As school meal participation increases, school districts draw down the associated additional federal and state-funded reimbursements for meals served. Furthermore, as additional eligible students are identified through Medicaid Direct Certification, schools can leverage increased education dollars through the Local Control Funding Formula.
Lastly, improved access to healthy school meals. In addition to more students being identified as eligible, increasing direct certification is related to the number of schools and school districts that qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). CEP is an option that schools serving communities with high rates of poverty can utilize to make breakfast and lunch available to all students free of charge. When CEP is used, alternative models of serving meals, like Breakfast After the Bell, work best and reach even more students.
Medicaid Direct Certification is a well-tested, efficient, and effective tool for increasing enrollment in school meals. We know it works, and we know that there are benefits for schools and families alike. While Medicaid Direct Certification is not yet available statewide, it is coming, and there are steps you can take to make sure there is a smooth and quick rollout: (1) Ask about direct certification in your schools (Is your district regularly conducting direct certification? Do they plan on adding in Medicaid Direct Certification when it becomes available?). (2) Initiate conversations with district, school board, and community leaders about this exciting opportunity and how it aligns with your vision of integrated health, services, and academics.
Additional resources:
CFPA’s fact sheet on Medicaid Direct Certification.
Check out the infographic.
Learn more about CFPA’s school meal enrollment advocacy.
Why School Nutrition Matters by CFPA & Partner for Children & Youth
Note: The California Department of Education has agreed to announce the required training dates in spring 2017 and is committed to making Medicaid Direct Certification available statewide in the 2017-18 school year.
Contact:
Elyse Homel Vitale, Senior Advocate, California Food Policy Advocates at
elyse@cfpa.net or 510-433-1122 ext. 206
By Juan Taizan, California School-Based Health Alliance
The Student Perspective: Omar’s Story
For Omar, being a part of a gang simply meant he had other men from his neighborhood in whom he could confide, trust, and depend on to look out for him like a brother or son. These relationships often put Omar in situations where he had to stand up for his friends, which sometimes meant physically fighting other students.
After being suspended for one such fight, Omar was referred to his high school’s school-based health center (SBHC). The SBHC at his school makes sure students and their families have access to health care, but it also provides valuable health education – beyond what many teachers are able to do in the classroom – so students and parents can make better decisions that positively impact physical health, behavior, and academic success. As part of an agreement with the school administration, Omar’s suspension would be reduced if he agreed to participate in the SBHC’s Latino male engagement program and made an effort to improve his academics – Omar also had a D average and regularly missed a lot of school. Omar agreed. He met with a health educator from the SBHC several times over the next couple of weeks and created an academic improvement plan.
Because of the relationship he had built with the health educator, Omar agreed to join the SBHC’s after school program – Homies United in Solidarity to Teach, Learn, and Survive (HUSTLAS)–where he was able to connect with other young Latino men. He learned about Latino history and examples of men that fought for civil rights. After the sessions, Omar and the other young men often stayed to play football, soccer, or handball. Twice a week Omar showed up for the program. On more than one occasion Omar commented about he found it funny that for the first time in years, he was actually choosing to stay longer at school.
Omar was quickly seen as a leader in the program. He actively recruited other friends and family members to attend. He participated in other programs the SBHC offered, including a mural project, youth leadership retreats, and a talent show where he starred as the main character in a play about the school to prison pipeline. Omar was so proud of his commitment that one day he invited his mom to the SBHC to see the mural he and the other young men had created.
Over the course of his participation, Omar’s academics improved. He started attending school more regularly and admitted that most of the time this was so that he could attend the young men’s group. Teachers commented that his behavior in class had also improved. More impressive was Omar’s willingness to make and maintain new friendships with other students that were not from his neighborhood. Many of these new friends helped Omar with his school work and encouraged him to get involved in other youth leadership programs.
Omar didn’t graduate the top of his class and didn’t go on to a prestigious Ivy League college. Instead, he did something much more important and impressive: Omar survived. He graduated, learned a trade, and got a union job. He grew up, started a family, and bought a home. He achieved all of the goals he set out for himself.
Omar was the exception. Many of his friends did not have the same opportunities, and too many ended up dropping out, being locked-up, or not surviving. But Omar’s story can be replicated. His is an example of what can happen when school administrators invest in comprehensive health services and prioritize students who need support.
How Did the School Do It?
In 2006, the administration at Tennyson High School in Hayward was looking for better ways to support their Latino male students. Many of these young men were affiliating with local gangs and the number of on-campus gang related fights was increasing, leading to increased suspensions, expulsions, and arrests of Latino students. The school principal turned to the school-based health center (SBHC), sponsored by Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Inc., for support. Together, the principal and the SBHC initiated a Latino male engagement program.
The program elements included:
For more on how to establish or expand your SBHC, check out Why School-Based Health Centers Matter or visit the California School-Based Health Alliance at www.schoolhealthcenters.org.
Physical and emotional well-being are essential for a child to succeed in school. Yet, many children come to school suffering from conditions that seriously affect their attendance, achievement, connectedness to school, and dropout rates. Left untreated, these conditions can have a devastating and long-term impact. California’s school-based health centers are located in schools serving some of the state’s most vulnerable children. This chapter of “student Supports: Getting the Most out of Your LCFF Investment,” details how school districts can establish or expand their own school-based health centers to support progress on the LCFF priorities.
Children need stability in their lives at home in order to do their best at school. Research has shown that academic resources alone cannot compensate when children have unmet basic needs or their families are in crisis. Low-income students are more likely to experience family instability, with accompanying emotional, mental, and physical health barriers to learning. When a school district partners with its local Family Resource Center, they can tap into an array of resources and supports for students and their families, addressing the root of students’ struggles to facilitate lasting personal and academic growth. This chapter of “Student Supports: Getting the Most out of Your LCFF Investment” details how schools can partner with their local Family Resource Centers to support progress on the LCFF priorities.
By Alicia Rozum, California School-Based Health Alliance
Jared had been acting different. Typically an excellent student, he started falling asleep in class or putting his head down on the desk. He seemed “out of it”–that’s how his Chemistry teacher wrote it on the referral form to the high school’s comprehensive mental health program. As the school social worker managing this program, I decided the signs noticed by his teacher were enough to warrant scheduling an appointment that week.
However, within days, we received three more referrals for Jared — one from a friend who said Jared “seemed sad and lonely”; a second from his art teacher reporting that his work had lately been focused on death and destruction; and a final referral from Jared’s sister, who attended a different high school. His sister confided to her counselor that her brother had been talking about suicide. The counselor had the training to know that this was a serious risk and contacted me immediately.
Thanks to the willingness of all these referral sources — two high school teachers and two high school students–we were able to intervene immediately with Jared. We learned that he was, in fact, contemplating suicide and had a plan to kill himself that weekend.
We implemented our school’s crisis intervention protocols: Jared was assessed by a mental health professional, his family was contacted, and he was transported to the hospital for treatment. After his release from the hospital, Jared was paired with our on-site mental health therapist to receive ongoing counseling. Two years later, Jared graduated from high school and was on his way to college.
In many ways, the comprehensive mental health program on site at this high school helped save Jared’s life. The program had several components that made it successful:
Your school district can have services like this too! Student mental health is a big concern among educators, with over 20 percent of youth having a diagnosed mental health disorder. Many classroom behavioral issues, like acting out, poor self-regulation, and attention issues, are related to mental health concerns. With the advent of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and the increased focus on student engagement and school climate, mental health services in schools are a cost-effective way to increase attendance and reduce suspensions/expulsions.
Mental health professionals on campus also help schools prevent and address crises, train teachers in effective classroom strategies and how to support struggling students, and involve youth in delivering services that best meet their needs. To learn more about best practices for building comprehensive school-based mental health programs, check out Why Student Mental Health Matters or contact Alicia Rozum: arozum@schoolhealthcenters.org, Project Director, Mental Health, at the California School-Based Health Alliance.
Unmet mental health needs rank among the most pressing concerns for California educators, directly affecting student attendance, behavior, and readiness to learn. Schools have an important role to play in addressing mental health needs of school-aged youth. But schools can’t do it alone – by partnering with counties and community-based agencies and clinics, schools can create comprehensive mental health programs that serve all students.
Through the 2011 Realignment, California permanently shifted responsibility for administration and financing of most services for vulnerable children and youth to counties — including mental health services provided via EPSDT (Early and Periodic, Diagnosis, Screening and Treatment — Medi-Cal for enrollees under 21 years of age). EPSDT Realignment provides increased funding, as well as significantly greater decision-making power and flexibility for counties in their use of these funds. This paper (in draft) gives an overview of EPSDT and Realignment so that school district leaders have the basic information they need to reach out to county leadership to partner around building more comprehensive mental health service systems — systems in which schools play their critical role in increasing both access and effectiveness. The authors are looking for feedback.
At least 1.7 million households with children in California cannot consistently afford enough food. Schools are in a unique position to contribute to child nutrition through school meal programs, but there are millions of children who aren’t reached by these programs. Increasing access to healthy meals at school is critical to ensuring students can learn, grow, and achieve. So how can schools optimize their LCFF investments by improving school meal programs and increasing participation?
Co-authored by California Food Policy Advocates and the Partnership for Children & Youth, this second chapter of “Student Supports: Getting the Most out of Your LCFF Investment” dives into the most impactful practices for school nutrition and how they can help support progress on the LCFF priorities.
