# Understanding the ASSIST Act: Getting More Mental Health Support in Schools

This bill creates a federal funding program to help schools and school-based health centers hire more mental health professionals. The government will give grants and contracts to schools, colleges, and school-based clinics so they can employ counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and other mental health specialists to help students dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse problems. The program needs to start within three months of the bill becoming law, and schools applying for this money have to explain what mental health needs their students have and how they'll make sure the services are culturally appropriate for the communities they serve.

The bill also changes how Medicaid (the government health insurance program for low-income people) pays for mental health services delivered in schools. Starting a few months after the law passes, when a student receives mental health or substance abuse treatment at school from a licensed provider, the federal government will cover 90 percent of the cost instead of the lower percentage it normally covers. This means states will have less financial burden when they provide these services, which could encourage them to expand mental health programs in schools. However, this higher payment rate only applies if it actually increases what the federal government pays—it won't reduce payments if the normal rate was already higher.

Schools that receive funding must report annually on how many mental health providers they hired, what services those providers offer, whether the services are actually working, and whether they're able to keep these professionals on staff. The bill specifically prohibits using this money for threat assessment teams, focusing the funding purely on providing care rather than security measures. The government will also report to Congress each year on whether the program is working and helping students get the mental health support they need.

Advancing Student Services In Schools Today Act

Castor, Kathy

Advancing Student Services In Schools Today Act or the ASSIST Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to, among others, local educational agencies to increase the number of mental health and substance use disorder care providers in schools and school-based health centers. It also increases the federal government's share of Medicaid costs for behavioral health services furnished in those settings.