Los Angeles County public schools are rolling out an ambitious effort to offer free mental health services to their 1.3 million K-12 students, a key test of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sweeping, $4.7 billion program to address a youth mental health crisis.
Spearheaded by the county’s Medi-Cal plans — which provide health insurance to low-income residents — in collaboration with its Office of Education and Department of Mental Health, the LA school program relies on teletherapy services provided by Hazel Health, one of a clutch of companies that have sprung up to address a nationwide shortage of mental health services that grew much worse during the covid-19 pandemic.
The teletherapy effort is one of four LA County projects that will collectively receive up to $83 million from the state’s Student Behavioral Health Incentive Program, one component of the Democratic governor’s “master plan” to address gaps in youth mental health care access.
LA’s Hazel Health contract is aimed at helping overburdened schools cope with a surge in demand for mental health services. It promises to be a telling case study in both the efficacy of virtual therapy for students and the ability of educators and administrators to effectively manage a sprawling and sensitive program in partnership with a for-profit company.
For some Los Angeles County educators and families, the initial results are promising.
Anjelah Salazar, 10, said her Hazel clinician has helped her feel a lot better. After the fifth grader switched to a new school this year, Stanton Elementary in Glendora, she started having panic attacks every day.
Her mom, Rosanna Chavira, said she didn’t know what to do — even though she’s a clinical coordinator for a company that treats mental health conditions — and worried she wouldn’t be able to find an affordable therapist who accepted their insurance. Once Chavira learned about Hazel, she jumped at the opportunity.
“This being free and having a licensed professional teaching her coping skills, it just means the world,” Chavira said. “You can already see changes.”
Salazar said she’s met with her virtual therapist five times so far. One coping technique that she especially appreciates is a tapping exercise: Every night before bed, she taps her eyes, her cheeks, her chest, and her knees. With each tap, she recites the same affirmation: “I am brave.”
Christine Crone, parent of seventh grader Brady, said she has yet to see if the sessions have been effective for her son, who attends Arroyo Seco Junior High in Santa Clarita, but she knows he enjoys them.
“He struggles normally with being on time and prepared, but with these sessions, he always stops what he is doing and makes sure he is logged in on time,” Crone said. “He says that his therapist is nice, fun, and easy to talk to.”
Jennifer Moya, a mental health counselor at Martha Baldwin Elementary in Alhambra, a city east of Los Angeles, said her students like the flexibility of teletherapy, which allows them to meet with clinicians anytime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
“This generation of kids has grown up digital,” said Moya, who is in charge of referring students to Hazel at her school. “They love that this is easy.”
Pablo Isais, a mental health counselor at Alhambra’s Granada Elementary School, said the services can also be a stopgap while a student waits for an in-person appointment, which can take six to eight weeks.
“To be able to let them know that there are services available that they can access within the next week is amazing,” Moya said.
Thus far, early in the rollout, only 607 Los Angeles County students have participated in Hazel sessions since they were first offered, in Compton, in December 2022, said Alicia Garoupa, chief of well-being and support services for the Office of Education. She acknowledged some bumps in the rollout but said Hazel is “another tool in our toolbox.”
LA County Invests Big in Free Virtual Mental Health Therapy for K-12 Students - California Healthline
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