Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative Fee Schedule program
Announcements
CYBHI Fee Schedule Press Release: Innovative Funding Model Helps Schools Sustain Mental Health Services
California schools have long worked to meet student mental health needs, and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is stepping in to ensure they have sustainable funding resources to continue providing services. Through the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) Fee Schedule program, DHCS has enrolled more than 500 public K-12 schools and public institutions of higher education (IHE) to receive reimbursement for mental health screenings, treatment, and case management, creating a sustainable funding source for school-based care. This innovative multi-payer program breaks down barriers and puts students first, creating a more seamless experience for youth seeking help with mental health. More than 500 LEAs and IHEs have already signed up.
This first-of-its-kind effort is already demonstrating positive results: more than $1.8 million has been reimbursed for more than 26,000 service claims, and more than 5,000 students have received services submitted for reimbursement. As of October 15, 55 local educational agencies, which include public K-12 school districts and county offices of education, and IHEs have submitted claims through the program, representing 32 managed care plans and other insurers. These early outcomes reflect significant progress achieved in less than two years since the Fee Schedule program launched, and just more than a year since participants first became eligible to bill for services.
DHCS also released the
CYBHI Fee Schedule Program Manual to support provider participation in the program. Last month, DHCS launched a public awareness campaign for parents and caregivers to increase understanding and use of these services. The program offers schools a sustainable funding source to provide free, ongoing mental health services to students, enabling them to maintain and support access to behavioral health care. Read the full press release.
Fee Schedule Cohort 6 Readiness Application is Now Live
On October 24, 2025, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released the Cohort 6 Readiness Application for Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and public Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) to participate in the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) statewide multi-payer school-linked fee schedule (Fee Schedule) program and statewide provider network. LEAs and IHEs that are interested in being considered for participation and plan to begin submitting claims for the CYBHI Fee Schedule program by July 2026 are encouraged to submit an application.
The Readiness Application must be completed via SurveyMonkey by 5:00 PM on January 16, 2026. Please save your responses as you draft them as SurveyMonkey may log you out and delete your progress after 30 minutes of inactivity. Applicants may select to apply an Independent LEA/IHE, Consortium Lead, or Consortium Member. Please see the definitions below:
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Independent: You will submit data and claims directly to the Third Party Administrator (TPA), and
receive funds back from the TPA for only your LEA/IHE.
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Consortium Lead: You will submit data and claims directly to the TPA on behalf of other LEAs/IHEs, and receive the funds back for all members of your consortia.
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Consortium Member: You will not directly receive funds from the TPA. The Consortia Lead will receive funds on your behalf.
Parent Teacher Conference and Back to School Night Sample Scripts
On October 22, 2025, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released two sample scripts to help Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) collect student health insurance information. To reimburse schools for behavioral health services through the CYBHI Fee Schedule program, parents must update their child’s health insurance information and sign a consent form. As trusted messengers, teachers are well-positioned to spread the word.
DHCS encourages LEAs to utilize these scripts during parent/teacher conferences and Back-to-School Night to aid with student health information collection:
Certified Wellness Coach (CWC) Services Now Available
On June 24, 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved
State Plan Amendment (SPA) 25-0014 to add Certified Wellness Coach (CWC) services as a new Medi-Cal benefit. This benefit is reimbursable under the Children & Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) statewide multi-payer school-linked Fee Schedule (Fee Schedule) program, with an effective date of January 1, 2025.
CYBHI Fee Schedule program providers may now submit claims for CWC services with a date of service of January 1, 2025, or later, in accordance with the services listed in the CYBHI Fee Schedule program Scope of Services, Codes, and Reimbursement Rates document. Each CWC session, regardless of the service activity, can be billed under the codes listed and are dependent on whether the service is an individual initial or follow-up session or group session.
Overview of the CYBHI Fee Schedule program
As part of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), the California Department of Health Care Services launched the CYBHI Fee Schedule program, a first-of-its kind effort to make it easier for students and families to get outpatient mental health and substance use disorder support when, where, and how they need it. This program creates a sustainable reimbursement pathway for Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and public institutions of higher education (IHEs) to receive funding for services rendered at a school or school-linked site. The program sets the reimbursement rate for a certain set of outpatient, school-linked services rendered to children and youth who are:
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Under the age of 26,
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Enrolled in public TK-12 schools or institutions of higher education (e.g., California Community Colleges), and
Covered by Medi-Cal managed care plans, Medi-Cal Fee-for-Service, health care service plans, and disability insurers.
Children, youth, and families will not pay out-of-pocket expenses and there will not be any impact to their existing insurance plan nor deductibles.
Let’s work together to improve the behavioral health of children, youth, and families in California by expanding their access to youth-centered, equitable, and prevention-orientated services.
Impact by the numbers
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⁓600 Local Educational Agencies and public Institutions of Higher Education enrolled in the CYBHI Fee Schedule program
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⁓3.6M students enrolled across participating schoolsites
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98% of counties in California represented by current participants
Current List of Participating LEAs and IHEs
CYBHI Fee Schedule Program Overview video
Resources
Please visit the Fee Schedule Resource Library webpage to see the Onboarding Module videos, Ordering, Referring, and Prescribing Practitioners PDF guidance, Fee Schedule Scope of Services Reimbursement Rates and Codes PDF, Parent and Caregiver Flyer and Brochure, relevant policies, legislation, and State Plan Amendments, the example Provider Participation Agreements, Affiliate Provider Guidance documents, and Carelon Behavioral Health resources.
Questions and Email Distribution
If you have any questions about the Statewide Multi-Payer School-Linked Fee Schedule, or if you would like to be added to the distribution list for newsletters and other related communications, please contact
DHCS.SBS@dhcs.ca.gov.
