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Mayor Eric Adams visited P.S. 35 in the Bronx this week to tout the school’s new on-site mental health clinic — one of 16 schools that added them over the past year through a multi-agency program.
The mental health clinics are “a place to learn coping skills and resilience without financial burden,” Adams said, flanked by top health and education officials. The clinics received funding through a broader program called the Mental Health Continuum, which provides mental health support at 50 schools in the South Bronx and Brooklyn, including the 16 school-based clinics. Overall, the program serves 20,000 students, the mayor said.
But a key detail went unmentioned during the press conference and the media reports about it: Adams’ preliminary budget does not include funding for the Mental Health Continuum next school year.
Local lawmakers have pushed since the program launched four years ago to make it a permanent part of the city’s $112 billion budget, known as “baselining.” Those efforts have come up short, even as the $5 million program is included in the mayor’s own mental health blueprint.
“Clearly this administration wants to prioritize the mental health of students,” said Rohini Singh, director of the school justice project at Advocates for Children, an organization that played a role in pushing for the Mental Health Continuum. “I don’t know what the calculation is and why it hasn’t been baselined at this point given that it is currently up and running and serving students.”
The Mental Health Continuum is designed to make it easier for students and families to access mental health services through the 16 on-site mental health clinics, enabling “rapid referrals” for outpatient services at 34 more, training school staff on de-escalation techniques, and deploying mobile crisis teams.
One goal is to reduce the likelihood schools will call 911 when a student is facing an emotional crisis, a persistent problem that disproportionately affects Black students.
Rita Joseph, a Brooklyn City Council member who chairs the education committee, said the mental health program is essential.
“The Continuum is just $5 million — and we know post-COVID a lot of our students are recovering emotionally from the pandemic,” Joseph said. “It’s such a small amount.” She added: “I’m hoping that this is an easy win.”
The Mental Health Continuum — a partnership between the city’s education and health departments and the public hospital system — grew out of a task force convened under Mayor Bill de Blasio and got off the ground under Adams. Some school leaders say it is having an impact, according to a document explaining the program’s benefits circulated by city officials and advocates.
“One of my students had discontinued therapy in the community due to the parent’s work schedule and she is now able to attend sessions in school without disruption to the family income,” wrote Ellen Flanagan, principal of South Bronx Preparatory: A College Board School.
“Another student who frequently missed school and struggled with panic attacks in school has been attending therapy through the Mental Health Continuum and her attendance and grades have improved due to her being able to receive regular weekly therapy,” the principal added.
But every year since its launch, the mayor has left the program out of his preliminary budget only to add it later after pushback from advocates and elected officials. The uncertainty can complicate efforts to plan and keep it properly staffed, said Nelson Mar, a senior staff attorney at Bronx Legal Services who attends regular meetings about the program with the city agencies that operate it.
“When there’s uncertainty, that inhibits a lot of forward thinking in terms of planning and in terms of retention,” Mar said. “That’s very disruptive to social service initiatives, especially when you’re talking about mental health.”
As of December 2024, about 18% of the program’s social worker positions were vacant, city data show.
The mayor has recently touted other programs that were also left out of his preliminary budget, including a $5 million outreach effort to help families enroll in early childhood programs.
City Hall spokesperson Zachary Nosanchuk did not explain why the Mental Health Continuum and early childhood outreach programs were left out of Adams’ initial funding proposal even as he publicly promotes them. He noted that the city has previously added the mental health and early childhood outreach programs when the budget is finalized.
“We are in the early stages of our budget cycle, but as Mayor Adams says, ‘we always land the plane,’” Nosanchuk wrote.
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
