About CHSC

It is our vision that all youth graduate from high school healthy and ready for college, career, and life.

For 25 years, under the auspices of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, CHSC has been addressing health inequities by providing school health services to Alameda County youth.

Working in partnership with school districts, we provide and fund direct services through school health centers, behavioral health and dental programs. We also facilitate the implementation of coordination practices, family partnerships, and a host of equity-based initiatives including the REACH Ashland Youth Center. In 2019, we are proud to have served over 59,000 youth and families.

Our experience has allowed us to continuously improve, document and duplicate quality practices, and contribute to the field. We are here to collaborate and share our solutions for implementing health care services and creating opportunities for youth, families, and communities.

Our Mission

We foster the academic success, health, and well-being of Alameda County youth by building universal access to high-quality supports and opportunities in schools and neighborhoods. We value empowering families and youth, growing the capacity of communities to affect change, and building strategic partnerships that link health and education institutions to achieve equity.

Who We Are

The Center is staffed through Alameda County Health Care Services Agency. We are a multidisciplinary team of 50+ professionals with expertise in education, behavioral health, public health, and youth development.

Lisa Erickson, MSW
Interim Director
lisa.erickson@acgov.org

Rebecca Prager,LCSW
Behavioral Health Clinical Manager
rebecca.prager@acgov.org

Ignacio Ferrey
Associate Director Health Access
ignacio.ferrey@acgov.org

Jamie Harris
Associate Director Community Health
jamie.harris@acgov.org

Erik Sakamoto
Executive Director REACH Ashland Youth Center
erik.sakamoto@acgov.org

What We Do / FAQ

Q: Why school health?

Student health and wellness are deeply connected to academic success. We use the term “school health” to describe a holistic approach to wellness. We focus not only on the physical health of students—knowing a student can’t learn if they’re not present at school, or well-fed, or pain free—but also on the other aspects of wellness that our youth and families need to thrive: social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, and occupational. But schools cannot do this alone, nor should they. School health is a collaborative venture – bringing together the expertise of the health and educator sectors and leveraging the wisdom of the adults and youth in our schools and communities to enable students to fully engage and realize their potential.

Q: What is a school health initiative?

A school health initiative is a collaborative effort to improve access
to school-based health and behavioral health care services and comprehensive family supports; build comprehensive services to better support students at-risk for school failure; and create a sustainable, integrated, and effective regional system of care to support students and their families.

School health initiatives are powerful because they go beyond single programs; they coordinate the relationships and resources of a community towards a shared vision – healthy students learn better. Combining the expertise and resources of the health and education sectors has proven to be a successful strategy in addressing disparities and creating equitable opportunities for all young people to succeed. In other words, school health works!

While every school and community we work with is unique, we have identified a framework that is essential to the impact and long-term stability of school heath initiatives. We support our partners by convening collaboratives, supporting cross-sector collaboration, and providing training and coaching. Download: How to Start and Strengthen a School Health Initiative.

Q: What services do you provide?

We provide school districts an array of school-based, school-linked health and wellness services for youth and families; we partner with school districts to build school-based health and wellness systems.

We also offer support for educators and health, youth, and family professionals working to improve health and education for young people. This includes coaching, consultation, convenings, workshops, and resources about school health initiatives and strategies. Find out more in Solutions…

Q: How do you evaluate the success
of your programs?

CHSC’s center-wide evaluation framework includes a set of common RBA (results-based accountability) metrics to capture the intended results of CHSC’s entire body of work as well as data collection tools that capture the timing, frequency, and roles/responsibilities related to administration. This design allows CHSC to document its body of work across the County and dissect this data by school district; and to develop district-level reports that offer comprehensive data about CHSC’s resources and investments in each school district. Find out more in Impacts…

Our Partners