CDF supports helping children to be the healthiest that they can be. School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) have proven to impact both health and social outcomes positively. These clinics have helped secure significant gains in children’s physical health, weight and nutrition, dental and vision care, and behavioral health. Specifically, research shows that SBHCs help schools meet immunization requirements and increase student classroom concentration and peer relationships through behavioral health services. SBHCs have also improved attendance rates and decreased tardiness, in many cases improving educational outcomes as well. One New York study reported that students not enrolled in SBHCs lost three times as much instruction time as their enrolled counterparts.

Studies have also shown that SBHCs are an effective and efficient method of delivering health services to children. Despite all the evidence supporting the importance of—and high returns from—SBHCs, the most recent data indicate that only 6.3 million students nationwide have access to an SBHC—about 11% of the total number of students, expanding the number of centers will help more kids get the care they need, promoting both academic and health equity in the process. It is estimated that 20.3 million kids suffer from insufficient access to health care (3.3 million uninsured, 10.3 million without primary care, and 6.7 million with unmet specialty care needs).