School-Based Health Centers

 VI. Key Issues: Financing and Delivery >> I. Public Medical Programs >> School-Based Health Centers (last updated June 7, 2014)

Resources

• HRSA. School-Based Health Centers.  Nearly 2,000 school-based health centers operate nationwide, according to the most recent National Assembly on School-Based Health Care census. Most are open every day school is in session. About 20 percent receive funding through the HRSA Health Center Program.
• School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA).
• School-Based Health Centers: National Census

Analysis

• Lovenheim, Michael F., Randall Reback, Leigh Wedenoja. How Does Access to Health Care Affect Health and Education? Evidence from School-based Health Center Openings. PRELIMINARY FINDINGS. Our preliminary results indicate that school-based health centers have a large, negative effect on teen birth rates: adding services equivalent to the average SBHC reduces the birth rate for girls 15 and under by 23% and reduces the 16-19 year old birth rate by 8%. These effects are driven solely by centers that offer contraceptive services. Despite the large effect on teen childbearing, we find at most a small effect on high school dropout rates. However, any dropout rate effect is localized to females. These results suggest that primary care health services do not reduce high school dropout rates by much, even when they reduce teen birth rates.