BARRIERS TO SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH-CARE PROGRAMS

Although school-based health care programs (SBHCPs) provide affordable and accessible health care to children and adolescents and are known to improve school attendance, a variety of barriers affect their devel opment. Focus groups were conduced in three schools in Louisiana to de monstrate how barriers can affect the initiation and development of SB HCPs. Each school-based program was in a different stage of developmen t, Identifying potential barriers and developing strategies to overcom e them can enhance already existing SBHCPs and make it easier for new programs to begin. The social worker serves as an important ally in th e development of SBHCPs and is a necessary part of the school-based he alth care team.