About Us

Our Mission:

In collaboration with our 13 school districts, identify and address the mental health and wellness needs of all students in Sacramento County, by placing a SCOE employed mental health professional in EVERY SCHOOL and creating a system in which all adults understand their role and contribute to supporting the school-community-continuum-of-care.

In Partnership

A partnership between the Sacramento County Office of Education and the Sacramento County Department of Health Services has broken ground on an innovative way to address children and youth mental health.

The vision of which is to place a licensed mental health practitioner in every school in the county to work within a continuum of care at the school site. Licensed mental health practioners provide direct mental health services and equitable support, while also integrating Social Emotional Learning into the entire school community and transforming Schools into Centers of Wellness.

Equitable Access
to Sustainable Care

All children deserve sustainable school-based mental health and wellness services irrespective of any background. Too often, funding for these services is dependent on grants or one-time dollars. Our model is bridging healthcare and education to utilize reimbursable Medi-Cal dollars for ongoing sustainable mental health services.

We are extending the County’s Federally Qualified Health Center status to the school sites, creating satellite centers of the Federally Qualified Health Center. It is estimated that with the current program model, the program will generate sufficient revenue to support costs.

Our Team

Creating a continuum of mental health and wellness requires the input and perspective of multiple voices. Our team is made up of diverse mental health practitioners, including licensed and associate clinicians, family navigators, peer specialists, behavioral health coaches, graduate clinical interns, and many more. You will find a collection of their voices sprinkled throughout this website.

Our Leadership

The following administrative team supports the ever-growing clinical staff at school sites across Sacramento County.

Christopher Williams, Ed.L.D., MSW
Executive Director of School-Based Mental Health and Wellness

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Liz Gomez
Director, Health & Wellness and Strategic Initiatives

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Fabiola Ramirez
Coordinator, Career Pipeline Development

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Shanine Coats, M.Ed.
Director of Strategic Initiatives, Career Pipeline Development

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Cynthia Eldridge, MBA, MS, LMFT, PPSC
Coordinator, Mental Health & Wellness

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Dezarae Johnson, ASW PPSC
Coordinator, Mental Health & Wellness

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Gabriel Leporati, MS, LPCCPPSC
Coordinator, Mental Health & Wellness

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Naima Bryant, LMFT
Clinician II, Mental Health & Wellness

Jennifer Perez, LCSW
Clinician II, Mental Health & Wellness

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Patrick Schirmer, LMFT
Clinician II, Mental Health & Wellness

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Traci Bianchi-Templin, MA, LMFT, MPA/HSA
Clinician II, Mental Health & Wellness

Marcella Rodriguez, MS, LPCC, NCC, PPSC
Director of School-Based Mental Health & Wellness

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School Sites

The following schools have participated in the Sacramento County School-Based Mental Health and Wellness Program.

About SCOE

The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) is one of 58 county offices of education in California. Approximately 650 regular and more than 950 temporary and substitute SCOE staff work year-round providing services which complement and supplement those offered by public school districts in Sacramento County.

SCOE provides technical assistance, curriculum and instructional support, staff development, legal and financial advice, and oversight to Sacramento County school districts.

SCOE plays a leadership role in the delivery of quality education to the students in Sacramento County. SCOE directly educates more than 30,000 children and adults and provides support services to more than 243,000 students (source: 2021–22 DataQuest) in 13 school districts. Many SCOE programs and services are available to schools, districts, and other county offices of education within the Capital Service Region.