SBHCs offer numerous benefits and potential benefits to students, families, schools and communities including:

• Providing convenient, age-appropriate, confidential care in a familiar setting to many adolescents, especially males, who may be reluctant to use traditional medical care.
• Improving access to care for students who may not otherwise receive care elsewhere.
• Connecting students and their families to primary care practices/medical homes.
• Improving students’ academic performance and school attendance, and reducing student discipline referrals.
• Encouraging parental/caregiver participation in their children’s health care.
• Serving as a resource for the health care needs of adolescents.
• Minimizing lost classroom time for students and lost work time for parents.
• Improving follow-up compliance with care.
• Providing an opportunity for adolescents to seek out or take advantage of services, whereas they may not otherwise in traditional settings.
• Providing behavioral risk assessments and ongoing preventive strategies, especially through on-site mental health services, in collaboration with school staff
• Providing schools with a valuable resource during emergencieis/crises with trained medical and mental health staff on-site.
• Collaborating with schools, local primary care practices, and other community agencies.
• Reducing overall health care costs.