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To ensure that students have access to mental health care regardless of location and socioeconomic status, states including Texas are expanding access to telehealth services. Health officials and professionals in Texas have taken unique approaches to using this technology to break accessibility barriers to mental health care for students.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services Health Professional Shortage Areas dashboard, 248 of Texas’ 254 counties have been identified as Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA), and an additional three counties have a partial HPSA designation.
Obtaining mental health services for children within these areas, especially those without resources, is difficult.
“The wait time for a first-available in-person appointment with a mental health professional may be six months or more, and these services tend to be located in urban areas, which means that some youth and families must travel significant distances for these appointments and take time off from work and school,” Dr. David Lakey, presiding officer of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC), told Government Technology.*
After reviewing stunning youth mental health statistics from a yearly data study — ranking Texas last among the 50 states for youth access to mental health care in 2019 — officials galvanized resources and collaboration opportunities to bridge the gap by tackling mental health policies at the state level. A key aspect at the forefront of these efforts was telehealth.
TCMHCC, funded by the state of Texas, was created through Texas Senate Bill 11 to fix the foundational schisms within the youth mental health system in 2019. The consortium is a collaboration among the state’s medical schools, state agencies involved in mental health services, and Texas-based, mental health-focused philanthropic organizations.
One of the specific programs the TCMHCC is responsible for is Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT), which allows access to no-cost mental health care for over 3 million children and almost 600 school districts.
The telehealth initiative has played a significant role in addressing health disparities for youth, as well as their families living in remote or rural areas.
Using a school-based model, students are referred to the TCHATT program by a parent, teacher, counselor or similar party. Once referred, the child will complete an intake and assessment with a TCHATT health-care professional and begin an appropriate short-term, therapeutic mental health intervention. Most visits do not require the involvement of a psychiatrist, but psychiatric support and medication management are available when needed.
“For many students and families without transportation or who live in health-care ‘deserts,’ it can seem physically or financially impossible to take off work to attend to health-care needs,” Lakey added. “Telemedicine allows more opportunities for individuals to get the care and attention they deserve by meeting the clients where they are — whether it be at home or school. In addition, individuals receiving services can access licensed mental health clinicians with minimal wait times.”
As beneficial as telehealth is for lessening health disparities, challenges persist. One critical hurdle to health-care accessibility is identifying and tracking which areas require telehealth services and how to make students and families aware of available resources.
To ensure the screening and identification process is equitable, TCHATT uses a variance of data sets to analyze socioeconomic factors and decipher barriers to care for children and families.
“We are currently collecting data on the youth and families served and comparing that data to state information such as ZIP code, race/ethnicity, age and gender,” Lakey specified. “As we examine the results, we can utilize this information to collaborate with local schools, districts, community and state partners to address issues related to mental health stigma and access to care, as well as provide information that is relevant to the various constituencies in our diverse state.”
To protect student privacy, there is one stipulation for receiving services: informed consent.
“We take parental concerns and barriers to care seriously and are available for any opportunity to provide education and awareness, especially if a family does not have previous experience with mental health care or telemedicine,” Lakey stated.
TCHATT is enrolling more schools in its telehealth program, with the goal of eventually reaching every school within the state.
*Government Technology is a sister publication of Industry Insider — Texas. Their parent company is e.Republic.
