By Andra Wilkinson, Michael Marinez, and Brandon Stratford, Photo: Unsplash, Child Trends, March 1, 2022
At least half of all people with mental health disorders began showing symptoms in childhood, and the earlier treatment can start, the better. Despite this context, most communities in the United States lack access to child mental health services. To increase access to mental health services in the COVID-19 pandemic, many states and school systems implemented telemental health services (TMH)—that is, mental health services provided either through video conferences or over the phone. TMH services can be a powerful tool to increase access to mental health services, including for children, but state policies can either hinder or support telemental health delivery to students.
This brief presents five ways in which state policymakers can support equitable school-based TMH, with recommendations based on relevant policy context, existing research, and—in some cases—feedback from our interviews with five TMH providers who testified to on-the-ground experience with these interventions. We interviewed TMH providers in Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, and Texas, all of whom were identified by the School-Based Health Alliance (check out their school-based telehealth playbook) and the Healthy Schools Campaign.
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