Presentation
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Room: Paradise A

Speaker(s): 

Rachel Cramsey, MSW, LCSW

Presentation: According to the State of Mental Health in America report, youth mental health saw progress between 2023 and 2024. There is, however, an overarching need for providers to increase access to mental health treatment, especially where barriers to treatment are more prevalent. Many youth experiencing depression and other mental health concerns lack access to therapy due to obstacles including, but not limited to, stigma, transportation, finances, and childcare. St. Louis Children’s Hospital (SLCH), a Level 1 Trauma Center for Illinois and Missouri, serves children from all 50 states and over 80 countries. Since 2018, SLCH has worked in partnership with various school districts in the St. Louis area to provide on-site mental health services within the school setting. Starting in 2020, a school-based virtual behavioral health program through St. Louis Children’s Hospital began to also increase mental health access to students and reduce barriers to treatment. This program, known as Healthy Kids, links licensed or provisionally licensed therapists to the school setting.

The partnership SLCH has established with school districts allows therapy providers to become a familiar piece of the school community, meet children where they are, and work with them in a safe environment on various mental health topics. This is done through many forms of funding including the St. Louis Children’s Foundation and a bridge payment program with partner schools. Whether the therapist is embedded or virtual, students have access to free, quality mental health support. Through this partnership, Healthy Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital takes mental health care outside the hospital walls and into the community where it’s most needed.

Objectives:

  • Identify and secure funders as key partners for financial sustainability
  • Identify barriers to child mental health services in Missouri
  • Utilize school partnerships to eliminate barriers to child mental health

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