Technology Innovations
Using Technology to Reshape Mental Health Delivery
Mental and behavioral health providers throughout the state were forced to turn to telehealth during the pandemic. Evidence suggests that up to 95% of mental and behavioral health services provided to California’s children and adolescents at the beginning of the pandemic were delivered via some form of telehealth.
Multiple sources also confirm that national and local youth mental health crisis lines—using phone, text and chat—have received increased attention during the pandemic as suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and depression among young people have risen.
We must now take the best of what we have learned in using technology for mental health delivery and create a future of change and equity so all children and youth have the resources and support they need to thrive.
Issue Briefs
August 2021: YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS LINES: CRITICAL PLAYERS IN A COMPLEX LANDSCAPE OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
This brief examines the role of youth crisis lines within the overall complex and challenging national and local mental health ecosystem, and discusses how they served youth mental health needs prior to and during the pandemic.
Issue Briefs
April 2021: SNAPSHOT: YOUTH SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT TELEMENTAL HEALTH DURING COVID AND BEYOND
This Snapshot shares the experiences and insights of youth covered by Medi-Cal as they navigated digital mental health during the pandemic. Their recommendations for integrating technology into youth mental health delivery beyond the pandemic, align with feedback from providers as discussed in our January 2021 brief: NO GOING BACK.
January 2021: NO GOING BACK: PROVIDING TELEMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES TO CALIFORNIA CHILDREN AND YOUTH AFTER THE PANDEMIC
This brief discusses how technology can reshape mental health delivery and offers recommendations for building on promising telehealth practices to support California’s most vulnerable youth.
April 2020: STABILIZE AND SUSTAIN YOUTH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DURING COVID-19
California Children’s Trust outlines specific and immediate actions counties are taking to ensure we can Enable Telehealth, Maximize Medi-Cal Financing and Save the Safety Net.
Use this real-time County Action Tracker to see which counties have either voted to, or committed to, implementing the safety net strategies in the accompanying document titled “Stabilize and Sustain Youth Behavioral Health During COVID-19.” The tracker lists the actions counties are taking, and the number of Medi-Cal covered children and families that will be impacted.
