Maricopa County partners with mental health service provider to provide telehealth to 50K kids

The Maricopa County Department of Public Health is partnering with mental health organization Cartwheel to offer counseling and clinical care services to metro Phoenix students.

The partnership will focus on reaching students through their schools by working with districts in underserved communities.

Students who are struggling will be able to reach out to a teacher or parent, who can then call Cartwheel to refer students for therapy, coaching or psychiatric care.

Families won’t have to pay for Cartwheel counseling services

Juliana Chen, chief medical officer at Cartwheel, said focusing on underserved communities is essential when it comes to mental health and increasing access to health care.

“There are so many gaps in care, particularly in rural parts of Arizona,” Chen said. “Students and families just can’t connect with care when they need it.”

The families participating will not have to pay for the services due to funding from the county. The department is providing $586,000 to Cartwheel using funds from the county’s share of a 2021  settlement.

The funding was awarded to the county after Arizona reached a $14.5 million settlement with Juul Labs over allegations the electronic cigarette maker marketed its products to children and misrepresented their addictive nature.

“When you’re thinking about a child and their emotional wellness, when they’re struggling in any way, that can really impact not just their mental health and emotional health, but their ability to attend school, to learn and engage in the ways that we want them to,” Chen said.

Why county leaders are teaming up to provide free mental health services

Carmen Batista, a Maricopa County public health administrator, said the county wanted to partner with a group that has had experience in the mental health field, adding that having mental health care can be a protective factor for other hardships later in life, like substance misuse.

“We have different partner organizations within the community who are already working in different schools to deliver mental health services, but there’s still a lot of need. So, we wanted to come alongside those organizations and some of these existing efforts to really provide a virtual supplement,” she said.

The county has identified a list of schools that may be interested in participating. The goal is to reach 50,000 students before expanding. The services will begin over the summer, with more districts participating when school begins in the fall.

Schools can also reach out to Cartwheel to participate in the program.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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