Increasing Access to Mental Health Care for Children

WI CPCP Works with Primary Care Providers to Improve Access to Children's Mental Health Care

While mental illness continues to be a major health and wellness challenge for children, more so since the pandemic, one Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) program continues to show promise in reducing gaps to mental health care for children in the state.

Launched by MCW in 2015, the Wisconsin Child Psychiatry Consultation Program, or WI CPCP, was created to support pediatric primary care providers in the state, providing education, consultation, and other mental health care resources.

“I think mental health should be as important as physical health,” said Lora Daskalska, PhD ’23, a recent graduate of the PhD program in public and community health at MCW. “I think there's a really great need to improve access for kids, especially because the earlier that we address mental health concerns, the better for long-term health.”

Dr. Daskalska, Michelle Broaddus, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at MCW, and Staci Young, PhD, professor of family and community medicine and director of the Center for Healthy Communities and Research, created a study to examine the effectiveness of WI CPCP.

The study assessed the program’s effectiveness in Milwaukee County, offered specific insights into a provider’s ability to treat children for mental health, and identified challenges local primary care providers faced in providing mental health care for children. These questions are crucial to answer, say the researchers, because primary care providers are often on the front lines of managing mild to moderate mental health issues in children.

The study findings, based on qualitative and quantitative feedback from provider participants, were extremely promising. For instance, providers’ confidence in treating and diagnosing childhood depression, anxiety, and other behavioral health disorders improved over the course of the study, indicating that the program had a positive impact on their knowledge and skills.

“The study findings really underscore the value that Wisconsin CPCP provides and suggest that it is very much needed,” says Dr. Daskalska.

WI CPCP, which was piloted in Milwaukee, was quickly expanded statewide due to its early success. It is part of the National Network of Child Psychiatry Access Programs (NNCPAP), which promotes collaboration and the use of best practices within regional and state programs.

Funding for the program has come from the State of Wisconsin, and, in part, from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The program operates by connecting primary care clinicians who may not feel confident in or lack the training and skills to treat mental illness in children with child psychiatrists and psychologists and resource and clinical coordinators who provide free consultations for patients. Participants also receive training in pediatric mental health, using curriculum developed by child and adolescent psychiatrists and psychologists. The program also provides information about mental health resources for patients and their families.

The program utilizes a variety of databases to identify resources and vital information such as hours of operation, insurance accepted, ages seen and languages spoken, which helps providers support parents and others as they set up a care plan for children. Doing so has helped the WI CPCP increase access and awareness of available local mental health care resources. Through June 2024, the program has provided more than 10,000 consultations.

In the study, providers also identified a number of challenges they face, including some that fall outside the scope of WI CPCP, such as wait times to see specialists and access to onsite support. Other issues, such as a limited knowledge of referral options, point to an area where WI CPCP can focus more of their efforts.

“Providers may not really be aware that WI CPCP provides this resource or perhaps this resource needs to be developed a little bit more to help providers in different parts of Wisconsin have referral options that they feel comfortable with,” Dr. Daskalska says.

Other aspects of the program that primary care providers expressed increased interest in was the ability to receive more training in the assessment and treatment of mental health in children.

“It was really encouraging to see how many providers were wanting more resources and training so that they could provide these mental health services to their patients,” says Dr. Daskalska. “I think it’s really good validation of the program and the positive outcomes coming from it, and good evidence to continue to fund and expand the program and improve it in the future.”