In a move to tackle the growing mental health crisis among youth in rural Arizona, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has announced a new partnership aimed at providing mental telehealth services to students and families. The partnership with mental health care provider Cartwheel marks a significant step in making mental health support more accessible to remote areas of the state.
Horne emphasized the importance of parental involvement stating, "Empowering parents is a cornerstone of my administration." According to the Arizona Department of Education's announcement, "This partnership with Cartwheel will help ensure that students in rural areas who wish to speak with counselors can do so with the appropriate permission and supervision of their parents." The program promises not just convenience, but timely access to services that many families have struggled to secure for their children.
Reports from Phoenix Children’s experts indicate that almost 90% of Arizona’s communities face a shortage of mental health providers, a fact that places the state in the bottom third of the US for mental health support. A disturbing 2021 study by the Arizona Department of Health Services pointed out that more than one-third of Arizona teens reported having poor mental health, which underscores the array of challenges these communities are facing.
The telehealth program spearheaded by Horne and Cartwheel will service approximately 250 school districts and charter schools across Arizona's 13 rural counties. Conditions such as anxiety, depression, executive functioning challenges, as well as grief, stress, and trauma are on the list of issues that the program aims to address. Cartwheel has committed to working with all insurance plans, including commercial, Medicaid, and Tricare for military families, and, there is funding for uninsured students available through the Cartwheel contract with ADE.
Backing the importance of such initiatives, Dr. Juliana Chen, child and adolescent psychiatrist and Chief Medical Officer at Cartwheel, told the Arizona Department of Education, "We are thrilled to partner with the Arizona Department of Education to provide schools, students, and families across Arizona with timely, evidence-based mental health support and promote school safety." Echoing the sentiment, Cheryl Mango-Paget of the Coconino County Education Service Agency highlighted the need for innovative solutions to address the shortages of counselors especially in rural and tribal areas, to improve the overall mental health landscape for these students.
Moreover, Stacy Anderson, a school psychologist in Arizona, expressed that increased access to mental wellness services is "both needed and critical" to support families and aid their children in their educational and personal development. Interested districts and charter schools are being encouraged to sign up and take part in this potentially life-altering program via Cartwheel's dedicated webpage for the Arizona partnership, as detailed by Arizona Department of Education.
