Mental health is an essential component for healthy adolescent development. When young people have good mental health - and the supports they need to foster healthy relationships and social connections- they are better equipped to thrive in both adolescence and adulthood. Much attention is being paid to the increases in mental and behavioral health conditions among adolescents, and we know that children and teens that have access to early intervention, treatment, and resources are more likely to be able to successfully navigate these challenges. 

To inform emerging strategies and immediate funding priorities within our Access to Care focus area, we are seeking insights to help develop better understanding of near-term opportunities to increase access to mental and behavioral health services for adolescents and their caregivers. Specifically, we are looking for input in identifying approaches with the potential to have an impact in the next one to three years and that will be effective despite persistent workforce shortages of certain provider types in the behavioral health field. This could include approaches that:

• Improve the ability to detect and respond to adolescent mental health issues through innovative, promising, or nontraditional workforce models.

• Provide behavioral health supports that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families using workforce approaches that can be developed in the timeframe of one to three years.

• Bolster connections or increase access to care through the existing behavioral health workforce.

While all ideas and opportunities are welcome, we are specifically interested in learning about approaches or models that have high potential impact in communities where behavioral workforce shortages are most acute.

How to Contribute

If you would like to contribute your perspectives, please do so via this online form. The form will be open until January 19, 2024, and should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. If you prefer to connect via a virtual call, we welcome you to schedule a brief conversation with Access to Care Program Officer Kiydra Harris, via this scheduling tool.

What Happens Next

Insights provided through this survey will be utilized to help seed emerging behavioral health strategies and near-term funding opportunities within our Access to Care focus area – details of which will be forthcoming as these approaches take shape.

Questions

If you have questions or would like to speak to us about this request, please contact Kiydra Harris at kiydra.harris@bcbsncfoundation.org. 

To learn more about the Blue Cross NC Foundation, visit bcbsncfoundation.org.