Coordinated Care Supports Youth During Children's Mental Health Acceptance Week

TACOMA, Wash., May 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of Children's Mental Health Acceptance Week from May 7-13, Coordinated Care is shining a spotlight on the importance of caring for every child's mental health and to reinforce the message that positive mental health is essential to a child's healthy development.

Approximately 1 out of 5 children in the United States experience a mental health disorder. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ADHD, anxiety problems, behavior problems, and depression are the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorders in children. Other childhood disorders and concerns that affect how children learn, behave, or handle their emotions can include learning and developmental disabilities, autism, and risk factors like substance use and self-harm.

Coordinated Care recognizes the impact of mental health on overall wellbeing, and continues to offer many programs and initiatives that support mental health:

• Developing and awarding Coordinated Care's Youth Treatment Centers of Excellence (COE) across the state for those that provide best in class behavioral and medical treatment to youth—outcomes show reduced hospitalizations when linked with a COE.
• Providing Youth Mental Health First Aid training since 2022, designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis.
• Offering Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy trainings (TF-CBT) for clinicians, aimed to equip providers serving youth, with trauma-focused tools, with 150 providers trained across all 10 regions of Washington state.
• Care management to navigate gender affirming care and treatment, using sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) principles. Gender and identity journeys are different for each member and can require approval from a variety of healthcare providers. Coordinated Care supports their members, so each part of the process is a step in their journey and not a barrier to getting care.
• Grants to local behavioral health partner, American Society for Suicide Prevention for programs like:
• Talk Saves Lives™—a youth-focused suicide prevention effort offering participants a clear understanding of this leading cause of death, including the most up-to-date research on suicide prevention, and what we can do to save lives.
• The More Than Sad program teaching teens to recognize the signs of depression in themselves and others, challenging the existing stigma surrounding depression and demystifying the treatment process.
• Supporting capacity-building for children's mental health providers with grants to Children's Advocacy Center at Partners with Families and Children, Compass Behavioral Health, First 5 Fundamentals, Excelsior Wellness Center, Quality Behavioral Health Services, Consejo, MultiCare Behavioral Health Foundation, Peninsula Behavioral Health, Pioneer Human Services, Washington Therapy Fund and more. These capacity building efforts aim to create systemic change, by increasing trauma focus treatment, the diversity of providers serving youth in their communities and access to telehealth capabilities within schools.
• Partnering with Children's Mental Health experts like Children's Home Society, Cocoon House, Excelsior Family Medicine and others, that have developed into earning a COE designation.
• Coordinated Care's Apple Health Core Connections program, designed for youth in foster care, earned the C.A.R.E. designation from Snohomish County Children's Wellness Coalition. C.A.R.E. organizations and individuals work to improve the health and wellness of young people while adhering to Trauma Informed values.

"At Coordinated Care, we are committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of children and families to equip them with tools and skills they need to manage and care for their mental health," said Jessica Molberg, LPC, LMHC, NCC and Senior Director Behavioral Health Services at Coordinated Care. "Our young people are the future of healthy, strong communities, and we aim to provide evidence-based solutions to help them thrive."

To help support the mental health and wellbeing of children, Coordinated Care encourages parents and caregivers to familiarize themselves with the following information and resources:

• Learn about the importance of mental wellbeing and its effect on overall health. Learn about your own mental health so you can recognize the signs of mental health concerns in yourself, children, and family.
• Check in with your child. The simple act of talking can relieve stress and anxiety. Regularly connecting with your child and encouraging them to express their emotions will help establish a belief in your child that it is okay to have difficult feelings and to talk through emotions.
• Establish early and consistent routine medical visits for your child. Identifying symptoms early can help prevent mental health issues. Consistent medical visits are necessary to support positive health outcomes.
• Engage in community and education support systems. Talk with others who frequently interact with your child to keep updated on your child's behavior when not at home and learn about resources available in your local community.

To learn more about Coordinated Care or to view local mental health resources on their Mental Health page, visit CoordinatedCareHealth.com

About Coordinated Care: Coordinated Care provides free and low-cost health insurance coverage to more than 280,000 Medicaid, foster care and marketplace members across Washington state. Coordinated Care is committed to improving the health of the community one person at a time. They treat the whole person by breaking down barriers to accessing care, walking members through their benefits, and connecting them to the care they need. To learn more, visit http://www.CoordinatedCareHealth.com.

SOURCE Coordinated Care