Policies for Action is a signature research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) administered by the Urban Institute.
Policies for Action funds research identifying policies, laws, and other system and community levers in the public and private sectors that can support RWJF’s vision to build a Culture of Health.
Maintaining COVID-era Telehealth Practices Can Better Meet Student Mental Health Needs
Research suggests that one in seven children in the United States have a diagnosable mental health condition. But despite efforts to increase access to care through school-based mental health services, most youth with a mental health condition do not receive the treatment they need. Telehealth services, however, have the potential to increase access to school-based mental health treatment by reducing districts’ need for on-site personnel—of which there is a national shortage—without compromising the quality of care. Therefore, states should consider maintaining the telehealth flexibilities they enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to improve access to critical school-based mental health services for youth, even after the public health emergency ends.