NH Mental Healthcare Access in Pediatrics
The NH Mental Health Care Access in Pediatrics (NH MCAP) Program provides tele-consultation, training, technical assistance, and care coordination to pediatric primary care providers to diagnose, treat, and refer children and adolescents with behavioral health conditions.
Mental health disorders in NH’s pediatric population ranks high compared to national averages. According to the 2021 National Survey of Children's Health, 32.3% of NH youth had one or more emotional, behavioral, or developmental condition, and of those, only 55.5% received mental health treatment or counseling within the past year.
The goals of the NH Mental Health Care Access in Pediatrics (NH MCAP) program are to:
- Train, educate, and support NH's health care providers to identify and care for children with mental health conditions;
- Enable front-line health providers to receive provider teleconsultation services about the identification and treatment of children with a mental health condition;
- Enhance delivery of services through the creation of a referral directory of all pediatric mental/behavioral health services and supports.
How Does MCAP Work?
MCAP ensures that more children have access to behavioral health care screening, diagnosis, treatment, and referral.
- Teleconsultation (Coming Winter/Spring 2024)
- MCAP has a team of child and adolescent psychiatrists, licensed clinicians, and care coordinators to provide teleconsultations to NH’s pediatric primary care providers and school professionals. Consults are provided by phone, during regular business hours. Sign up to to be notified when teleconsults become available.
- MCAP has a team of child and adolescent psychiatrists, licensed clinicians, and care coordinators to provide teleconsultations to NH’s pediatric primary care providers and school professionals. Consults are provided by phone, during regular business hours. Sign up to to be notified when teleconsults become available.
- Training & Education
- MCAP provides no-cost online learning communities using the Project ECHO model to help primary care teams and school professionals better support NH children and adolescents with mental health concerns. Visit the MCAP didactic library to view recordings of previous sessions.
- Primary Care ECHO: Managing Pediatric Depression- Join us the 3rd Thursday of each month from 12-1 PM, Feb-Sept 2024. Each Zoom session will include a brief didactic training followed by a case presentation/discussion with pediatric mental health subject matter experts. Learn more and register
- School ECHO: Coming Winter 2025. Sign up to be notified when registration is available.
- MCAP provides no-cost online learning communities using the Project ECHO model to help primary care teams and school professionals better support NH children and adolescents with mental health concerns. Visit the MCAP didactic library to view recordings of previous sessions.
- Technical Assistance
- MCAP is supporting implementation of the Collaborative Care Model for pediatrics at a pilot site in NH by providing access to training, psychiatric consultation, a no-cost registry tool, and other technical assistance. Read more about how to get involved.
- MCAP is supporting implementation of the Collaborative Care Model for pediatrics at a pilot site in NH by providing access to training, psychiatric consultation, a no-cost registry tool, and other technical assistance. Read more about how to get involved.
- Resources
- Find Services and Supports (NH Children's Behavioral Health Resource Center)
- Review recent MCAP reports:
- "Mental Health Care Access for NH Youth: A Comparison of Two Models" by Katherine Lipp, Maya Gelting et al. (unh.edu)
- "The Current State of Behavioral Health in Primary Care for NH Youth" by Katherine Lipp, Delitha Watts et al. (unh.edu)
- "NH Children and Teens Experiencing Mental Health Disorders: An Analysis" by Bethany Swanson, Erica-Lyn Plante et al. (unh.edu)
- Stay tuned for provider resources in development!
Related Resources
NH MCAP has recently been awarded an additional three years of funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to continue the program from September 2023 through September 2026.
Be on the lookout for more NH MCAP Pediatric Mental Health Project ECHO cohorts and teleconsultation services being offered soon. Click here to join the MCAP listserv and be alerted when these offerings become available!
This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $700,000 with 20% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.