Group of three young people with an adult mental health counselor

MIDB Aims to Address Shortage of Mental Health Services in Greater Minnesota By Supporting Current Mental Health Workers Through TeleOutreach Model

Members from the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) recently participated in a policy breakfast hosted by the College of Education and Human Development at McNamara Alumni Center that focused on the state of children's mental health in Minnesota. The discussion brought together researchers, public education administrators, health care providers, and policy makers from and across the state, including University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham, to share models for improvement. Specifically, MIDB aims to address the shortage of mental health service in Greater Minnesota by supporting current mental health workers through teleoutreach models. 

The 2022 Minnesota Department of Health survey of students in 8th, 9th and 11th grades reported that 28% of students indicated that they had experienced emotional, behavioral or mental health issues lasting at least six months. Successful navigation of these issues requires getting youth evaluated and established into a continuum of care with mental health providers as soon as possible. However, almost half of Minnesota’s youth reside outside of metropolitan areas where only 18% of the state’s mental health providers practice, forcing families in rural regions into even longer wait times for local support or significant travel to find services.

“Children experiencing mental health or wellness crises arrive with their families at local or more distant emergency rooms and hospitals desperately seeking help only to find themselves unable to leave for days or even months because the services they need are not available. Additional barriers in rural parts of the state often leads to a failure to coordinate services for children with complex mental health care needs," says Rachel Freeman, PhD, Director of State Initiatives, Institute on Community Integration. “Effective strategies must promote regional decision-making while building local capacity for solving the complex challenges associated with promoting optimal mental health, preventing acute health care challenges, and providing support to children and their families when experiencing crises.

Different regions across the state of Minnesota face unique challenges requiring tailored solutions based on each local context. In September 2024, the Center for Rural Policy and Development released a report titled “Youth mental health: Where rural families can find help now” highlighting strategies to support youth sooner in their communities. An emerging recommendation is the integration of behavioral health therapists within primary care. Kathryn Cullen, MD, professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Minnesota Medical School, director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, and member of MIDB says, “If children’s behavioral needs can be identified and addressed earlier in an outpatient setting, then we can prevent escalation to crises that require emergency room visits and extended inpatient stays.” Dr. Cullen is collaborating with Emily Borman-Shoap, MD, director of the pediatrics residency program at the University of Minnesota Medical School, who is leading a program that incorporates specialized mental health training into the primary clinics where UMN pediatrics residents are caring for their patients. 

To facilitate this multidisciplinary integration, a team of mental health specialists affiliated with the MIDB TeleOutreach Center, in collaboration with the Department of Defense’s Center for Deployment Psychology, is developing multiple engagement platforms for providers of mental health support in greater Minnesota. In partnership with University of Minnesota Extension, a satellite site has been established at the North Central Regional Outreach Center in Grand Rapids, Minn. to offer community-engaged programming, support for military-connected families, telehealthcare training, and secure telehealth technology for use by providers. This additional brick and mortar site complements the ongoing virtual forums with current providers across the state where the UMN team facilitates discussion on best practices in caring for children with complex mental health needs with the goal of building resources and a professional network. In addition, the team is developing digital tools to aid in earlier evaluation and earlier connection with local resources in order to plan for continuum of care. 

These initiatives are part of MIDB’s participation in the Department of Defense study, A Research Collaboratory to Explore Best Practices for Expanding Access to Care Through Expansion and Support of Telehealth Care for Children and Families with Behavioral Health Needs, led by Jessica Simacek, PhD, principal investigator and director of the TeleOutreach Center and the Service Hub, and Damien Fair, PhD, co-principal investigator and co-director of MIDB.

This University of Minnesota TeleOutreach project with the Department of Defense is supported by collaborations with MIDB Service Hubs, including Analytics, Community Engagement and Education, and Informatics. And other University-wide collaborators, including ExtensionCenter for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, the College of Education and Human Development, Educational Technology Innovations, Health Sciences Technology, and the Institute on Community Integration

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