L.A. Care Health Plan is partnering with Health Net, the Los Angeles County Office of Education, and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health to offer free mental health services for K-12 students in L.A. County public schools by allocating $24 million to cover the service over two years.
According to the 2022 California Health Care Almanac, 1 in 14 children has an emotional disturbance that limits functioning in family, school, or community activities. Between 2019 and 2020, suicide rates among kids aged 10-18 increased by 20 percent.
“L.A. Care saw an opportunity to support the mental health needs of members and students by leveraging telehealth to improve access to prompt evaluation and treatment. We believe this initiative will provide an accessible, expandable, and sustainable model to bring mental health treatment to students across L.A. County,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO.
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