Indiana Department of Health receives $445K Special Projects of Regional and National Significance grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration

Pediatric mental health care access - the Indiana Department Of Health (idoh), Indiana’s title v maternal and child health agency, in partnership with Indiana university school of medicine (iusm), proposes to expand and enhance the Indiana behavioral health access program for youth (be happy), Indiana’s only statewide pediatric mental health care access (pmhca) program. Be happy improves pediatric behavioral health access by giving primary care and other child-serving healthcare professionals rapid access to child and adolescent psychiatry consultation, training, care coordination, referral support, and direct behavioral health services when indicated. Indiana faces substantial unmet pediatric behavioral health needs and severe workforce shortages. All 92 counties are federally designated mental health workforce shortage areas, and rural and underserved communities have limited access to child and adolescent psychiatrists, evidence-based therapy, and timely referrals. Primary care providers are often the first and most accessible source of behavioral health care for children and adolescents, yet many need support to screen, assess, diagnose, treat, and refer youth with behavioral health concerns. These needs align with pmhca goals to reduce barriers to care, strengthen behavioral health capacity in primary care, and improve access for children and youth, especially in rural areas and areas with health professional shortages. Be happy has operated statewide since 2019. As of may 31, 2026, the program had enrolled 1,154 providers, completed 4,147 teleconsultations representing services to 91 of Indiana’s 92 counties, delivered over 70 virtual learning sessions, and provided assessment, treatment, and care coordination to nearly 600 families. Continued HRSA support will sustain and expand this infrastructure while supporting quality improvement, evaluation, and sustainability planning. The project will advance HRSA pmhca objectives by increasing use of teleconsultation; training pediatric and primary care providers; improving access to services and resources; and increasing the number of children and youth who receive needed behavioral health services. Core services will include free, same-day provider-to-provider teleconsultation; expanded virtual educational opportunities and evidence-based clinical tools; patient navigation and referral support; enhancement of a statewide resource and referral database; and diagnostic assessment and time-limited evidence-based psychotherapy through the be happy clinic when local services are unavailable or delayed. The project will serve pediatric primary care providers, family medicine providers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, school-based providers, and other healthcare professionals who care for children and adolescents across Indiana. Outreach will prioritize rural communities, health professional shortage areas, medically underserved areas/populations, medicaid and chip-serving practices, federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, certified community behavioral health clinics, and other high-need settings. Idoh will provide statewide leadership, fiscal oversight, title v alignment, subrecipient monitoring, HRSA reporting, and coordination with state public health priorities. Iusm will serve as the sole subrecipient and provide the clinical, operational, educational, evaluation, and administrative infrastructure needed to implement be happy statewide. Together, idoh and iusm will strengthen Indiana’s pediatric behavioral health access infrastructure, expand provider capacity, improve timely linkage to services, reduce barriers for rural and underserved families, and advance a sustainability strategy so core pmhca services can continue beyond the federal project period.