1
Children
and Families
2023
HIGHLIGHTS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In 2023, the Meadows Institute expanded access to evidence-based mental health support and well-being programming throughout the lifespan. Our approach meets young people where they are, creating multiple touchpoints for early intervention. We also approach children as integral parts of whole families and support wraparound care that involves caregivers, educators, and communities in ensuring every child’s well-being.
The North Texas Executive Learning Community earned D Magazine’s CEO Excellence in Healthcare Award for Outstanding Mental Health Collaboration.
In the Schools
Supporting K-12 schools: The Meadows Institute’s School Mental Health Executive Learning Communities foster the emotional health of every student. The 12-month program helps school leaders adopt tiered levels of support for in-school interventions or referrals to community resources for children with mild, moderate, and intensive mental health needs. This year, we expanded to school districts in Tarrant County, Northeast Texas, Dallas County, and San Antonio.
Reaching more kids through teletherapy: The Meadows Institute worked closely with the Texas Legislature to optimize and expand access to Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT), a program that provides K-12 public school students with free, same-day urgent mental health services during the school day.
Learning Communities reached 62 K-12 school districts across Texas serving 1,520 schools, more than 975,000 students and nearly 127,000 full-time staff.
The 88th Texas Legislature granted the Meadows Institute’s full $172.7 million funding request for TCHATT so that by 2025 every single child in Texas will have no-cost, same-day mental health care if they need it.
By the end
of 2023,
3.7 million Texas students had access to TCHATT.
At the Doctor’s Office
Equipping primary care providers: The Meadows Institute’s innovative Behavioral Health Integration and Guidance (BHIG) Initiative with Children’s Health, the state’s leading children’s hospital for mental health, trains health care providers to assess and treat mild to moderate mental health issues in primary care settings.
In the past year, the BHIG initiative reached family doctors and pediatricians who collectively treat nearly 230,000 Texas children and families.
Matching High Needs with High-Impact Care
Children with complex mental health conditions need complex mental health interventions. The Meadows Institute promotes specialized care for Texas youth with the most severe mental health needs—often compounded by traumatic life events—so they can access treatment, avoid harming themselves or others, and grow into healthy adults.
The Learning Community now reaches more than 70 Texas colleges and universities, helping hundreds of thousands of young adults obtain effective behavioral health care on campus.
Graduating to higher education: The Meadows Institute’s groundbreaking collaboration with the Trellis Foundation helps Texas colleges and universities prioritize student well-being, as young adults are at greater risk for new or worsened mental health challenges. Postsecondary institutions often lack the understanding and infrastructure to provide the kind of comprehensive mental health services increasingly supported in the K-12 environment. This initiative provides grant funding, technical assistance, and a collaborative learning community, reshaping how universities support student and staff mental health.
The 88th Texas Legislature funded additional specially trained teams that provide children with family-centered interventions, expanding MST service capacity from three to
43 Texas counties.
The Meadows Institute’s legislative advocacy and in-depth technical assistance helped expand the number of CSC teams statewide by 15%, to an estimated 50 teams serving 165 counties.
With the Meadows Institute’s guidance, the 88th Texas Legislature allocated $50.65 million to build intensive, community-based mental health care programs that utilize MST and CSC for children, youth, and young adults.
Improving recovery from psychosis: The Meadows Institute promotes Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC), the highest standard of treatment for the small population of children who experience psychosis, a debilitating disconnection from reality often characterized by hallucinations such as hearing voices. Early detection and treatment for psychosis can help almost all affected children return to a productive developmental path.
Addressing trauma and grief: The Meadows Institute is raising the standard of care and increasing access to mental health services for youth exposed to trauma and loss, so they can build toward resilience. In 2023, the Trauma and Grief (TAG) Center published the nation’s first evidence-based treatment for childhood grief, Trauma and Grief Component Therapy (TGCT), and trained mental health professionals on this and other best practices for treating children and youth experiencing grief and loss.
In 2023, the Meadows Institute brought best-practice trauma and grief care to:
359
Texas school- and
community-based
CLINICIANS
and Puerto Rico
700+
behavioral health
providers serving youth in
ISRAEL AND GAZA
