Mental Telehealth
Fully-Funded Telehealth Program For Mental Health Services Available To All Schools In Rural Arizona Counties
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has announced a new partnership with mental health care provider Cartwheel, to bring students and families in Arizona’s rural counties rapid access to mental health support using telehealth. View the full announcement here.
“Empowering parents is a cornerstone of my administration. This partnership with Cartwheel will help ensure that students in rural areas who wish to speak with counselors can do so with the appropriate permission and supervision of their parents. The program will provide a convenient telehealth option to many families who may have otherwise had difficulty in securing the timely mental health support they desire for their children.”
Interested districts and charter schools can sign up by visiting www.cartwheel.org/arizona.
- Services will be offered to all school districts and charter schools in Arizona’s 13 rural counties: Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Mohave, Navajo, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Yavapai, and Yuma. There are approximately 250 school districts and charter schools and 200,000 students in these counties.
The telehealth program can help address a range of common mental health conditions, from anxiety, depression, and executive functioning challenges to loss and grief, stress, sleep issues, technology use, trauma, and more.
The program is voluntary, with parental consent required, and the family is involved throughout care. Students will typically receive 2 to 6 months of weekly sessions, with longer-term care available. Cartwheel will bill sessions to insurance and accept all insurance plans, including commercial, Medicaid, and Tricare for military families. Funding for uninsured students is also available, through the Cartwheel contract with ADE.
A virtual information session for school leaders will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, January 29 at 11:00 - 11:45 am MST. Hosted by the Arizona Department of Education and Cartwheel, this session will share more about the program and include Q&A. School leaders are encouraged to attend this session to learn more.
“Having more access to mental wellness services is both needed and critical to help families and help their children. This allows us to offer opportunities for students to really focus on learning and applying their knowledge without having all these other burdens that really stop them from living their lives.”
Stacy Anderson, PsyD, MC, NCC, School Psychologist in Arizona and representative from the Arizona Association of School Psychologists
"With a critical shortage of counselors and social workers in Arizona, particularly in rural and tribal areas, we must embrace innovative solutions to address the growing mental health needs of students and the systemic challenges that contribute to these disparities. Telehealth services, like those provided by Cartwheel, offer a vital bridge, delivering accessible and timely mental health support to schools. By complementing existing resources, these services ensure that students in underserved communities receive the comprehensive care they need to thrive both academically and emotionally."
Cheryl Mango-Paget, Superintendent of Schools for the Coconino County Education Service Agency
