Kids in crisis: How BCBSRI is working to support children’s mental health

You don’t have to be a parent to be alarmed by these statistics among Rhode Island children: 

• More than one in four (28.7%) ages 3 to 17 had a mental, emotional, or behavioral health problem in 2022.¹
• More than half (59%) ages 3 to 17 who needed mental health treatment or counseling had a problem obtaining needed care in 2022.²
• In 2023, 36% of Rhode Island high school students said they felt sad or hopeless for more than two weeks during the past year.³

While problems existed prior to COVID-19, the isolation, uncertainty, and family/social disruption brought on by the pandemic has had a devastating effect on our children. Right now, there simply aren’t enough providers or programs to help them. It’s time to act.

At BCBSRI, we’ve set an ambitious goal to reach 50% of Rhode Island youth – 110,000 children and adolescents – by 2025. We are working to increase access to care, integrate behavioral health into primary care, and expand preventive efforts so that every young Rhode Islander has the support and services they need to live their healthiest, happiest life. 

Increasing access to care

To help connect our young members with much-needed services, BCBSRI is:

• Increasing access to urgent psychiatric evaluations for children and teens.
• Expanding telehealth services to include both general behavioral healthcare for kids, teens, and their families, and eating disorder treatment for members ages 6 to 24. 
• Enabling access to a unique, exposure-based, outpatient anxiety treatment model offered by two providers, Braver and Bradley Hospital, which reimburses the use of trained personal coaches who collaborate with psychologists to help patients and their families. 

Integrating behavioral health with primary care

Since 2019, BCBSRI has supported PediPRN, a children’s mental health consultation team that works with more than 350 primary care and 68 pediatric practices across Rhode Island. In addition, we’re working with the Care Transformation Collaborative of Rhode Island to help ensure that pediatricians have the tools they need to integrate behavioral health providers into their practices. 

Promoting behavioral health in the community

When treating children, it’s important to support their families and communities as well. At BCBSRI, we are:

• Collaborating with community organizations to provide youth and parent education aimed at increasing understanding and reducing stigma around behavioral health. 
• Offering well-being resources suitable for teens and parents that promote self-care and stress management.
• Supporting school-focused organizations that promote healthy activity and teach students how to negotiate and resolve conflicts. 
• Investing in community organizations that are addressing social determinants of health—like food and housing insecurity—that can have significant impact on a child’s physical and emotional heath. 
• Sponsoring training programs for RI behavioral health providers so they can learn evidence-based practices to help people get better, faster.

Supporting your employees and their families

You can be a significant source of support for your employees. Here are some strategies to consider.

• Talk about behavioral health (often) to help reduce stigma and always promote the resources available through your health plan.
• Consider flexible work schedules, if possible, so that parents can take children to therapy appointments as needed.
• Investigate employee assistance programs. With Carelon Wellbeing available for purchase through BCBSRI, employees and family members can get help with behavioral health issues at no added cost to them—even if they aren’t on your medical plan.
• Promote the value of self-care—the “put on your oxygen mask first" message if you will. Your employees can access BCBSRI health and wellness resources through Virgin Pulse, where applicable, and find tips on self-care and health management through BCBSRI’s Take 5 for You series on the Rhode Ahead site.

For more information on the behavioral health programs mentioned in this article, please visit bcbsri.com/mentalhealth or speak with your BCBSRI Account Executive or broker.