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Ben Rosen
Director of Public Information
New York State Office of Mental Health
518-474-6540
benjamin.rosen@omh.ny.gov

October 05, 2016

New York State Office of Mental Health Announces $4.9 Million Expansion of Program Connecting Children with Behavioral Health Services

Program Linking Pediatric Primary Care Providers with Child Psychiatrists Adds Statewide Coordination Center

ALBANY, NY – The New York State Office of Mental Health today announced the launch of the Project TEACH Statewide Coordination Center, which will further expand a program that supports the treatment of children with mild-to-moderate mental health problems within pediatric primary care settings.

Project TEACH (Training and Education for the Advancement of Children's Health) links pediatric primary care providers with child psychiatrists to provide immediate consultation services. The program expands the availability and accessibility of children’s psychiatric services throughout New York State.

“Project TEACH has been extremely successful in matching children with the behavioral health services they need, through easily accessible primary care providers,” said New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan. “As Project TEACH continues to expand, the Office of Mental Health recognizes a need to further coordinate these services, ensuring their proper support and organization. The new Statewide Coordination Center will help bring this valuable service to more children across the state and let families know that New York State is here to help.”

The Office of Mental Health also announced that the program has selected Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Psychiatry Academy to operate the coordination center. New York State will invest $4.9 million through June 2020 to support the Statewide Coordination Center (SCC) and ensure use of the program is at full capacity. The SCC will provide training and consultation services statewide to promote children’s social and emotional health.  It will continuously evaluate the Project TEACH program and assess its impact on New York State’s youth, while promoting efficiency through ongoing improvements. The Academy was selected to run the SCC through an open Request for Proposals process.

"On behalf of the leadership of Massachusetts General Hospital, we are proud to be chosen by the New York State Office of Mental Health to collaborate on this initiative," said David Rubin, M.D., Executive Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Academy. “This effort marks a progressive and innovative response to the national crisis in children’s mental health care access. Mobilizing our expertise in the delivery of psychiatric care, continuing medical education and public education, New York has honored us with this opportunity to contribute to this shared grand mission”.      

The SCC will create a Project TEACH website to provide families and primary care providers with resources and public education materials on adolescent behavioral health. It will also work with the Office of Mental Health’s Suicide Prevention and First Episode Psychosis initiatives to bring training and resources to pediatric primary care providers.

Launched in 2010, Project TEACH has enrolled more than 2,300 pediatric primary care providers in its first six years and has evaluated nearly 10,300 children for behavioral health concerns. Project TEACH has provided more than 3,100 linkage and referral services and more than 110 trainings to pediatric primary care providers. A recent expansion of the program projects an additional 3,800 enrolled providers will provide an additional 24,500 New York children with behavioral health consultations by 2020.

For more information about Project TEACH including information on how primary care providers can take advantage of this program, please visit: https://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/project_teach/.

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