Our 2022-2023 efforts will be focused on behavioral health. In this upcoming year, we will do our part to tackle this growing area of concern.

The Problem

The behavioral health of children, adolescents and teens in our community and around the world is in jeopardy, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made the problem even more critical.

Nationwide, one in six children — ages 2 to 8 — has a diagnosed behavioral or developmental disorder. This number increases to one in five among children living in poverty.

Texas ranks last in the nation for access to behavioral and developmental health care for both youth and adults. Nearly three-quarters of youth with major depression, for example, did not receive treatment last year.

Like many health care organizations nationwide, Texas Children’s has record-breaking numbers of patients coming to our emergency centers for behavioral health needs, and the demand is overwhelming our system’s resources.

The Solution

Texas Children’s has formed a special behavioral health task force to develop and implement new and expanded system-wide services for our behavioral health patients. The highest priority is the establishment of an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) to serve patients across the Texas Children’s system.

The IOP will help close the gap between inpatient and outpatient behavioral and developmental health care for our patients. It will provide intermediary care for patients who cannot perform successfully with their current emotional support, but who do not need inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. It also will support patients discharged from Texas Children’s emergency center or from an inpatient unit. Importantly, we will serve patients of all socioeconomic backgrounds, including those who qualify for Medicaid, which makes them ineligible for care at many other facilities.