Children showed significant improvement in both mental and school performance following 12 months of integrated mental health care, according to research published in JAMA Network Open.
The study pulled data from Medicaid-enrolled children between the ages of 3 and 17 who received integrated behavioral health care at three federally qualified health centers and six geographically proximal nonintervention FQHCs in Massachusetts that followed the "Transforming and Expanding Access to Mental Health Care in Urban Pediatrics" (TEAM UP) model of care.
The care model is a behavioral health initiative developed by Boston Medical Center and seven federally qualified health centers and focuses on integrated behavioral healthcare in historically marginalized communities, according to the study.