The University of Texas System

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding for Consortium Initiatives

In the Fall of 2021, during the third called special session of the 87th Texas Legislature, the Consortium was appropriated $113 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to enhance and expand the Consortium’s programs in response to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Section 8 of Senate Bill 8 provides time-limited federal resources to:

“…support the operations and expansion of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium to expand mental health initiatives for children, pregnant women, and women who are up to one year postpartum during the two-year period beginning on the effective date of this Act.”

ARPA Expansion Initiatives (varies by region)

Enhancements were made to several Consortium initiatives, however the implementation of these new components varies by region and Health-Related Institution (HRI). Click on the interactive tool below to see which HRI and what regions are included.

Enhancements and expansion of the Child Psychiatry Access Network (CPAN):

  • Psychiatrists and mental health professionals will be able to directly consult with patients via telehealth.
  • Through the Collaborative Care Model, 9 HRIs will partner with 18 Health Systems across Texas, to enable effective identification/screening and treatment of behavioral health conditions in primary care settings.
  • Healthcare providers will have the ability to text information to HRIs to set up CPAN consultations.
  • The Perinatal Psychiatric Access Network (PeriPAN) will be implemented in 4 Texas regions, to address behavioral health needs of pregnant patients and new mothers residing in Central Texas, West Texas, North Texas and the Greater Houston area.
  • Through implementation of Safety-A (formerly known as the Family Intervention for Suicide Prevention) 5 HRIs will train primary care clinics within their regions about tools to increase their competency in suicide prevention intervention so that patients are able to be treated in the least restrictive care setting.

Enhancements and expansion of the Texas Child Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) program:

  • Additional funding aims to reach more regions and schools that want to partner with TCHATT.
  • Provide additional sessions to continue services for youth with urgent mental health needs, or who otherwise would not be able to access services due to lack of resources.
  • Anxiety services will increase well-being and resilience amongst school-aged children through evidence-based models as it relates to anxiety.
  • Adolescent Substance Use Disorder (ASUD) intervention will be available in 5 HRI regions to youth affected by, or at risk, for substance use, misuse, and abuse.
  • Evidence-based group tele-therapy will be available for youth and families.
  • Evidence-based services will be available to youth and families experiencing pandemic-related trauma.
  • Across the state, TCHATT will increase mental resilience amongst students through a school-based peer model called Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM).

Expansion of the child and adolescent mental health workforce (Community Psychiatry Workforce Expansion, CPWE):

  • The Consortium will offer additional Local Mental Health Authorities (LMHAs) the current technology and training to provide psychiatric telehealth services to their patients.
  • Supervised training to recent graduates of accredited mental health care programs will be provided in specific HRIs to deliver effective child and adolescent mental health services to community-based mental health providers in their region.