The University of Texas System

Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT)

What is TCHATT?

Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) provides telemedicine or telehealth programs to school districts to help identify and assess the behavioral health needs of children and adolescents and provide access to mental health services.

TCHATT is available to any school district in Texas that wants it. If you’re a school district interested in joining TCHATT, please email us at tcmhcc@utsystem.edu.

Who Can Access TCHATT

Any public school in Texas can have TCHATT at their campus once a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is in place with the school district they are a part of. On the map above, you can see if your school or school district is enrolled or soon-to-be enrolled. The definitions below are designed to help you navigate the map.

  • Active: TCHATT services are live at the school.
  • Onboarding: The MOU has been executed but TCHATT services are not yet live. The school may be pending training, or the HRI associated institution be awaiting district or school direction to initiate this onboarding.
  • Pending: A draft MOU has been sent to the school district and is pending signature.
  • Planned: The school is on the roadmap to provide TCHATT services to, but a draft MOU has not yet been initiated between the HRI and the school district in which the school resides.
  • Inactive: The school previously received TCHATT services but has opted not to continue services.
  • Declined: The school district or the individual school has declined services.
  • Unresponsive to Outreach: HRIs have reached out to the district and been unsuccessful in getting a response.

Schools that wish to change their TCHATT status can email us at tcmhcc@utsystem.edu.

When is TCHATT Used?

School counselors can call TCHATT any time behaviors are seen or reported that have you concerned for a student’s mental health.

For Schools

How to Use TCHATT?

  1. Share your concern with your school’s designated TCHATT liaison or refer the student to your school’s designated TCHATT liaison. (The school liaison is often the school counselor.)
  2. The school TCHATT liaison will obtain verbal consent from the parent/guardian to make a referral to TCHATT. If the parent/guardian agrees to refer their child to TCHATT, the liaison will collect some basic information to share with TCHATT.
  3. The school TCHATT liaison then submits the referral via the TCHATT portal.
  4. A TCHATT staff member will contact the parent/guardian to review the information in the referral and determine the next steps for treatment and services.

When the School TCHATT Liaison Calls TCHATT

  • For urgent issues, further screening via telemedicine will be scheduled with the most appropriate TCHATT mental health specialist.
  • For less urgent issues, we will schedule an assessment of the mental health needs.
  • After a TCHATT encounter, TCHATT staff may refer the student to a local pediatric psychiatrist or other mental health professional; a local pediatrician with support from pediatric psychiatry faculty; or the local mental health community center.

For Parents/Guardians and Students

Parents, guardians and students interested in utilizing TCHATT should connect with the student’s school counselor to confirm if the school has an existing TCHATT partnership. Families in schools where TCHATT is active who are interested in receiving services for their student should contact their school counselor to learn more and to have a referral submitted.