1. Cultural Competency Initiative Child Mental Health Access Project Alissa Marchant Project Director 617-546-3172

2. Who is CMHP? The Child Mental Health Project (CMHP) is a system of regional children's mental health consultation teams designed to help health providers meet the needs of children with psychiatric problems. 438 health organizations with 1,559 FTEs of health workers (2,991 individuals) 45% of all health providers in MA use CMHP 10,553 youth receive support annually through CMHP; over 1,460,000 children are now covered Cost = $2.20 per child per year

3. Cultural Competency Initiative Through the Cultural Competence Initiative, CMHP will improve access and utilization of psychiatric and behavioral health services for diverse populations through their primary care providers. The Cultural Competency Initiative has 3 components: 1. Develop a clear policy around diversity for CMHP, 2. Improve CMHP staff capacity to communicate with health providers about diversity and behavioral health, and 3. Identify gaps in services to diverse populations through increased data collection methods.

4. Short-Term Impact Staff aware of cultural differences related to behavioral health, Incorporate diversity into discussions and program activities, and Create a safer environment for diverse populations Staff more knowledgeable about how to support diverse populations in behavioral health, and how to support health providers in consultation with this knowledge. CMHP gains knowledge about the population it serves to better evaluate the needs of its clients.

5. Long-Term Impact Increased volume of calls from health providers about diverse populations More diverse populations accessing behavioral health services As CMHP is designed to deliver services through health providers, the initiative to increase access for diverse populations must focus on building the capacity of health providers as well as its own staff.

6. Why now? Massachusetts is becoming more diverse. Nearly 16% of Massachusetts residents are projected to be Spanish speakers by 2020. CMHP does not currently have the knowledge to determine whether the influx of diverse populations in Massachusetts are able to access CMHP services, and if these populations are proportionally represented in CMHP’s clientele. As the first year that commercial insurance companies are charged a surcharge for the use of CMHP, Blue Cross Blue Shield has a greater financial investment in CMHP.

7. Why CMHP? As the first state mental health access project in the United States, many states look towards CMHP as an example. CMHP has 10 years of proven experience in mental health consulting. CMHP’s health provider network reaches 95% of the 1.5 million children in the Commonwealth.

8. Why BCBS Foundation? Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation is committed to "strengthening organizations' ability to expand access to health care" through its Catalyst Fund. The funds requested assist CMHP in identifying the gaps in its care in an effort to ensure diverse populations with psychiatric needs have access to quality care. BCBS Foundation and CMHP share a vision of equal access to health care for all.

9. Our Request Requested amount: $15,000 This request would fund the basis for identifying gaps in services for diverse populations at CMHP: the development of an ongoing strategy to track data on gender, race, and ethnicity for CMHP patients and health providers. ActivityCost Personnel (Evaluation consultant, data analyst, and other supportive staff) $12,727 Database maintenance$500 National Association for Healthcare Access Management membership (2 years) $390 Desk space$262 Printing$939 Travel$182

10. Indicators of Success: CMHP will evaluate the following indicators: 1. Staff’s increased value & knowledge of diverse populations in program activities, 2. Increased number of calls to CMHP on cultural issues, and with diverse patients, 3. Increase in prescriptions of psychiatric drugs and referrals for services provided to diverse populations. Progress Reporting: 1. Quarterly reports compiling diversity data points 2. Annual report including analysis of service gaps 3. Brief monthly updates on project activities