Mental health engagement among foster and adopted youth: the transition from in-person to telemental health services

ABSTRACT

Using the electronic health records of 55 foster and adopted youth, this study compared in-person mental health service utilization to telemental health (TMH) service utilization during COVID-19. Clients attended a greater number of therapy sessions, had more accumulated session time, and had shorter sessions via TMH compared to in-person. Similar results were found for school-aged children, females, and caregivers who engaged in their children’s treatment. Notably, for non-significant differences in engagement, engagement numbers during TMH were always higher than in-person services.

KEYWORDS:

• Telemental health
• engagement
• service utilization
• foster care
• COVID-19

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families and by UCLA TIES for Families. I would also like to express my gratitude to Matthew Ruderman, Ph.D., the Research Director at UCLA TIES for Families, for his guidance and contribution throughout this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The Pritzker Foster Care Initiative supported this research through a generous grant to the UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families. Funding sources were not involved in any part of the study design, data analysis, or writing of the manuscript.