Partners for Children’s Mental Health (PCMH) is a new center focused on improving the youth mental health system in Colorado.

PCMH operates as a cross-system resource, training, evaluation and implementation hub in order to increase capacity, access, and quality of youth mental health services in Colorado. Through collaboration with partners across the state, PCMH works to identify, scale, and sustain best practices to help connect youth and families to effective mental health treatment and, ultimately, save lives.

To bring communities together to build a mental health system that better serves all children, youth, and families.

A future where all children and youth have the mental health care and support they need to thrive.

At a statewide level, PCMH is focused on enabling lasting partnerships and reducing fragmentation across the system, gathering and sharing critical data that can inform legislative efforts, and creating consistency and standardization of care models in order to reduce the burden on providers and families.

In local communities throughout Colorado, PCMH is working to increase the availability of evidence-based practices and improve mental health equity – particularly in rural and low-resourced areas – and implement suicide prevention initiatives in schools and primary care.

Through this approach, PCMH aims to improve access to high-quality and equitable behavioral health services statewide.

• Engagement & collaboration: Developing key partnerships and a unified vision around children’s mental health
• Workforce development: Increasing workforce capacity through training, coaching and technical assistance.
• Research & evaluation: Analyzing data to inform practice and policy. Evaluating strengths and needs, implementation processes, and mental health outcomes.
• Implementation support: Providing consultation on program design, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based practices
• Policy & finance: Influencing children’s mental health initiatives, policy and legislation.

PCMH has the strong support of two influential organizations committed to improving mental health care of Colorado communities; Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHCO) and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry.

CHCO provides PCMH with visionary leadership as well as fiduciary and structural support. CHCO does not direct the priorities of PCMH. PCMH’s strategic goals are driven by the mission, vision, and values along with imperative guidance from PCMH’s Advisory Council. The PCMH advisory council consists of cross-systems leaders, as well as youth and family advocates invested in improving mental health for youth and families.

PCMH is currently funded through grants, philanthropy, and interagency contractual agreements. In addition, the Children’s Hospital Foundation has prioritized PCMH and is working steadily on securing funding for our mission, which has afforded PCMH the opportunity to offer resources to community stakeholders at no cost.