As policymakers and the medical community seek to improve collaborative care to the most vulnerable populations, USC Telehealth at the USC School of Social Work announces the launch of a new and innovative pilot program with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LADMH) to provide online mental health services to at-risk youth ages 16-21.

USC Telehealth is a virtual mental health clinic that delivers confidential mental health services using the latest online and video technologies. The approved pilot program will focus specifically on providing treatment to LA County at-risk youth who have suffered or witnessed trauma, physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence; who are experiencing emotional or behavioral challenges; or who are transitioning from the foster care system. Services will be provided by licensed USC School of Social Work clinical social workers and graduate interns from the school’s Children, Youth & Families department.

“Virtual appointments help remove barriers that sometimes hinder at-risk youth from seeking services, such as lack of transportation, time and cost, or the stigma or embarrassment of seeking or needing supportive mental health services,” said USC School of Social Work Dean Marilyn Flynn. “USC Telehealth gets around those barriers, while also allowing us to stay in easy and immediate touch, offer expert guidance, provide continuity of support and make quick referrals to additional social services and resources.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas added: “This is a novel way to help at-risk youth. The program makes critically needed early intervention easily accessible and convenient to youth by using technology familiar to them.”

The program is being launched at the medical hub of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital and may eventually be implemented at similar sites where co-located LADMH staff members serve at-risk youth and families. Once referred to USC Telehealth by MLK Hospital or other approved hubs, youth can then access USC’s HIPAA-compliant mental health services privately via a home computer or using a loaned program iPad.

The genesis of the program was a result of the activities and recommendations of the Los Angeles Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Protection, and brought to fruition with the urging of Supervisor Thomas and Dean Flynn. The new program will be funded by a generous gift from the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation and an endowment from Lynne Okon Scholnick, an alumna of the USC School of Social Work and a former foster youth.