INDIANA — Cartwheel Care, a telehealth mental health provider for K-12 schools, today announced plans to expand access to care for up to 12,500 students across Indiana, supported by a $250,000 grant from Anthem. Cartwheel partners with eight districts in Indiana and nearly 400 K-12 school districts across 16 states to deliver mental health services via telehealth to students, families, and school staff.
According to data from the Indiana Youth Institute, mental health needs among Indiana students remain high, with 30% of youth reporting persistent sadness. In terms of access, over 57% of caregivers report difficulty obtaining needed mental health services for their child.
Cartwheel’s telehealth model is designed to remove the access barriers Indiana families face – including long waitlists, rural access gaps, language barriers, provider shortages, and transportation challenges. By partnering with schools, Cartwheel provides licensed, Indiana-based clinicians with no waitlist, accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid, and reaches kids and families where they already are, without requiring them to find or travel to an office location.
Beyond direct access to care, the grant will also strengthen care coordination for participating districts, including shared care plans, communication with community providers, medication coordination, post-hospitalization follow-up, and crisis escalation pathways.
“For a lot of Indiana families, the barrier isn’t wanting help – it’s the wait, the drive, or not knowing where to start,” said Juliana Chen, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Cartwheel. “When schools can help connect students and families to care, we can reach kids earlier, make it easier for families to get the right support, and help prevent challenges from potentially becoming crises.”
“Schools are often among the first places where a child’s mental health needs become visible, which makes them an important connection point to care,” said Neil Steffens, President of Government Business for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana. “Our partnership with Cartwheel will help remove barriers such as provider shortages, transportation, and long wait times so more Indiana students can get support earlier. By making behavioral healthcare easier to access and better coordinated with families and schools, we can help young people get the care they need.”
Cartwheel currently partners with the following Indiana districts: Greensburg Community Schools, La Porte Community School Corporation, Mill Creek Community School Corporation, Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation, Noblesville Schools, School City of Mishawaka, School Town of Munster, and New Palestine Community Schools.
“Cartwheel has become an integral part of the comprehensive continuum of mental health services we provide to the Mishawaka School community,” said Kris Ermeti, LCSW, Team Leader, SCM Social Work, School City of Mishawaka. “Their partnership has strengthened our ability to connect students and families with timely, high-quality care while improving communication and coordination between school and community providers.”
With the support of this grant, Cartwheel expects to expand access to care to a total of 12,500 students across Indiana.
Through the grant, Cartwheel provides individual and family therapy, parent guidance, psychiatric evaluation and medication management, and specialized care programs for challenges like school avoidance, social media use, and intense emotions and behavior challenges.
Indiana school districts that want to learn more about this opportunity for the upcoming school year should visit: www.cartwheel.org
