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Rural counties will receive fully-funded mental health resources for students

Supt. Tom Horne announced that 13 rural counties throughout the state can access a new mental telehealth program.

Supt. Tom Horne announced 13 rural counties throughout the state can access a new mental telehealth program, in partnership with Cartwheel.

By: Athena Kehoe

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BENSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — School districts in rural counties will soon be able to partner with mental health provider Cartwheel, to provide extra mental health services to their students.

State Superintendent Tom Horne announced the new mental telehealth program will be fully funded from the Arizona Department of Education.

Cochise County is one of the 13 rural counties that are offered these services.

“In rural Arizona, there’s a lot of challenges in getting support for those that need mental health support. It’s hard, there’s not a lot out here," said Micah Mortensen, Superintendent of the Benson Unified School District.

I reached out to Cartwheel to ask how schools can be involved in the program, and they told me they are "actively enrolling districts who are hoping to participate in the program."

Cartwheel stated they will officially begin clinical services the first week of March. But, Mortensen explains there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

“People are busy. We say after school is great, but parents in this case have to have internet or cellular service so there’s a lot of technical aspects that we aren’t sure of," Mortensen said.

Cartwheel will be enrolling districts and charter schools from January 15, 2025 through October 1, 2025.

"There’s a lot of pieces that we’re just learning about but we’re excited that there’s another opportunity for our families to utilize support for their children," Mortensen said.

The Arizona Department of Health Services released an adolescent mental health report in October of 2024.

One report found that 38.1% of adolescents who needed or received mental health care found it somewhat difficult to get that care. 14.3% of adolescents felt it was very difficult to get mental health care.

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Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.