University of Idaho receives $1.2M for Idaho’s first pediatric psychiatry access line

MOSCOW, Idaho — University of Idaho’s School of Health and Medical Professions (SHAMP) has been awarded $1.2 million in federal funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program to establish the Idaho Pediatric Psychiatry Access Line, known as ID-PPAL. The statewide resource will connect pediatric healthcare providers with child and adolescent psychiatrists.

Idaho is currently the only state in the nation without a pediatric psychiatry access line. For nearly three years, SHAMP has been developing this program for Idaho, working alongside pediatric providers and healthcare partners to meet the state’s needs. Idaho ranks 48th nationally for mental health based on rates of mental illness and access to care, and families can wait anywhere from six to 12 months for a child psychiatric appointment, if they can find one at all.

“Idaho’s primary care providers have become the front line for pediatric behavioral health simply because there are not enough child psychiatrists to go around,” said SHAMP co-director Russell Baker, Ph.D. “This funding lets us give them the backup they never had: real, direct access to psychiatric expertise, so a family does not have to wait months or drive hours to get their child help.”

U of I President Scott Green said the university’s role as Idaho’s land-grant institution carries a responsibility to respond to significant state needs.

“The University of Idaho was built to serve every part of this state, and that includes stepping up when the evidence shows a real gap in care,” Green said. “The children ID-PPAL reaches today could be tomorrow’s farmers, engineers, teachers or future Vandals walking across our campus. Investing in their care now is exactly the kind of work this university excels at — producing long-term benefits to the people of Idaho.”

ID-PPAL has three parts:

• A consultation line with real-time access to a child and adolescent psychiatrist for questions about diagnosis, medication and treatment planning.
• A centralized hub of clinical tools, referral pathways, and resources for patient care.
• Ongoing workforce development training to build providers’ long-term skills and confidence. 

The training centers on REACH Institute certification, a nationally recognized model that prepares pediatric healthcare providers to diagnose and manage common pediatric behavioral health conditions. ID-PPAL will use SHAMP’s ECHO Idaho to offer free statewide virtual continuing education sessions focusing on pediatric behavioral health.

ID-PPAL’s consultation line will be staffed by Idaho-based child and adolescent psychiatrists who will share coverage. Many helped develop the program and advocated for its creation to support Idaho’s pediatric healthcare providers.

SHAMP’s Shannon McDowell, M.P.H., and ID-PPAL principal investigator Madeline Casanova, Ph.D., have led the program’s development with a focus on creating a resource that providers can use for consultation and ongoing learning.

“We are building a program that providers can lean on again and again, paired with training that helps them feel more confident handling these cases themselves over time,” McDowell said.

ID-PPAL is expected to launch in 2027. Providers and clinic staff can learn more, including how to pre-enroll, at go.uidaho.edu/idppal. 

Media contact

Caiti Bobbitt 
Director of Marketing and Strategic Communications, 
School of Health and Medical Professions 
208-415-9574
ccbobbitt@uidaho.edu