Hillsborough County, Florida Launches Youth Mental Health Initiative For Safety Net Population

On October 6, 2014, the University of South Florida (USF) announced that the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), in a partnership with USF Health, had launched Project Reach, a pilot youth mental health initiative focused on uninsured children ineligible for Medicaid. Through the pilot, the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan (HCHCP) will integrate physical and behavioral health care at four county community health centers serving children at risk of developing mental illness. The budget for Project Reach is $2 million.

Created in 1991, HCHP is the county’s safety-net health system for low-income, uninsured residents. It . . .