WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – It’s been 12 years since the NC Child Treatment Program was founded, and the group has already helped thousands of kids across the state with mental health treatment.

Now, North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services is committing $4.5 million to the program, hoping to broaden its reach across the state, and move into rural communities that previously haven’t had access.

The Child Treatment program focuses on helping kids with complex behavioral health needs, especially ones affected by neglect and abuse. They extensively train mental health providers around the state for 12 months on different treatment models.

Robert Murphy, the executive director of the program, says they’ve trained around 2,300 clinicians – who connect with about 3,000 kids per year – since launching. Their data has shown the treatment helps reduce depression and post traumatic stress symptoms.

“We can’t take away what happens, but we can help them get to a point where they can do what kids do,” Murphy said. “They can have friends, they can go to school, they can learn. They don’t have to suffer so much with their mental health symptoms. So, I mean, the bottom line is, treatment works.”

Coastal Horizons, a nonprofit in Wilmington, has worked with the program since 2015. Chief Operating Officer Ryan Estes says each year, the organization trains 5-15 clinicians through different models, and those therapists then work with 10-20 families per year.

“When I look at the population health level, we’re watching children and families that have experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse, loss of loved ones, being able to reclaim their life, being able to reduce depression, anxiety symptoms,” Estes said.

The NC Child Treatment Program is looking to boost its efforts in the state’s rural communities, where it can be difficult for people to access mental health resources. So far, the program is in 74 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. The goal is to make that 100 out of 100.

“A huge proportion of kids in North Carolina live in smaller communities, and those kids in those communities have the same right to good care,” Murphy said. “It shouldn’t be just about where you happen to live, or you know what town or what zip code or what geographic part of the state (you’re in).”

Murphy also says the program – and this funding – are trying to make up lost ground from the pandemic, which had a significant impact on the mental health of kids.

“We know, locally and nationally, the mental health needs of children and adolescents have just skyrocketed since the pandemic. You know, everything from the isolation that brought the stress, the worry, the disconnection from a whole lot of parts of society, whether it’s friends and peers or schools or what have you,” he said.

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