The Administration of Governor JB Pritzker announced it is launching a new state program designed to help pediatricians and other providers meet children’s mental health needs by strengthening mental health services in emergency departments and schools. The new program will focus on increasing the volume of consultation services provided across the state, providing a multitude of mental health education and training opportunities to physicians and health care professionals, and strengthening the network of mental health resources and referrals accessible to providers and their patients. It will also explore the feasibility of direct provider-patient telehealth service programs. The $2.5 million federally funded program is a partnership involving the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), the Department of Human Services (DHS) plus the University of Illinois Chicago’s (UIC) DocAssist Program and the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP). UIC’s DocAssist program is a free statewide psychiatric consultation service for primary care providers who need assistance screening, diagnosing, and treating the mental health and substance use problems of children, adolescents, and perinatal women. With funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the program also can now support school-based health providers and emergency department providers who often are on the frontlines when children are in need.