Technology-Enabled Learning Collaborative Program - Kansas continues to face persistent shortages in its mental and behavioral health workforce, limiting access to timely, high-quality, evidence-based services for children and adolescents, particularly in rural and frontier communities (Kansas Health Institute, 2022). ACCESS-KS: A Technology-Enabled Pediatric Workforce Calibration Network, is a statewide, technology-based project that aims to address these shortages. Led by the Kansas Institute for Positive, Healthy, and Inclusive Communities (KIPHIC), in collaboration with the Kansas Family Support Center (KFSC), Juniper Gardens Children’s Project (JGCP), Integrated Behavioral Technologies (IBT), ACCESS-KS will identify and create the systems and infrastructure necessary to train providers and other professionals working within pediatric care and mental health and substance use settings across Kansas, including those serving individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), co-occurring mental health conditions, high-acuity behavior, foster care involvement, family-system stressors, and risk of restrictive or out-of-home placement. Access-KS will provide an infrastructure of evidenced-based practices, combined with a blended, technology-enabled collaborative learning model to increase workforce retention. This model will combine asynchronous distance-learning and live virtual trainings, as well as ECHO-like case-based discussions, clinical decision support, implementation coaching, and individualized consultations to create a community of healthcare providers. ACCESS-KS will first recruit and seek input, feedback, and support from partners, stakeholders, and providers across Kansas. This feedback will be incorporated into the identification and development of the training infrastructure required for statewide delivery. After launching statewide, ACCESS-KS will give healthcare providers the ability to gain a foundation in validated measures and interventions for children and adolescents with complex mental, behavioral, and developmental needs, as well as receive support from other providers through collaborative learning opportunities. To measure the impact of this training model, ACCESS-KS will evaluate follow-up data for these healthcare providers as well as their patients. Results of this evaluation will be disseminated to stakeholders and families across the state and will help in the creation of a sustainability plan to ensure that ACCESS-KS can continue to support the people of Kansas.
