Thanks to you we're changing the checkup for kids!
The Change the Checkup Challenge raised over $5.2 million to address the pediatric mental and behavioral health crisis! The Yabuki Family Foundation donated $20 million ($5 million as a matching challenge). Gifts will place a mental health therapist at every Children’s primary and urgent care location. This program can only be sustained through continued support.
Turning tragedy to hope
See Jeff's journey with Children's Wisconsin
Jeff’s brother, Craig, died by suicide in 2017, and that experience has compelled him to a level of generosity that will dramatically accelerate this new standard of care, so other kids and families don’t have to endure the same trauma.
Trigger warning: This video contains content about suicide.
About the crisis
1 in 5 Wisconsin children are living with a serious mental illness.
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among kids in the nation.
Wisconsin kids are hospitalized with mental health conditions at 4x the national rate.
Most mental and behavioral illnesses start in childhood. But treatment usually does not. With your ongoing support, we can change the conversation and change the checkup for kids and families by placing a therapist in every primary and urgent care location to address every aspect of health with our pediatricians.
Together, we can confront these illnesses when they begin.
About the solution
The challenge was the first critical step in bringing quality mental and behavioral care to every pediatrician’s office by helping to fund five key pieces of our comprehensive approach:
Therapists
Master’s-trained therapists will be in every clinic by the end of 2023, serving 175,000 kids — more than 1/3 of the pediatric population of southeastern Wisconsin.
Navigators
Care advocates will help kids and families easily connect all the dots for a seamless experience, from coordinating care plans to insurance and transportation.
Access to psychiatrists
Connection to our world-class hospital and psychiatric care teams will be streamlined for complex cases and prescription management.
Training
All primary care pediatricians will receive specialized and continuing mental and behavioral health education so they can provide support for kids alongside the therapists.
Research
A dedicated research team will examine causes and outcomes, inform real-time adjustments, and share best practices nationally to expand the impact and save more lives.
Your gift
Your donation helps complete the picture to enhance the ongoing well-being of our kids.
These critical pieces are only able to come together thanks to the Yabuki family’s gift — and can only be sustained because of you, our dedicated community. Will you help us achieve and sustain full-scale implementation by the end of 2023 and enrich the lives of hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of children by supporting this total approach to their health?
It's a groundbreaking endeavor; made possible through groundbreaking generosity.
Together, we can change the direction of young lives.
Reduces risk of emotional and mental crises through early detection and intervention.
Confronts the stigma, shame and hesitancy many face with conditions like anxiety and depression by positioning them as routine parts of care.
Meets kids and families where they are so they are much more likely to get the care they need.
Two out of three kids on our waiting list for mental and behavioral health services are also patients in our primary care clinics. By placing a therapist in each clinic, we can significantly reduce this obstacle and give kids help where they need it most.
All this will happen one child at a time, with every kid and family that visits a pediatrician at Children's Wisconsin.
And that’s just the beginning as we create a whole new standard of care that will set the bar nationally.
Where to learn more
Find out more about the program, the commitment and the giving opportunities:
Gift donation
Read more about the program and the groundbreaking donation made by The Yabuki Family Foundation.
Read more
IMBH donor report
Download our latest report showing our progress on integrated mental and behavioral health efforts.
Read more
Shine Through
Find out more about our commitment to addressing the pediatric mental and behavioral health crisis in Wisconsin.
Learn more
If you or a member of your family need help with a mental and behavioral health issue, Children’s Wisconsin has resources to help you.
Find mental and behavioral health resources