Child psychiatry access network (CPAN)
CPAN is a network of child psychiatry access centers that will provide child and adolescent behavioral health consultation services and training opportunities for pediatricians and primary care providers.
CPAN is funded and administered by the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC)
Why CPAN?
- There is a barrier for behavioral health services due to the shortage of child psychiatrists.
- Children are more likely to see a primary care physician or pediatrician when they are experiencing challenges with their behavior.
- CPAN takes a peer learning approach in providing care for children and adolescents with behavioral health needs.
Benefits of enrolling in CPAN
- CPAN is a free service for primary care physicians and pediatricians.
- You can receive psychiatric consultations with a child psychiatrist and mental health professional.
- Training opportunities for PCP’s and pediatricians to improve the care of children and adolescents with behavioral health needs.
- Facilitated referrals to reliable mental health providers in your community.
How to enroll
- Fill out our online enrollment form or call 1-888-901-CPAN.
- If calling, press option 1 for North/Northeast region, then option 2 for the Children’s Health/UT Southwestern hub, then option 1 for CPAN
- An enrollment form will be provided to you to complete or the behavioral health consultant can complete your enrollment over the phone.
- Complete and submit the form or provide your verbal agreement to the behavioral health consultant, and you are officially enrolled!
- You will be sent a welcome kit upon enrollment and can immediately start using the CPAN system.
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Upcoming Holiday Schedule
Office Closures:
06/19/25 Juneteenth
07/04/25 Independence Day
09/01/25 Labor Day
11/27/25 Thanksgiving
11/28/25 Day after Thanksgiving
12/25/25 Christmas
01/01/26 New Years Day
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What type of assistance can I receive through CPAN?
CPAN offers referrals that are verified. We try to eliminate the possibility of providing a referral that does not help the family, i.e. long waitlist, clinics not accepting new patients, etc. CPAN will assist you in developing a behavioral plan based on information you provide to our behavioral specialist team members. CPAN will also provide a consultation with a behavioral health clinician on non-pharmacological interventions. If appropriate, your PCP team member will receive a psychiatric educational consultation within 30 minutes of your call.
This CPAN child psychiatrist will assist the PCP in a broad array of questions such as:
- What is the diagnosis?
- How can the PCP can assess for a psychiatric concern?
- Which treatments may be indicated?
- How to manage a psychiatric condition using evidence-informed care in a PCP office?
- How to manage psychotropic medications?
- When is the right time to refer to a child psychiatrist?
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How long will it take to get a referral back?
A referral specialist will provide a referral within the next business day. The referral will be provided directly to the physician or a preferred contact provided by the physician.
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What if the resources I received did not help the family?
Please call your CPAN hub and inform them that further resources are required.
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How long should I expect to wait for the child psychiatrist to contact me?
The timeframe is within 30 minutes. If you have a longer wait time, please contact your hub and notify them of the delay.
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I missed the call back from the psychiatrist, now what?
The psychiatrist will make three call attempts. They will also leave a message or speak to designated personnel (physician assistant, charge nurse, etc.) assigned by you if you cannot be reached.
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What if I am transferred to the wrong hub?
To ensure that you are helped in a timely manner, the hub you are in contact with will help. After the call, the hub will provide the dial in number to your local hub.
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Does CPAN ever talk to the patient/family directly?
No, CPAN only speaks to the physicians or designated personnel assigned by the physicians.
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What patient information am I expected to provide when I call?
We provide a Mental Status Exam (MSE) in the welcome packet as well as a mental health checklist. They both provide a general guideline of what to look for when speaking with a patient regarding behavioral health concerns.
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Resources
- CPAN Mock Call
- Crisis Resources
- Register for Project ECHO
- Register for Psych Advice for the Pediatric Primary Care Provider CMEs
- Texas Child Mental Health Consortium (TCMHCC)
- ADHD Medication Guide
- asQ Suicide Risk Screening Toolkit
- asQ Suicide Safety Assessment
- Brown Stanley Safety Plan Template
- CPSS-V Scoring & Psychometrics
- GAD-7
- Mental Health Checklist Mental Status Exam
- NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scales
- PEARLS-Pediatric ACEs and Related Life Events Screener
- PEARLS-Teen-Pediatric ACEs and Related Life Events Screener
- PHQ-9
- QIDS-SR16
- SCARED Rating Scale Parent and Child
- SOARS Model (Westers et al., 2016)
- CPAN Overview: CPAN Child Psychiatry Access Network for Pediatric Health Clinicians – Free Real-Time Consults and Referrals for Clinicians, Child Mental Health (approx. 3 min)
- Referrals: Child Mental Health Referrals—Vetted, Individualized, and Local—Through CPAN (15 sec)
- Peer Consults: Collaborate With a Child Psychiatrist – CPAN for Pediatric Health Clinicians (30 sec)
- Increasing Comfort and Clinical Skills: CPAN Helps Pediatric Health Clinicians Develop Child Mental Health Expertise (30 sec)
- No Cost, Reimbursement Opportunity: CPAN is No-Cost, Timely Support for Pediatric Health Clinicians – Child Mental Health (30 sec)
- CPAN Overview (short version): CPAN Helps Pediatric Health Clinicians With Child Mental Health (15 sec)
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Meet the team