DENVER (August 7, 2025) – For many students and their families, back-to-school season is exciting and anxiety producing. This year, the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) is working with schools and communities across the state to highlight resources that can help students start the year strong and thrive, both mentally and academically.
“When children and youth have easy access to high-quality mental and behavioral health support, our school environments and families get stronger,” said Dr. Kelly Causey, BHA Deputy Commissioner. "Investing in the mental and emotional well-being of our students through resources like I Matter, 988 and the new Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH) program goes beyond individual well-being to create a stronger, healthier foundation for Colorado’s future.”
I Matter is the state’s flagship program supporting youth mental health, offering free therapy sessions, regardless of insurance coverage, to students across the state, both in-person and virtually. Since its launch in 2021, nearly 70,000 free sessions were provided to more than 16,000 children across all 64 counties in Colorado. To get connected with a trusted provider, parents and students can visit the I Matter website in English and in Spanish (imattercolorado.org and yoimportocolorado.org), and sign up for the I Matter newsletter to stay up-to-date on new information and resources. BHA continues to raise awareness for this vital program through ongoing collaboration with schools, providing educational and promotional materials so that students and families know that they are never alone when they need support the most.
For kids and parents that may be struggling, the 988 Colorado Mental Health Line compliments I Matter with immediate, 24/7 support for emotional, mental health, or substance use concerns. For the first time this year, thanks to recent legislation making 988 Colorado’s primary 24/7 lifeline, the 988 resource will appear on student ID cards across the state alongside Safe2Tell contact information.
These supports for students and families would not be possible without skilled professionals and a robust mental health workforce, which is projected to see a shortage of over 4,400 workers in Colorado by 2026. That is why the launch this fall of BHA’s new P-TECH program, which is being piloted in collaboration with the Community College of Aurora and Aurora Public Schools (APS), is so exciting. P-TECH is designed to directly address a critical shortage of behavioral health professionals in Colorado by offering a tuition-free path for Aurora high school students to earn an associate’s degree while gaining paid experience, with inaugural partners UC Health, Michelle Simmons Counseling and the Colorado Providers Association.
Ultimately, this is a model designed to be replicable and scalable across the state to a more accessible, on-the-job training pathway, reducing financial barriers and ensuring a pipeline of skilled workers to meet the growing needs of Colorado.
For more information, visit bha.colorado.gov/gethelp.
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About the Behavioral Health Administration
The Colorado Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) is the state administration responsible for ensuring all people in Colorado have access to quality mental health and substance use disorder services, regardless of where they live, or ability to pay. As a regulatory body, BHA brings together community groups and governmental agencies to create a behavioral health system for all people in Colorado that is easy to access, and offers high-quality care that considers the whole person and their needs. Find us online at https://bha.colorado.gov/.