TeenScreen provides mental health screenings for youth through various practices. Today, ERs, medical practices, insurers, and school and youth programs all utilize the program in their annual checkups.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force highly recommend mental health screening. The 2010 health reform legislation also requires routine psychiatric screening. These checkups have proven to be an effective way of identifying the earliest signs of depression, anxiety, suicide risk and numerous other mental conditions in teenagers. Testing such as that offered by Teen Screen has been implemented in many institutions throughout the U.S.
TeenScreen Primary Care provides free support to health professionals who work to introduce an annual psychiatric health screening for youth at their practice. The program introduces the professionals to the system, providing them with background information and tips as well as the means to evaluate teenage mental health.
TeenScreen Schools and Communities also provides educators, active community members and health professionals with the means to perform these free, voluntary mental health screenings. The program also works alongside juvenile justice, foster care and after-school programs, environments and institutes that often deal with teenage mental health conditions. Today, nearly 600 schools and youth programs in 46 states work with TeenScreen Schools and Communities.