The Villages of Indiana Expands Youth Mental Health and Family Support Services

The state’s largest provider for child and family services is expanding its outreach to fill care gaps for youth mental health and new parents, WFYI reported. The Villages of Indiana announced it is bringing its home-based program for new or expecting parents to nine more counties, making the nonprofit the largest provider of the program in the state by operating across 20 counties.

Healthy Families Indiana Expands Coverage Across Ninety-Two Counties

Healthy Families Indiana provides free, voluntary home visits that pair families with a support worker to help manage needs during and after pregnancy, employment, housing, and mental health. These new locations fill vacancies left from former providers and keep the program operational in all 92 counties.

Rachel Colclazier, a senior director, explained the logistical shift for rural populations. This allows us as home visitors to come directly to the families, and so we don’t have to ask families to spend gas money to come and visit us. We are meeting them where they are, Colclazier said.

This expansion comes through a four-year, more than $34 million investment from the Indiana Department of Childhood Services. The funding is expected to help an additional 475 families and fund more assessments over the coming year.

Indiana Youth Institute Awards Grant for Statewide Behavioral Health Telehealth

In October 2026, the Indiana Youth Institute awarded The Villages of Indiana a grant totaling $500,000 over three years. The funding comes through a Lilly Endowment initiative called Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana, which launched in 2023 to help youth-serving organizations improve academic, physical, and social well-being for young people ages five through 18.

The money supports the sustainment and expansion of the Behavioral Health Telehealth program. This gives youth across the state timely access to trauma-informed therapy from Indiana-based providers.

Youth Mental Health Survey Data and Access Hurdles

The urgency behind the funding is reflected in state health data. According to the Indiana Department of Health’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, nearly half—47 percent—of Indiana high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless for two or more weeks in a row. Reported suicide attempts among surveyed students rose from 11.8 percent in 2021 to an average of 15.7 percent in 2023.

President and CEO Shannon Schumacher noted that accessing care remains difficult. Once you do access the services, oftentimes it is not with a specialized mental health professional that understands trauma of youth, depression in youth, anxiety in youth, Schumacher said.

Offering services through telehealth helps bridge this gap for underserved areas. We know that young people are used to virtual environments, Schumacher said, adding that research backs the effectiveness of virtual services in behavioral health for teens.

Families seeking assistance can find more information directly on The Villages of Indiana website, while inquiries can be directed to WFYI health reporter Samantha Horton at [email protected] or on Signal at SamHorton.05.