Mental health care for keiki and teens — covered by QUEST

OhanaPsych provides psychiatric and behavioral-health care for keiki (children) and teens across Hawaiʻi. Because most children in the islands are covered by Medicaid (QUEST), and we accept it, families can actually get the care their child needs — by secure telehealth, statewide, for the whole ‘ohana (family). This page explains what we help with, how children’s care is different, and how to get started.

What we help keiki and teens with

We work with children and adolescents experiencing anxiety, depression and low mood, attention and focus concerns (ADHD), mood swings, and sleep difficulties, and we support families navigating autism-spectrum needs. When it adds clarity — for example, sorting out attention, learning, or developmental questions — we may use objective neurocognitive testing. If a concern is outside our scope, we’ll help point your family in the right direction.

How children’s mental health care is different — and our approach

Keiki aren’t small adults. Their symptoms show up differently — anxiety can look like stomachaches or school refusal; depression can look like irritability rather than sadness; and what’s normal shifts quickly as a child grows. Good care starts with understanding the child in context: their development, their family, their school, and their community.

We start from lōkahi — balance across the connected parts of a child’s life — and we treat children as part of an ‘ohana, not in isolation. Parents and caregivers are partners in the plan, and with your permission we coordinate with schools and pediatricians. For most childhood concerns, non-medication approaches come first — therapy, skills, parent guidance, and school support. When medication is appropriate, we discuss the options and tradeoffs openly with you and your child, start carefully, and monitor closely. Screening tools, recommended for youth by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, help us catch anxiety and depression early, when care works best.

Insurance for keiki — Medicaid (QUEST) accepted

We accept Hawaiʻi QUEST / Med-QUEST (Medicaid) — including AlohaCare, HMSA QUEST Integration, ‘Ohana Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan — plus most commercial insurance plans. Cost shouldn’t stand between a child and care, and language assistance is available so families can take part fully in their child’s treatment.

Telehealth for busy families

Children and teens can be seen by secure video from home or between school and activities — anywhere in Hawaiʻi. Evaluation, therapy, and most medication management work well this way. One note for families of teens treated for ADHD: stimulant medications are controlled substances, so prescribing them by telehealth follows federal DEA rules; as of this writing those telemedicine flexibilities are extended through December 31, 2026, and depending on your situation an in-person visit may still be needed.

One more note on access: as we complete the final stages of becoming a Rural Health Clinic (RHC), telehealth for mental-health care is here to stay with us. Under Medicare’s rural-health rules, RHCs are permanently authorized to provide behavioral and mental-health care by telehealth — including into your home, anywhere in Hawaiʻi — not under the temporary flexibilities that expire and must be renewed. (Prescribing of controlled medications still follows the separate Ryan Haight Act and DEA rules.) For our patients, that means dependable, lasting telehealth access to the care you need.

Wherever you live, OhanaPsych is your statewide practice. We provide care across the entire state of Hawaiʻi by telehealth, reaching every island — Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and Niʻihau. If you would rather be seen in person, you have that option at our offices in Hilo and Honolulu.

Brief screening (96127)

As part of getting started — and to track your progress over time — we use brief, validated questionnaires that are administered, auto-scored, and documented on the CNS Vital Signs platform and billed under code 96127 (brief emotional/behavioral assessment). For children and teens, that includes the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (including the youth-report and 17-item versions), the SCARED for anxiety, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents, the Vanderbilt ADHD rating scales, the Child Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Inventory, and the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 (CNS Vital Signs, n.d.). Each takes only a few minutes and gives your provider objective information to guide care.

When to reach out — and when it’s an emergency

If your child’s worry, mood, attention, or behavior is getting in the way of school, friendships, family life, or their own happiness, it’s worth reaching out — you don’t have to wait for a crisis, and earlier care tends to work better. New patients are welcome; call (808) 777-9460 or start your request online.

If your child or teen is talking about suicide or self-harm, or you’re worried about their safety, get help right away. Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org). In Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi CARES is available by calling or texting 988, or at 808-832-3100 / 800-753-6879. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

Medically reviewed by George Mackel, MSN, APRN, NP-C, PMHNP-BC, CARN-AP — President & Owner, OhanaPsych / Ohana Care Clinic.
Last reviewed: June 28, 2026. Citations verified: June 28, 2026.

This page is general health education from OhanaPsych. It is not a substitute for a personal evaluation by a qualified clinician who knows your child’s situation, and reading it does not create a provider–patient relationship. If you’re concerned about your child, reach out to us or another licensed provider. In an emergency, call 911.

References

CNS Vital Signs. (n.d.). CNS Vital Signs computerized rating instruments. https://www.cnsvs.com/WhitePapers/CNSVS-RatingInstruments.pdf

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2026). Telehealth policy updates. Telehealth.HHS.gov. https://telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/telehealth-policy/telehealth-policy-updates

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (2022). Screening for anxiety in children and adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA, 328(14), 1438–1444. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.16936

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (2022). Screening for depression and suicide risk in children and adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA, 328(15), 1534–1542. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.16946

Wolraich, M. L., Hagan, J. F., Allan, C., Chan, E., Davison, D., Earls, M., Evans, S. W., Flinn, S. K., Froehlich, T., Frost, J., Holbrook, J. R., Lehmann, C. U., Lessin, H. R., Okechukwu, K., Pierce, K. L., Winner, J. D., & Zurhellen, W. (2019). Clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 144(4), e20192528. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-2528