Farm Stress Voucher Programs: A Three-State Overview

To assist agricultural producers dealing with farm stress issues, multiple states have initiated voucher programs to reduce the financial stress of acquiring direct services. This webinar will provide an overview of three state programs:

• Illinois: the Illinois Agricultural Mental Health Voucher Program connects agricultural producers and their families with local mental health professionals. This program is designed to enable producers to seek mental health services at no cost to the producer and their family.
• Missouri: The University of Missouri Psychological Services Clinic provides free telehealth counseling for rural families. Any Missouri farmer, rancher, farmworker, or immediate family member over the age of 16 is eligible for free Show-Me Strong Farm Families telehealth counseling.
• North Dakota: In cooperation with Together Counseling, North Dakota State University Extension supports counseling/therapy services throughout ND. Counseling services can be provided in-person or also through telehealth counseling, which can reach most areas of the state. Services are paid for through health insurance as well as via farm stress grants from USDA.

Our presenters:

• Kacie Hulshof is the mental health voucher program coordinator for the University of Illinois Extension’s Agricultural Mental Health Voucher Program. Hulshof was raised on her family farm and now lives on the farmstead where she advocates for farmers and ranchers. The new program gives farmers and their families access to professional mental health care at no charge. Through the Mental Health Voucher Program, Hulshof collaborates with established mental health providers and connects agricultural producers to professionals in their area.
• Jendel Wolfe is a clinician affiliated with the University of Missouri’s Psychological Services Clinic and the Show-Me Strong Farm Families telehealth counseling program. She is also contracted to work in a rural private practice that provides treatment for substance use disorders through the 39th Circuit Treatment Courts. Additionally, Jendel teaches an online course at Evangel University. She and her husband live on small acreage in Southwest Missouri, where they enjoy raising a few cattle.
• Sean Brotherson is professor and Extension family science specialist at North Dakota State University. In those roles he teaches and conducts research on topics in family life relevant to the state of North Dakota and to national/international issues. Some of his areas of specialty include parenting and fatherhood, healthy marriages, family stress, rural families, grief and bereavement, family life education, and family policy.