There is a mental health crisis currently ravaging the children of this country. Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old:¹
15.1 percent have had a major depressive episode.
36.7 percent have had persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
4.1 percent have had a substance use disorder.
1.6 percent have had an alcohol use disorder.
3.2 percent have had an illicit drug use disorder.
18.8 percent seriously considered attempting suicide.
15.7 percent made a suicide plan.
8.9 percent attempted suicide.
2.5 percent made a suicide attempt requiring medical treatment.
Children’s Mental Health Care
Compounding this crisis are serious barriers to accessing needed mental health treatment.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that of the 1 in 5 children that have a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder, only approximately 20 percent receive care from a mental health provider.² And non-White and uninsured children are even less likely to receive mental health care treatment.³
Our firm is dedicated to helping these children, and their families, to obtain the mental health care that they need.
[1] Ctrs. for Disease Control and Prevention, Data & Statistics, Children’s Mental Health, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/su/su7102a1.htm
[2] Ctrs. for Disease Control and Prevention, Improving Access to Care, Children’s Mental Health, https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/access.html
[3] JAMA Psychiatry, Geographic Access to Specialty Mental Health Care Across High-and Low-Income U.S. Communities, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28384733/