The Facts
New York's Youth Mental Health Crisis
Across New York State, too many families find it impossible to get the behavioral health (mental health and substance use) services their children desperately need. The consequences can be devastating: Children get sicker; schools are overburdened; families are stressed and sometimes broken.
Meanwhile, taxpayers bear the cost when untreated problems turn into emergencies. Because they cannot get the care they need when they need it, children end up in emergency rooms, hospitals, the juvenile justice system, and foster care. Families and communities suffer further when unaddressed problems in childhood develop into adult mental illness.
-
1/2
of New York youth with major depressive episodes in the past year did not receive any treatment.
-
There are only
28 child psychiatrists
per 100,000 children in New York. In many counties there are none.
-
1 in 5
children in New York have a mental health need
The Good News Is, If New York invests in children early, we can change the trajectory of their lives