Overview
- One in five U.S. households reported a child needing treatment based on 2023–2024 Census Household Pulse Survey responses from 173,174 families.
- Among households reporting need, 24.8% said care was not received, 16.6% reported difficulty accessing services, and 21.8% cited access problems as the reason care did not occur.
- Gaps were more pronounced in single-parent and multi-child families and in households with homeschooled children.
- Uninsured households and those covered by Medicaid reported higher barriers, underscoring uneven access by insurance status.
- The study, led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and published Feb. 16 in JAMA Pediatrics, recommends state-level workforce initiatives and integration of mental health care into primary care.