The State of Mental Health in America 2023 [downloadable]

Mental Health America (MHA) released new state rankings in its most recent report,  2023 State of Mental Health in America.  

2023 Youth Ranking

The state of California ranks 28th in the 2023 Youth Ranking, which includes all 50 states and District of Columbia on the prevalence of youth mental illness and access to care. States with rankings 1-13 have lower prevalence of mental illness and higher rates of access to care for youth. States with rankings 39-51 indicate that youth have higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care.

Key Findings Involving Youth

Key findings from the report include:

• Over 1 in 10 youth in the U.S. are experiencing depression that is severely impairing their ability to function at school or work, at home, with family, or in their social life. 16.39% of youth (age 12-17) report suffering from at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year. 11.5% of youth (over 2.7 million youth) are experiencing severe major depression.
• 4% of youth in the U.S. reported a substance use disorder in the past year. That is equivalent to over 1.5 million youth in the U.S. who meet the criteria for an illicit drug or alcohol use disorder.
• 59.8% of youth with major depression do not receive any mental health treatment. Asian youth with major depression were least likely to receive specialty mental health care, with 78% reporting they did not receive mental health services in the past year.
• Nationally, only 28% of youth with severe depression receive some consistent treatment (7-25+ visits in a year).  Most (57.3%) youth with severe depression do not receive any care.
• Nationally, 1 in 10 youth who are covered under private insurance do not have coverage for mental or emotional difficulties – totaling over 1.2 million youth. In Arkansas (ranked 51), nearly one-quarter of youth with private insurance do not have coverage for mental health care.
• Only .718 percent of students are identified with emotional disturbance for an individualized education program (IEP). IEPs, with sufficient resources for schools and teachers, are critical for ensuring that youth with disabilities can receive the individualized services, supports, and accommodations to succeed in a school setting.

Read more about the key findings and state rankings. You can view the report on the Mental Health America website or Download a PDF.

Source: Mental Health America | The State of Mental Health in America, https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america | © Copyright 2023 Mental Health America, Inc.