Child and Youth Emergency Mental Health Care

Summary

What happens when kids visit hospital emergency rooms for behavioral health concerns? Spoiler alert: The results aren’t pretty. This report spells out exactly how America’s emergency departments are failing young behavioral health patients — and outlines a 10-part, policy-driven prescription for change.  

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Visits on the Rise
• Emergency Departments are Failing to Meet the Needs of Children and Youth with Mental Health Problems
• Effective Interventions and Strategies for Emergency Care are Based on Specialized Training
• 10 Recommended Policy Actions
• Endnotes

Key Takeaway

Emergency departments have become substitute sources for routine behavioral health care

The number of pediatric behavioral health visits that emergency rooms are fielding at the time of this report has jumped 34% — from 565,000 to 756,000 — in just 6 years, according to the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Survey. Despite this increase, emergency departments across America aren’t properly equipped or staffed to care for kids and teens with behavioral health needs.