Issue Brief 95: Ensuring Every Child Benefits from Quality Improvement Initiatives
The need for children’s behavioral health services has never been more urgent. In 2023, 40% of high school students in the U.S. reported persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, a 33% increase compared to 2013. One in five students said they had seriously considered suicide. Despite these trends, less than half of children with behavioral health needs receive treatment, with even lower access rates in some demographic groups.
All children deserve access to effective behavioral health care. A clear quality improvement framework can increase access and enhance service delivery, but without an explicit and intentional focus on identifying and mitigating differences in access, service quality, and outcomes across various population groups, it can inadvertently make things worse.
Illustrated with real-world examples from CHDI's quality improvement work with Connecticut's youth mobile crisis service, issue brief 95 outlines common challenges and strategies for ensuring that every child benefits from quality improvement initiatives in children's behavioral health.
This issue brief was prepared by CHDI's Kellie Randall, PhD.
Learn more about our quality improvement work in children's behavioral health