Persistent Gaps in US Child Mental Healthcare: Household Pulse Survey Findings

Based on U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data collected from June 2023 through September 2024, about one in five U.S. households indicated a need for mental health treatment for at least one child.

Investigators analyzed responses from 173,174 households during that period. In that national snapshot, reported need did not consistently align with reported receipt of care, and the report frames the findings around unmet need and families’ reported difficulty obtaining services.

The analysis estimated three related outcomes: perceived need for child mental health treatment, whether that perceived need was met (treatment receipt vs unmet need), and whether households reported difficulty accessing services.

Among households reporting a need for mental health treatment for at least one child, nearly one quarter of parents said at least one child did not receive the mental health care they needed. In the same framing, this unmet-need signal is described alongside the broader finding that access remained challenging even when families sought care.

Differences by household characteristics were also highlighted with larger treatment receipt gaps in specific groups. The groups named were single-parent households, multi-child households, households with homeschooled children, uninsured households, and households with Medicaid coverage.

Key Takeaways:

• A national household survey analysis reported that a notable share of U.S. households perceived a child mental health treatment need.
• Among households reporting need, a substantial share reported that at least one child did not receive needed mental health mental health care.
• The report highlighted larger reported gaps in several household groups and relayed author discussion of workforce and primary-care integration strategies.