May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This short video about mental health for children and families in Vermont highlights one of the key sections from our yearly State of Vermont’s Children report.
Our report found that from 2018 to 2021, the percentage of Vermont children ages 3 to 8 with anxiety, behavioral/conduct problems, and/or depression rose from 8.7 to 13.8%. During that same time, overall U.S. rates remained stable at 8%. Meanwhile, Vermont has an 18.1% vacancy rate in the workforce of Designated Mental Health Agencies and Specialized Service Agencies (as of October 2022). Our state also has the lowest residential treatment program bed availability in more than two decades.
In addition, the 2022 Vermont Early Childhood Family Needs Assessment highlighted the challenges that families had accessing mental health services due to availability. According to one caregiver, “Children’s mental health services are hard to find, even for a persistent, well educated parent.”
In short, there’s ample evidence that the need for children’s mental health services is growing—both in the number of children requiring services, and the acuity of those needs.
We are at a critical moment in the continuing public health emergency of childhood mental health—a moment that will have long-term consequences based on our action or inaction.
