U.S. Parents Report Gaps in Accessing Mental Health Care for Their Child

Key TakeawaysNearly 20% of U.S. households report a child needing mental health care, but many remain untreatedChildren in homeschooled, multi-child or uninsured families face higher hurdles to getting helpWhile the need is rising, a shortage of providers and complex insurance issues impede access.THURSDAY, Feb. 19, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Despite a growing mental health crisis among America’s youth, the system is still failing a massive number of children, a large study suggests. Nearly one-quarter of children who need mental health treatment are not receiving it, according to the analysis led by researchers at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in Boston. They looked at survey data gathered from more than 173,000 households between June 2023 and September 2024. Researchers found that roughly 1 in 5 homes (20%) had at least one child in need of mental health support. However, for nearly 25% of those families, those needs went unmet. Even among those who did manage to find care, nearly 17% reported that the process was an uphill battle.The research letter, published Feb. 16 in JAMA Pediatrics, found that certain family situations make it much harder to navigate the health care system. Families with multiple children saw a 28% rate of unmet needs, compared to 21% for single-child homes. Single-parent households also struggled more, reporting greater difficulty securing appointments.Education and insurance status also played major roles. Homeschooled children were more likely to have unmet needs (31%) than those in public schools (25%), likely because they lack access to school-based counselors. Financial barriers were also reported: About 40% of families on Medicaid or without insurance reported that they couldn't get care specifically because it was too difficult to access.“Nearly one quarter of parents in U.S. households with children reported that at least one of their children did not receive the mental health care they needed, underscoring persistent gaps in access,” lead author Alyssa Burnett said in a news release. She’s a project manager at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.Researchers noted that common barriers to care include financial costs, limited availability of clinicians and logistical challenges. The data showed that families of all minority races and ethnicities faced higher rates of unmet needs compared to non-Hispanic white households. However, Black households reported less difficulty accessing care (13%) than white households (17%).Experts suggest the solution lies in moving mental health care into the places families already go.“Strategies such as child mental health workforce initiatives and integrating mental health care into primary care should be implemented at the state level to remove barriers to this much-needed care,” senior author Hao Yu, an associate professor of population medicine at the institute, said in a news release.More informationThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides data and tools for improving access to children's mental health care.SOURCES: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, news release, Feb. 16, 2026; JAMA Pediatrics, research letter, Feb. 16, 2026.What This Means For YouIf your child is struggling, start by talking to your pediatrician about options for mental health care..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

U.S. Parents Report Gaps in Accessing Mental Health Care for Their Child

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