Every spring, as part of our annual Speak Up for Kids campaign, the Child Mind Institute releases a new Children’s Mental Health Report with thought-provoking, incisive and practical information on child and adolescent mental health care, based on reliable studies and emerging research. Each year the report takes a new focus, from the prevalence of mental health disorders to their effects in school to the science of the developing brain.

• 2017 Children’s Mental Health Report
• 2016 Children’s Mental Health Report
• 2015 Children’s Mental Health Report

Our goal in preparing the report is to deepen our understanding of problems, promote effective solutions and, most importantly, spark conversations — around kitchen tables and in the halls of Congress. Though the theme varies from year to year, every report reinforces one key message: mental health disorders are serious, but early intervention can make all the difference in transforming children’s lives.

Our systems of care often miss the children most in need of help, but we can do better with a commitment to expanding education, scientific progress and clinical care. The report is a starting point for those who want to explore this issue, and a guide to changing how we think about childhood mental health and taking action.