Two new studies on extensive waitlists and unmet need for children’s mental health (MH) and substance use disorder (SUD) outpatient services underscore the need to invest $195 million to reform the children’s behavioral health outpatient system. 

New York, NY – The Campaign for Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids (HMHK) applauds Governor Hochul’s ongoing prioritization of children’s access to behavioral health, and we are pleased to see support for youth through programs such as teen mental health first aid and mental health services in after-school programs. However, we are deeply disappointed that her State of the State address included no clear investments in the children’s outpatient behavioral health system, particularly in light of two new studies indicating massive unmet need and widespread waitlists for these services.  We urge the Governor to direct $195M in funding for outpatient care in her Executive Budget proposal that would directly improve access to services for thousands of young people and families across the state.   

In the fall of 2024, the HMHK Campaign conducted an access-to-care survey of children’s outpatient providers in Long Island, New York City, Mid-Hudson, Capital District, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier, Western New York, Finger Lakes, Central New York, and the North Country. The full analysis can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/yc34wtex. This statewide study found striking and widespread waitlists and delays in care, including the following: 

A majority of Article 31 Outpatient Mental Health Clinics report children and families waiting for services: 

A majority of Children and Family Treatment and Support (CFTSS) therapeutic service providers report children and families waiting for services: 

A majority of Children and Family Treatment and Support (CFTSS) Peer Services providers report children and families waiting for services: 

Moreover, an HMHK study completed in October 2024 found that at most, 1 in 4 New York children covered by Medicaid are accessing the outpatient behavioral health (mental health and/or substance use disorder) services they need. 

3 in 4 New York State Children Who Need Behavioral Health Care Are Not Receiving Critical Services: 

These studies underscore the urgency of enhancing the capacity of the children’s outpatient mental health and SUD system by investing $195 million to enhance and reform rates for a continuum of outpatient behavioral health services. Without these critical investments, New York’s behavioral health workforce will continue to decline, service capacity for children will continue to shrink, and New York’s children will sit on longer waitlists while their unmet mental health needs become deeper, more complex, and more difficult and costly to treat. If these reforms are enacted, community behavioral health providers could hire over 1,300 additional clinicians and New York’s outpatient system could serve over 26,000 additional children. 

You can find out more about the HMHK rate reform proposal at https://tinyurl.com/2y5ahnwv. 

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ABOUT 

The Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids Campaign is a statewide coalition of behavioral health providers, advocates, and family organizations that has joined together to create the public and political will necessary to ensure that all children and adolescents in New York receive the high-quality behavioral health services they need.