Mental and Behavioral Health

Behavioral health is an umbrella term that includes mental health and well-being. Examples of behavioral health conditions include:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Attention deficit disorder
• Substance use disorder

Behavioral health conditions can affect us across our lives. The challenges are common. For example:

• Fifty percent of all lifelong mental disorders begin by age 14, according to a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
• According to our National Survey of Children’s Health, in 2022, over 1 in 4 U.S. children ages 3 to 17 had a current, diagnosed mental, emotional, developmental or behavioral condition. And, nearly 1 in 5 did not receive treatment or counseling from a mental health professional in the past year, among the 15% of children who were reported to need such care.
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10 – 14, according to data from the CDC National Vital Statistics System.
• According to the CDC, During 2011-2020, nearly 2 in every 3 U.S. adults reported experiencing at least one traumatic event or circumstance during childhood, known as “adverse childhood experiences.” This can have long-term effects on health, well-being, and life opportunities.
• Mental health conditions are the leading cause of pregnancy-related death, according to data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees in 38 states.

Our approach to mental and behavioral health

The more we can train our Maternal and Child Health (MCH) workforce to screen, intervene, treat, and provide referrals for our MCH populations, the more we improve their health and well-being.

With our committed partners we are:

Improving access to quality services

• Linking women and families to treatment and supports through screening and referral, direct service, and telehealth to prevent and treat behavioral health disorders

Advancing equity

• Providing patient-centered, culturally and linguistically appropriate, community-based services
• Eliminating racial and geographic health disparities by addressing systemic and social inequities

Strengthening the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) workforce

• Training the MCH workforce to integrate culturally and linguistically appropriate, equitable, and trauma-informed best practices

Maximizing impact through leadership, partnership, and stewardship

• Promoting mental, emotional, and behavioral health and healthy development in infants, children, and youth through education, consultation, outreach, and policy innovation

Our investments

At the provider level

Direct services

• Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health
• Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV)

Clinical guidelines

• Women's Preventive Services Guidelines
• Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents

At the workforce training level

• Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Training (PDF - 502 KB)
• Supporting Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Screening & Intervention

At the systems level

• Bullying Prevention
• Children’s Safety Network
• Early Childhood Systems, including
  • Infant Toddler Court Program
  • Rural Health Integration Models for Parents and Children to Thrive (IMPACT) (PDF - 170 KB)
• Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program
• Screening and Treatment for Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
• Screenings and Interventions for Adverse Childhood Experiences in Primary Care Settings Demonstration Project
• Title V MCH Block Grant

At the patient and family level

• Family-to-Family Health Information Centers
• National Maternal Mental Health Hotline 1-833-TLC-MAMA

At the policy and innovation level

• MCHB Challenge Competitions
• Supporting State MCH Policy Innovation Program

Gathering data and tracking progress

Nationally, we track improvements in behavioral health, including measures specific to postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression through:

• National Outcome Measures
• National Performance Measures