Redefining and Delivering Mental Health Care

Article

Children’s hospitals innovate and expand care options to meet increased needs for mental health care.

Published Oct. 01, 2026|
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For years, mental health care has been built into the fabric of children’s hospitals — not as a separate service line, but as part of caring for all kids, no matter where they interact with the health system.

As the number of children experiencing mental health issues has increased, so has the need for care. Five years ago, the Children’s Hospital Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry declared a national state of emergency in child and adolescent mental health.

Children’s hospitals continue to evolve to meet increased needs and plan ahead by expanding access, strengthening workforce capacity, and creating new programs and designing solutions for children and adolescents.

These strategies often stretch beyond the hospital walls, meeting kids before, during, and after a mental health crisis to ensure they receive essential care at every point in their journey.

View a collection of pediatric hospital strategies below.

About Behavioral Health

Children's hospitals are working together to tackle the behavioral health crisis in the communities they serve.

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Early Intervention

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Changing the Trajectory: An Upstream Model of Care

An integrated developmental and mental health care program provides unique interventions and treatment plans for children and their families.

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5 Benchmarks for Evaluating AI Tools

These guidelines help children’s hospitals and school systems make informed decisions when adopting AI solutions that address youth mental health.

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What Youth Suicide Data Tells Us About Prevention Gaps

The first classifications for kids at risk reveal why some fall through the cracks and how systems can support them sooner.

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Preventing Youth Suicide With Evidence-Based Care

Discover how a quality improvement initiative using the Zero Suicide Framework decreased adolescent patients’ suicidal thoughts by 54% at discharge.

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A Replicable Model for Integrating Behavioral Health

How to turn a fragmented effort into a standardized system across more than a dozen primary care clinics.

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How a Children's Hospital Is Identifying Mental Illness Early

Children's Nebraska is equipping primary care providers to identify mental illness to allow early intervention — and better outcomes.

Advocacy

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5 Children’s Health Statistics Policymakers Need to Know

From coverage and funding to workforce and community support, every decision by policymakers has downstream effects on children, families, and the systems that care for them.

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New Toolkit to Strengthen Medicaid EPSDT Implementation

An upcoming Children’s Hospital Association resource will help pediatric hospitals identify and authorize mental health services and address gaps in state Medicaid implementation.

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Why Medicaid Matters for Children's Mental Health

Threats to Medicaid coverage put youth mental health care at risk. Learn why preserving access for kids and teens is more urgent than ever.

Expanding Access

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7 Ways Children’s Hospitals Support Youth Mental Health

Children's hospitals have expanded the typical boundaries of hospital care to ensure kids receive essential mental health care at every point in their journey.

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Youth Suicide Intervention Clinic Has 100% Success Rate

The pilot clinic trains future providers to save lives today.

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Understanding EPSDT and Why it Matters for Youth Mental Health

EPSDT helps ensure children receive care that supports their physical, mental, and developmental health.

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Behavioral Health Care Continuum All Under One Roof

A new facility with a new approach will provide comprehensive care for the whole child in one place.

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Meeting the Growing Demand for Eating Disorder Care

A new program had a 7,000% increase in patient visits in just two years.

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Trust First: Building Behavioral Health Access with an Indigenous Nation

A personal connection helped expand developmental care for children.

Community Collaborations

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Promoting Healthy Digital Media Habits Within Families

One pediatrician is leading research and program efforts to understand the challenges and benefits of digital media behaviors among families.

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Treating the Effects of Violence

A children’s hospital brings behavioral health care into schools to address widespread violence in its community.

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Prevention Through Intervention: A School-Based Behavioral Health Program

A system of behavioral health centers increases access and intervention for students in more than 280 New York schools.

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A Community Approach to Improving Access to Behavioral Health Services

Learn how one children's hospital sought to build community solutions to address both mental and behavioral health needs, as well as social determinants of health.

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Prevention Through Intervention: A School-Based Behavioral Health Program

A system of behavioral health centers increases access and intervention for students in more than 280 New York schools.

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Preventing Youth Suicide National Collaborative

The collaborative is part of Children Hospital Association's ongoing work to address the youth mental health crisis.

Workforce

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How to Train Staff in De-Escalation and Crisis Management

Asynchronous courses allow hospitals to offer critical violence prevention education to nurses and support staff.

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Standardizing Behavioral Health Care to Improve Safety and Outcomes

By aligning teams around shared tools, real-time communication, and specialized expertise, a children’s hospital achieved significant gains in patient care, staff confidence, and system efficiency.

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A Tiered Response Model for Behavioral Escalations

A scalable strategy brought consistency across hospital sites and improved results.

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De-escalation Training and Documentation Webinar Series

Join CHA's Pediatric Learning Solutions to explore how one hospital created a safer care environment for patients, family, and staff.

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How to Cut OSHA-Recordable Events in Half

A pathway at St. Louis Children’s Hospital decreases workplace violence and length of stay for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

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This Certification Course Increased Retention for Behavioral Health Staff and Outcomes for Patients

After developing an in-house certification program, behavioral health staff turnover fell by half, patient restraints decreased by 44%, and employee engagement skyrocketed.

Emergency Department

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5 Ways to Strengthen Behavioral Safety

Children’s hospitals are using simulation, tiered response teams, and proactive planning to protect patients and staff.

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Mental Health Safety Planning Belongs in the ED

A pediatric emergency physician discusses how evidence-based tools can help providers reshape the ED’s role in mental health care.

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A Documentary on Mental Health: 'The Wait to Nowhere'

This short-form documentary challenges lawmakers to acknowledge the mental health crisis—and act now before more children are lost.