Mental Health Needs of Low-Income Children With Special Health Care Needs

CHIRI™ Issue Brief No. 9

Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) comprise 13.9 percent of all children in the United States. Nearly 22 percent of households with children include at least one child with a special health care need. Early intervention has been shown to minimize the impact of mental health problems in children and significantly reduce the need for more costly interventions. This Issue Brief summarizes a Child Health Insurance Research Initiative (CHIRI™) study that compared the prevalence of mental health problems among CSHCN to family perceptions of mental health needs.

 http://www.ahrq.gov/chiri/chiribrf9/chiribrf9.htm