The Facts

Early Detection, Treatment and Family-School Partnerships Work

• Half of all lifetime cases of mental disorders begin by age 14¹. While 21% of all children ages 9 to 17 in the United States have a diagnosable mental or addictive disorder², only 20% of them are identified and receive mental health services each year³.

• Early detection and treatment of mental disorders is imperative for student success. Half of all students ages 14 and older who live with a mental illness drop out of high school—the highest dropout rate of any disability group—and these youth also experience higher suicide and incarceration rates⁴.

Together, we can increase the percentage of students who receive the mental health services they need in order to succeed in school, continue to develop socially, and fully experience the purpose and joys of life.

Learn More: Webinars for Families

• The Link Between Kids' Stress Levels and Technology Use: National PTA and the American Psychological Association co-hosted a webinar for families concerned about the stress constant technology use puts on kids.

• Talking with Teens About Stress Management: National PTA and the American Psychological Association partnered in featuring board certified clinical psychologist, Dr. David Palmiter on the impact of stress on teens' health and how you can model healthy stress management strategies.

• How to Tell When a Kid is Emotionally Struggling: National PTA partnered with the American Psychological Association to host an important conversation about the signs to look out for.
• Caring for Every Child's Mental Health: The Signs, Strategies and Services Families and Schools Need: National PTA partnered with the National Association of School Psychologists to discuss ways to access special education services offered by your school when your child has a mental health disorder.

Additional Resources

• ACT Raising Safe Kids Program
• American Psychological Association Help Center
• American Public Health Association Center for School, Health and Education
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Safe and Healthy Kids and Teens
• CDC: Children's Mental Health Report
• Health & Human Resources: Office of Adolescent Health
• Love Doesn't Have to Hurt (Teen Dating Violence)
• Mental Health America: What Every Child Needs for Good Mental Health
• National Association of School Nurses
• National Association of School Psychologists
• National Center for Children in Poverty: Adolescent Mental Health in the U.S.
• National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) for Teens
• National Institute Of Mental Health (NIMH): Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
• Protecting Our Children from Abuse and Neglect
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Caring for Every Child's Mental Health

¹National Institute of Mental Health Release of landmark and collaborative study conducted by Harvard University, the University of Michigan and the NIMH Intramural Research Program (release dated June 6, 2005 and accessed at nimh.nih.gov) ² U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Insititutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, 1999. ³ U.S. Public Health Service, Report of the Surgeon General's Conference on Children's Mental Health: A National Action Agenda. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services, 2000. ⁴ U.S. Department of Education, Twenty-third annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Washington, D.C., 2001.