Washington, DC, April 12, 2018 – The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) has released updated workforce maps illustrating the severe national shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists. The maps specifically show the rate of practicing child and adolescent psychiatrists per 100,000 children aged 0-17 years by county and the average age of child and adolescent psychiatrists per state.

National studies have consistently substantiated the magnitude of mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders in children and adolescents in the United States. AACAP works to reduce the workforce shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists who are trained to provide specialized mental health care to children and families in need.

• 13%-20% of U.S. children - nearly 1 in 5 - have a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder in a given year.
• Only about 20% of children with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders receive care from a specialized mental health care provider.
• 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24.
• Up to 70% of youth in the juvenile justice system suffer from mental health disorders.
• There are approximately 8,300 practicing child and adolescent psychiatrists in the United States.
• Ratios of child and adolescent psychiatrists range by state from 1 to 60 per 100,000 children, with a median of 11 child and adolescent psychiatrists per 100,000 children. This Includes Puerto Rico and District of Columbia

For more information about AACAP’s Workforce Maps, visit AACAP’s website. For questions, please contact AACAP’s Communications Department at communications@aacap.org.

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The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry promotes the healthy development of children, adolescents, and families through advocacy, education, and research. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are the leading physician authority on children’s mental health. For more information, please visit www.aacap.org