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A New Executive Order and Homelessness and Mental Illness

This brief examines data on homelessness and mental illness against the backdrop of President Trump’s executive order aimed at removing unhoused people from the streets and enabling more involuntary civil commitments for psychiatric institutional care. This approach could reverse a decades-long shift in treatment approaches for people with serious mental illnesses that moved people away from long-term psychiatric institutions toward community-based treatment settings.

Also: Five Key Facts About People Experiencing Homelessness

At the Three-Year Mark, Demand for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Continues to Grow

How Might Changes to the ACA Marketplace Impact Enrollees with Mental Health Conditions?

The Impact of Gun Violence on Children and Adolescents

Mental Health and Substance Use State Fact Sheets

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  • Mental Health Parity at a Crossroads

    More than 25 years after the first federal mental health parity protections were put in place, adequate coverage for behavioral health care remains elusive. This brief explains the federal behavioral health parity requirements and sets out key policy issues.

  • Section 1115 Waiver Watch: Contingency Management

    Of the 800,000 Medicaid enrollees aged 12 to 64 with a diagnosed stimulant use disorder in 2019, about 20% were in states that now have approved 1115 Medicaid waivers for contingency management services.

  • The Landscape of School-Based Mental Health Services

    In the 2024-2025 school year, 18% of students utilized school-based mental health services. This issue brief explores the landscape of mental health services, including services offered, utilization, barriers, and funding, as well as recent federal actions.

  • 5 Key Facts about Medicaid Coverage for Adults with Mental Illness

    Nationwide, an estimated 52 million nonelderly adults live with mental illness, and Medicaid covers nearly one in three (29%) of them, or about 15 million adults.

  • What Federal Medicaid Cuts Could Mean for the Opioid Epidemic

    Medicaid covers 47% of all nonelderly adults with OUD and is the primary coverage source among those receiving treatment services. This brief offers a look at what federal Medicaid spending cuts could mean for this population.

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  • Exploring the Rise in Mental Health Care Use by Demographics and Insurance Status

    Issue Brief

    Many people experience mental health conditions, which raises questions about mental health service utilization patterns and what barriers exist with connecting people to services. This analysis explores the latest trends in utilization of mental health services and how it differs by demographics and insured status. It finds that the share of adults receiving mental health treatment has increased, particularly among young adults.

  • Addressing Youth Mental Health with Social and Emotional Learning in Schools

    Policy Watch

    Schools can play a role in promoting mental health and connecting youth to treatment. One approach that many schools have implemented is social and emotional learning, which teaches skills such as emotional management, resilience, and relationship building. This policy watch discusses how common these programs are in schools, how they are integrated, and what supporters and critics say about social and emotional learning.

  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Two Years After Launch

    Issue Brief

    On July 16, 2022, the federally mandated crisis number, 988, became available to all landline and cell phone users at no charge. Since launch in July 2022, 988 has received 10.8 million calls, texts, and chats. In May 2024, monthly contacts exceeded half a million, up about one-third from a year ago and 80% since May 2022. Despite increased demand for 988 services, national answer rates improved and wait times decreased, though some gains slipped in the second year.

  • Loneliness and Social Support Networks: Findings from the KFF Survey of Racism, Discrimination and Health 

    Poll Finding

    The issues of loneliness and social isolation gained attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, and continue to be associated with poor mental and physical health conditions. One in six (15%) adults report feeling always or often lonely in the past year, with the highest shares among young adults ages 18-29. There is a strong relationship between feelings of loneliness, local support networks, and physical and mental health and well-being, but Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults are somewhat less likely to report strong local support networks compared to their White counterparts.

  • A Look at the Latest Alcohol Death Data and Change Over the Last Decade

    Issue Brief

    A KFF analysis of the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that the national alcohol death rate has risen 70% in the past decade, accounting for 51,191 deaths in 2022 -- up from 27,762 deaths in 2012. The analysis has state-level data showing considerable variation in alcohol death rates across states. Deaths rose sharply during the pandemic, with the steepest increases among adults aged 26 to 44, American Indian and Alaska Native people, and females—all groups that experienced close to, or more than, a 100% rise in alcohol mortality rates since 2012.

  • Utilization of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ Service

    Issue Brief

    This analysis examines performance metrics to assess utilization of 988’s LGBTQ service (which SAMHSA refers to as the LGBTQI+ subnetwork), compared to usage of 988’s main service, from December 2023 to March 2024 (the most current and comprehensive data available). It finds high demand for the specialty services but also certain challenges (e.g. higher call abandonment rates and longer call wait times than for the main 988 service).