Utilization of Public Mental Health Services by Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances

Using data from the Intergrated Database (IDB), this 2003 study examined public mental health service utilization for children with serious emotional disturbance (SED) in 1996.  The study found that children with SED represented 9% to 22% of all children with mental service use. Between one half and two thirds of children with SED received psychotropic medication and 20% to 40% had a mental health inpatient or residential stay. Medicaid was the primary funder of mental health services for children with SED and only 2% to 12% of children with SED received services solely through the state mental health agency. 

The report is available from SAMHSA here: http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/ken/pdf/ManagedCare/fulltext.pdf