About The Study: This survey study found that 28% of youth-serving U.S. mental health facilities offered LGBTQ-specific mental health services in 2020. Although some states had relatively high levels of LGBTQ service availability as a percentage of facilities, many of these states had few facilities available to children per capita. Public mental health facilities were less likely to offer LGBTQ-specific mental health services, a concern given that the cost of care is a barrier to services. The findings suggest a need to expand availability of LGBTQ services for youth in underserved geographic areas and in public mental health care.
Authors: Kristen Choi, Ph.D., R.N., of the UCLA School of Nursing in Los Angeles, is the corresponding author.
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(doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.1473)
