Medicaid is a significant source of funding for behavioral health care for children and youth in the United States. However, there are few national analyses examining behavioral health care being used by children in Medicaid.

The Children’s Faces of Medicaid Data Series, funded principally by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is designed to address the limited information available on how expenditures are distributed across service types and how patterns of behavioral health care use and expense differ for children covered by Medicaid across aid categories, age groups, gender, and race and ethnicity.

Now in its third edition, the 2018 study examines Medicaid utilization and expenditure claims data for roughly 32 million children and youth who received Medicaid-financed services in 2011.

Examining Children’s Behavioral Health Service Utilization and Expenditures: A Toolkit for States

States interested in analyzing how behavioral health care use and expense vary among Medicaid-insured children within their state can download a toolkit for replicating CHCS’ study using their state data. TOOLKIT OVERVIEW » | CROSSWALKS » WORKBOOKS »


*The National Technical Assistance Network for Children’s Behavioral Health at the University of Maryland is funded by the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) through Contract #HHSS280201500007C. The views, opinions, and content expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of CMHS, SAMHSA, or HHS.