Community Health Needs Assessment Theme 8: Parents Are Seeking More Choice and Easier Access.
The eighth theme identified in our 2025 community health needs assessment is that parents want more choice and easier access to diagnostic and treatment services. Frustrated parents say they do not have enough choice in how and where their children receive services for mental and behavioral health needs. While schools are convenient, parents say it is not always an appropriate setting. Some families prefer in-home or community-based providers located outside of the school, as the school itself may be a source of discrimination, bullying, stress, or anxiety for the child or family. The strained school-parent relationship is described in Theme 4.
In our 2025 community health needs assessment, we heard 10 major themes impacting youth mental and behavioral health in St. Louis County. See them all and learn how we conducted this assessment.
Workforce Shortage.
The workforce shortage is the root cause of parents’ limited choices, say providers. In addition, the pandemic accelerated telehealth and reduced access to in-person services. During the past few years, non-profit providers have reported more collaboration to recruit staff and coordinate care regionally, which has improved efficiency and consolidated offerings at the same time.
Low Awareness of Available Services.
Parents report very low awareness of the service options available to them—or believe that such choices are only available to more affluent people. They say wealthier families live closer to more providers, have better health insurance coverage, and pay out-of-pocket for faster diagnostic and treatment services. Parents living in economically depressed areas note how all issues related to healthcare access and choice, including youth mental health, are worse for them. Representatives from immigrant and racial minority communities see few providers who speak their language or share their cultural heritage, which further undermines choice and access to diagnostic and treatment services.
We spoke to more than 300 St. Louisans to understand what needs exist when it comes to youth behavioral health. Learn more about our process.