Mental Health

Millions of Americans struggle with their mental health and find mental health care to be inaccessible and unaffordable. In fact, in 2021, more than 1 in 5 Americans had a mental illness. The Center for American Progress analyzes and advocates for comprehensive reforms to both improve access to mental health care and address some of the social drivers of mental health. These include building a thriving workforce of diverse mental health providers, improving affordability of services, and supporting an interdisciplinary approach to help individuals and families have the resources they need to thrive.

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How To Make Schools Safer Without Additional Physical Security Measures Report
Photo shows several students walking in front of a colorful mural.

How To Make Schools Safer Without Additional Physical Security Measures

The newly enacted Bipartisan Safer Communities Act can help schools and districts create safer learning environments without resorting to implementing measures that harden schools.

Emily Katz, Roby Chatterji, Akilah Alleyne

ARPA Funds Continue To Support Community Safety Efforts Through Community Responder Programs Article
A dispatcher speaks to a caller while viewing various computer screens.

ARPA Funds Continue To Support Community Safety Efforts Through Community Responder Programs

With the help of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, governments are expanding their public safety strategies to invest in community responder programs that reduce reliance on law enforcement and provide communities with meaningful emergency management support.

Akua Amaning

Recover, Rebuild, Reform: Stories of Americans Affected by the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act Article

Recover, Rebuild, Reform: Stories of Americans Affected by the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act

This CAP Action collection features stories from people in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire whose lives have been improved by the legislation passed during the Biden administration’s first two years.

the Center for American Progress Action Fund

The Behavioral Health Care Affordability Problem Report
A woman nervously rubs her hands together while speaking about her depression.

The Behavioral Health Care Affordability Problem

Policymakers could make behavioral health care, including mental health services, more affordable and accessible by enforcing network adequacy and parity provisions, lowering patient costs, and making networking with insurers more attractive for providers.

Nicole Rapfogel

Beyond Acronyms Past Event
High school students in a semi-circle from New York City in conversation.

Beyond Acronyms

Honoring the Complex Experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities in K-12 Education

Prioritizing Racial Equity in Student Mental Health Spending Report

Prioritizing Racial Equity in Student Mental Health Spending

States and school districts have rightly prioritized student mental health as they start to spend pandemic recovery dollars, but they must do more to ensure that funding also promotes racial equity.

Abby Quirk

Gun Suicides Among Former and Current Military Members Report
A war veteran sets up flags on the National Mall.

Gun Suicides Among Former and Current Military Members

Rates of gun suicide are particularly high among former and current military members; there are steps that can be taken to address this challenge.

Eugenio Weigend Vargas, Marissa Edmund

Education Policies Need To Address the Unique Needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities Report
A group of young (1st grade) Asian students dressed in colorful traditional clothing, standing in front of a microphone. They are holding sheets of light yellow paper, performing folk poetry for the Hmong American Day celebration at the state capitol.

Education Policies Need To Address the Unique Needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities

The Center for American Progress is conducting new research that uplifts the lived experiences in public education of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. This research will advance CAP’s ongoing work to apply an explicit racial equity lens to K-12 education policymaking.

Roby Chatterji, Jessica Yin

Frequently Asked Questions About Firearm Safe Storage Fact Sheet
A handgun is seen in its case at a gun shop in Delray Beach, Florida, January 2016. (Getty/Joe Raedle)

Frequently Asked Questions About Firearm Safe Storage

Safe storage practices can help to keep children safe, deter gun theft, and avoid preventable gun-related deaths and injuries.

No Shots Fired Report
Weapons seen on display at a gun shop in Virginia. (Getty/Yasin Ozturk)

No Shots Fired

A new CAP analysis finds that robberies and aggravated assaults in which a gun is not fired but is used as a threat occur frequently and have significant impacts on victims in the United States.

Eugenio Weigend Vargas, Rukmani Bhatia

Mental Health Care Was Severely Inequitable, Then Came the Coronavirus Crisis Report
A person stands alone in front of a closed middle school in Philadelphia on April 14, 2020.

Mental Health Care Was Severely Inequitable, Then Came the Coronavirus Crisis

COVID-19 has exposed the disparities in the U.S. mental health system, leaving many Americans without accessible and affordable care as policymakers fail to adequately address the crisis.

Azza Altiraifi, Nicole Rapfogel

The Coronavirus Crisis Is Worsening Racial Inequality Article
People wait in line to receive food at a food bank on April 28, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Getty/Spencer Platt)

The Coronavirus Crisis Is Worsening Racial Inequality

New data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal stark inequities in the social, economic, and mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Connor Maxwell

Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity Fact Sheet

Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity

Alleviating stark disparities in health coverage, chronic health conditions, mental health, and mortality across racial and ethnic groups in the United States will require deliberate and long-term efforts.

Sofia Carratala, Connor Maxwell

Home Visiting: A Lifeline During the Coronavirus Pandemic Article
A mother comforts her 2-month-old daughter in Medford, Massachusetts, on March 27, 2020. (Getty/Erin Clark/The Boston Globe)

Home Visiting: A Lifeline During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Home visiting programs need additional funding and flexibility now to continue serving families remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cristina Novoa

Related Priorities

Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice

Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice

We pursue climate action that meets the crisis’s urgency, creates good-quality jobs, benefits disadvantaged communities, and restores U.S. credibility on the global stage.

Strengthening Health

Strengthening Health

We work to strengthen public health systems and improve health care coverage, access, and affordability.

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