Mental Health

  • Youth Suicide Rates

    One of DCYF’s health goals is for youth to experience positive behavioral and mental health. Trends in mental health over the past decade show an increase in rates of suicide and attempted suicide. Although rates began decreasing after 2021, in 2023 the rate of youth suicide and attempted suicide was still nearly 500% higher than it was ten years prior.

    Rate of Suicide and Suicide Attempts per 100,000 Adolescents Age 10-17, 2013-2023

      Line graph showing the Washington state rate of suicide and suicide attempts per 1000,000 adolescents age 10-17 for the years 2013-2023. The rate climbed steadily from 67 per 100,000 adolescents in 2013 to a peak of 414 per 100,000 in 2021. Between 2022 and 2023 the rate of adolescent suicide and suicide attempts decreased to 321 per 100,000

    Suicide and Suicide Attempts per 100,000 Adolescents Age 10-17, 5 Year Rate, 2019-2023

      Map of Washington state showing the 5-year rate of suicide and suicide attempts, per 100,000 adolescents age 10-17, by county, for 2019-2023. Rates ranged from a low of 56 per 100,000 suicides and suicide attempts in Asotin county to a high of 841 in Spokane county. The King county rate was 326, the Pierce county rate was 382, the Snohomish county rate was 360, and Clark county had 88 suicides and suicide attempts per 100,000 adolescents
     
    Child Outcome Goal
    Mental Health
    Youth

  • Adult Support when Depressed

    In the agency's efforts to improve and support the resilience of children, youth, and families in Washington, DCYF has set a goal that children and youth are supported by healthy relationships with adults. One way to measure this is by tracking the percentage of youth who report having support from adults when they are feeling sad or depressed. Youth who live with their parents/guardians are more likely to report having adult support when sad or depressed than youth who do not live with their parents/guardians.

    10th Graders with Adult Support when Depressed, by Living Situation, 2023

      Bar chart showing percent of 10th graders in 2023 who had adult support when they were depressed, by whether they lived with their parents/guardians. That year, when they were depressed, 59.9% of those who lived with their parents/guardians had adult support, while only 47.5% of those who did not live with their parents/guardians had it
    Child Outcome Goal
    Mental Health
    Youth

  • Foster Care and Mental Health

    A DCYF strategic priority is to improve the quality and availability of provider services. As an outcome indicator, we are monitoring the needs and provided treatment of children and youth in foster care. Research shows that exposure to traumatic events and chronic stress — such as poverty, housing instability, family conflict, abuse and neglect, and exposure to caregivers’ mental illness or substance use disorder — contribute to the greater behavioral health needs of children and youth experiencing out-of-home care.

    READ THE REPORT FROM THE RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

    Needs and Treatment of Children and Youth in Foster Care, SFY 2014-2021

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    Child Welfare
    Mental Health
    Strategic Priority Outcome

  • Youth Depression

    The Healthy Youth Survey asks youth whether, over the past year, they ever felt so sad or hopeless, almost every day for two weeks or more in a row, that they stopped doing some of their usual activities. Results show that youth who live with their parents/guardians are less likely to report having been depressed than youth not living with their parents/guardians.

    10th Graders Reporting Depression, by Living Situation, 2023

      Bar chart showing percent of 10th graders in 2023 who had been depressed in the past year, by whether they lived with their parents/guardians. That year, 29.2% of those who lived with their parents/guardians had been depressed, while 47.7% of those who did not live with their parents/guardians had been depressed
    Child Outcome Goal
    Child Welfare
    Mental Health
    Youth