Mental Health Parity Collaborative

The Mental Health Parity Collaborative is a partnership between The Carter Center’s Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, The Center for Public Integrity, and 20 news outlets in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of Columbia. More than 40 reporters and editors are working to produce stories on mental health care access, parity, and inequities in the U.S.  

©Shutterstock/GrAI

The numbers show that we’re in crisis...

in 5
U.S. Adults experience mental illness each year
million
More than half of U.S. adults with a mental illness don’t receive treatment—a number that has been on the rise since 2011.
in 10 people
who struggle with mental illnesses have no health insurance
%
of children experiencing major depression are not receiving care.

Though stigma still shrouds awareness of mental health issues, they are pervasive and have serious implications, putting people at high risk for suicide and crisis.

In The News

Posters for I Matter, the state's free student therapy program hang in Fort Collins High School. The initiative was launched in 2021, in response to a significant increase in youth mental health needs in Colorado.  ©Leigh Paterson/KUNC

From long wait lists to high costs, finding a therapist in Colorado is harder than it should be

County Behavioral Health Services Director Luke Bergmann speaks to members of the media about the CARE Act program at the County Administration Center in downtown on Sept. 27, 2023./ ©Ariana Drehsler

Law Could Increase Demand for Often-Elusive Addiction Treatment

©Leigh Paterson/KUNC: Students walk past the doors of the school-based health center at Glenwood Springs High School during a passing period on September 19th, 2023. Every student who goes in for a medical or behavioral health appointment is screened for depression, anxiety and self-harm.

One answer to the youth mental health crisis? Asking Colorado students how they’re feeling

©Ariana Drehsler/A portion of a stack of 2022 phone screens sit on the desk of Program Manager Darlene Jackson at the McAlister Institute's Adult Detox in Lemon Grove.

Getting Drug Treatment Beds Is So Hard for Poor It’s Like Winning the Lottery