43 States Reported A Shortage Of Behavioral Health Professionals

During 2024, 43 of 44 responding state mental health agencies reported a behavioral health workforce shortage when asked in a survey about the adequacy of three major components of state behavioral health systems: state psychiatric hospitals, community mental health services, and behavioral health crisis programs. Across the responding states, 37 reported shortages for all three components, and six reported having a shortage of one or two components. Of the responding states, 41 of the 44 reported a shortage of workers for state psychiatric hospitals.

The states were asked to characterize the severity of the shortages, with options ranging from “unknown . . .