Youth report gives mental health, death stats

Tennessee teens are among the most likely in the nation to receive substance use treatment when needed, and the least likely to receive depression treatment when needed. The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY) released its 2025 State of the Child in Tennessee report earlier this month. It is filled with data on subjects ranging from foster care to infant mortality to mental health. According to the report, one in eight Tennessee teens was classified as "needing substance use treatment within the last year" in 2022 to 2023. The national average was one in nine. Among those teens needing treatment, 45% received it in Tennessee. This ranks Tennessee in the top five in the nation, with the national average being 39%. Only 55% of Tennessee teens thought there was "great risk from smoking one or more packs [of cigarettes] a day" in 2022 to 2023. This is 6% less than the previous year, and the lowest percentage of any state. Despite this, only one in 43 Tennessee teens reported using tobacco in the last month. More than one in 12 said they used a nicotine vape, however. One in five — 20% — of Tennessee teens had a "major depressive episode" within the past year in 2022 to 2023. The national average was 19%. Among those teens needing treatment, 36% received it in Tennessee. This ranks Tennessee 49th in the nation, with the national average being 49%. Someone must be depressed for at least two weeks for it to be classified as "major depressive episode." According to the report, one in 7 Tennessee teens had serious thoughts of suicide within the past year in 2022 to 2023; one in 15 made a suicide plan; and one in 24 made a suicide attempt. Tennessee had its highest rate of child and teen death in 2023 since 2000, with 32.2 out of every 100,000 children and teens dying, according to the report. In the same year, Tennessee had the seventh-highest rate of people aged 1 to 17 dying from homicide in the country. It remains the seventh highest if you narrow it down just to homicides by firearm. "In Tennessee, the rate of infant deaths due to accidental suffocation/strangulation in bed was nearly 2.5 times higher than the national rate and the third highest in the nation [in 2023]," stated the report. Other insights from the report include: The percentage of Tennessee children in poverty decreased from 19.7% in 2022 to 19.1% in 2023. It remains higher than the national average, which was 16% in 2022 and 15.5% in 2023 The median cost of center-based childcare for infants in Tennessee was $13,926 a year. This is more expensive than in-state tuition at all of Tennessee's four-year public universities. In 2025, Tennessee's Bright Futures (formerly Extension of Foster Care Services) accepted 531 out of 826 eligible youths aging out of foster care. This is the highest total and percentage of eligible youths ever served. To read the full or abbreviated report, visit tinyurl.com/tn2025sotc