Between 11 and 20 percent of all children in the country are estimated to have diagnosable emotional or behavioral problems. Children are affected by such conditions as deficit disorder, depression and schizophrenia. Major depression is the leading cause of disability among adults throughout the world - greater than traffic accidents or heart disease.
Mental disorders are the second leading cause of disability among young adults.
Undetected or untreated mental and emotional disorders lead to great risks for such things as failure in school, dropping out, drug use and HIV infection. Nearly 50 percent of all students with mental or emotional disorders drop out of high school. Twenty percent are arrested at least once while students. A frequent cause of suicide is untreated major depression. However, many others do not have problems detected until they enter the juvenile probation or child welfare programs.