Giving Compass' Take:

• In this piece from SSIR, author Eliot Brenner discusses the financial and quality of life costs of youth mental health issues on society.

• Brenner comments on the lack of funding for youth mental health treatment. For philanthropists interested in addressing the issue, where is the first place funds and resources should go?

• To learn about the relationship between mental health and academic success, click here.

One in five children in the United States has a diagnosable mental health condition. Unfortunately, access to care for these children is poor: At least 85 percent of those in need of treatment do not get it. More than half of mental illness emerges before age 14, so getting children the help they need, in addition to ameliorating their immediate suffering, can also prevent future pain. The result of not getting help can be dire, as suicide is now the second leading cause of death for those between ages 10 and 34.

Mental illness exacts a staggering cost on society. It leads most measures of economic burden for noncommunicable diseases. The World Economic Forum issued a report that mental illness has a greater impact on economic output than cancer, heart disease, or diabetes. The report’s authors estimate the worldwide cost of mental illness to be $16 trillion between 2011 and 2030. Other recent research has indicated that untreated anxiety and depression costs society $1.15 trillion annually.

While the economic burden of mental illness is staggering, the total spending devoted to addressing it is shockingly low. In low-income countries, outlays are minuscule: less than 1 percent of total health budgets. But even in high-income countries such as the United States, the expenditure on mental health as a percent of total health budgets is grossly inadequate, given the prevalence of mental illness. Overall, it is widespread in children, its cost to society in terms of pain and suffering and financial burden is enormous, and its overall funding is insufficient.

Read the full article about youth mental health by Eliot Brenner at Stanford Social Innovation Review