2025 Children's of Alabmama Community Health Needs Assessment

CHILD SAFETY

Substance Abuse of Caregivers/Screentime & Social Media —Tied as top concerns (mean score 5.9). Families expressed worry about the impact of parental addiction and online exposure on children’s emotional health and safety.

Suicide —Ranked second, consistent with Alabama’s high youth suicide rate (9 per 100,000, 8th highest nationally).

Firearm Injury —Ranked third; Jefferson County alone treated 387 nonfatal pediatric gunshot injuries in six months of 2023. In 2024, COA treated 69 firearm injuries in the Emergency Department. Focus group discussions reinforced these risks, linking violence exposure, mental health distress, digital stressors, and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as intersecting safety concerns for youth.

RESOURCE ADEQUACY

On a 1–10 scale, respondents rated the adequacy of community child health resources at 5.8 , indicating modest dissatisfaction. Urban respondents rated adequacy slightly higher (6.1) than rural respondents (5.2).

The most frequently cited missing resources were:

• Mental/behavioral health services (35%) • Financial or insurance assistance (15%) • Pediatric and specialty care (19% combined) • Parent education/support (8%) • Affordable childcare, food, and transportation services (6% each).

FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS

Across all four sessions, participants highlighted:

• Scarce behavioral health and specialty care in rural areas • Caregiver fatigue and kinship caregiving without legal authority. • Youth risk behaviors fueled by boredom, peer pressure, and online exposure. • Limited safe spaces and supervision for teens. • Strong trust in schools, churches, clinics, and libraries as community anchors but recognition of their resource constraints.

CROSS-CUTTING THEMES

1. Behavioral Health Crisis —Mental and emotional well-being dominate public concern and are substantiated by rising youth depression, suicide, and trauma rates. 2. Geographic and Economic Barriers —Access to affordable, local pediatric services remains a statewide inequity. 3. Family Stress and Caregiver Support —Economic hardship and kinship care arrangements strain families’ capacity to meet children’s health needs. 4. Youth Risk and Digital Exposure —Firearm injury, substance misuse, and social media pressures demand coordinated prevention strategies. 5. Community Collaboration —Schools, libraries, and clinics offer trusted entry points for outreach but require sustainable funding and integration.

Children’s of Alabama, 2025 CHNA

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