Nearly 80% Of Arizona Voters And Parents Support a Comprehensive Approach To The Youth Mental Health Challenge
New Research Shows Arizonans, Concerned About Youth Mental Health, Reject One-Sized Fits All Solutions
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the new school year begins, the Coalition to Empower Our Future (CEF) has released new research showing how Arizona voters and parents are thinking about the youth mental health challenge. The research shows widespread concern about youth mental health, which Arizonans view as multifaceted and complex, as well as widespread consensus around a comprehensive approach to solving the challenge. It reveals that 77 percent of voters and parents in Arizona favor a comprehensive approach over a narrow one that targets phones and similar devices. Conducted in partnership with Mercury Analytics from June 24 to 29, 2025, the research surveyed 600 registered voters in Arizona — including 320 parents — and included follow-up discussions with 30 participants in early August.
“This research shows what many parents have felt for a long time: the youth mental health challenge is complex. The struggles young people face today aren’t rooted in just one cause and they won’t be solved with just one fix,” said January Contreras, board member of the Coalition to Empower our Future and former Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “As students head back to school in Arizona, families are balancing hope with real concern. We need to listen and respond with a thoughtful, comprehensive strategy that reflects the complexity of what kids and parents are experiencing, and that builds accessible supports in their own local communities.”
Arizona parents and voters voiced their opinions on the state of youth mental health in Arizona:
- “There are too many factors that contribute to the issue. I wouldn’t focus on just one, I would look at how to combat them all.”
- “Because our youth are complicated human beings, we need a multifaceted approach.”
- “Each situation should be approached in a manor suitable to that person and not by a predetermined ‘by-the-book’ approach, because not all solutions will be appropriate for all persons.”
Most Arizona voters and parents personally know young people facing mental health struggles, but report limited awareness of where to find local resources or support. More than six-in-10 say their communities do not have enough resources to adequately address these needs. Respondents overwhelmingly agree that recognizing each young person’s unique mental health experience is essential to the solution.
The research also highlights strong public support for practical measures like improving access to mental health services, providing parents with tools and resources, and training K-12 educators and staff to identify early signs of emotional distress.
CEF’s findings out of Arizona highlight the pressing need for a statewide conversation focused on a comprehensive, inclusive approach to youth mental health that reflects its complexity and invites collaboration from families, educators, and community leaders.
The full Arizona research findings can be found HERE.
About the Coalition to Empower our Future
Coalition to Empower our Future is an organization that aims to bring together a range of voices to fully inform solutions that empower youth, parents, communities and society. The Coalition to Empower our Future supports solutions that are inclusive of the full spectrum of factors impacting youth mental health. Former Montana Governor Steve Bullock, former assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Family Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services January Contreras, and former U.S. Representative Carlos Curbelo serve on the board of directors of the Coalition to Empower our Future. Dr. Caroline Carney, a board-certified psychiatrist and internist, is a health executive and clinician who serves as an expert advisor to the coalition.
To learn more, visit empowerourfuturecoalition.com or follow Coalition to Empower our Future on Facebook, X and YouTube.
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