Definition: Estimated percentage of children ages 0-17 with special health care needs (CSHCN) whose parents or other family members did and did not cut back or stop working in the previous 12 months because of the child's health, by complexity of health care needs (e.g., in 2024, 26.4% of California CSHCN with more complex needs had a family member whose employment was impacted by the child's health).
Data Source: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Survey of Children's Health (Nov. 2025).
Footnote: Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) have or are at increased risk for a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition and require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by children generally. CSHCN with 'less complex needs' experience health conditions that are managed primarily through prescription medication; children with 'more complex needs' require additional care, services, or therapies in order to manage their conditions. These estimates are based on a survey of the population and are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. The annotation [!] indicates that the margin of error for the estimate is greater than 5 percentage points but less than 10 percentage points. For more information, see https://www.childhealthdata.org/learn-about-the-nsch/NSCH.
