What is it?
A readable measure name and short definition
Indicators are presented in plain language first, with technical context added only when helpful.
Public measures that help show the larger conditions around documented harm.
Indicators are here to add measurable context around cases. They help show whether a documented harm may reflect a broader pattern in a hospital, service system, community, or region.
A number cannot tell the whole story by itself. That is why each indicator is used alongside case records, source notes, and visible limits.
This platform connects what happens in real cases to the larger systems and data used to measure them.
On this page, the connection appears as readable measures linked back to cases, places, time periods, and framework categories.
Every indicator is meant to answer a few plain-language questions.
Why does it matter?
Measurable context around a case or pattern
The point is to show conditions around the harm, not to replace the case record.
How does it connect?
Related cases and framework categories
Indicators can connect to CMS, PRAPARE, Z codes, CHNA work, community conditions, or local context.
Measures linked to the public record.
Behavioral health access
Mental health treatment gaps in the United States
Framing indicator showing that many people with mental health conditions still do not get the treatment they need. It helps explain why a patient in obvious psychiatric distress may be discharged without appropriate evaluation or follow-up.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Mental health treatment gaps in the United States
- Why it matters
- Framing indicator showing that many people with mental health conditions still do not get the treatment they need. It helps explain why a patient in obvious psychiatric distress may be discharged without appropriate evaluation or follow-up.
- Geography
- United States (national)
- Time period
- Current NAMI policy report
- Source
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
- Value
- Framing indicator showing that many people with mental health conditions still do not get the treatment they need. It helps explain why a patient in obvious psychiatric distress may be discharged without appropriate evaluation or follow-up.
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- Denial of Psychiatric Evaluation for Hallucinating Patient
Behavioral health oversight
Facilities named in the Acadia medically unnecessary inpatient settlement
This indicator captures the multi-state facility scope of the federal settlement resolving allegations that Acadia billed for inpatient psychiatric services that were not medically necessary.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Facilities named in the Acadia medically unnecessary inpatient settlement
- Why it matters
- This indicator captures the multi-state facility scope of the federal settlement resolving allegations that Acadia billed for inpatient psychiatric services that were not medically necessary.
- Geography
- Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada (multi-state)
- Time period
- 2014-2017 conduct resolved in 2024 settlement
- Source
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Value
- 6.00 facilities
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- Acadia Healthcare Company: Settlement on Medically Unnecessary Inpatient Services Billing
Care continuity
30-day readmission rate for schizophrenia
National 30-day all-cause readmission rate for schizophrenia from AHRQ HCUP 2010 data.
CMS
- Plain-language name
- 30-day readmission rate for schizophrenia
- Why it matters
- National 30-day all-cause readmission rate for schizophrenia from AHRQ HCUP 2010 data.
- Geography
- United States (national)
- Time period
- 2010
- Source
- AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Statistical Briefs #153 and #154
- Value
- 22.00 percent
- Related framework category
- CMS
- Related cases
- Planned discharge to homeless shelter for patient with schizophrenia | Premature Discharge of Gravely Disabled Patient to Desert
Care continuity
Illinois 30-day readmission to any psychiatric hospital
Statewide 30-day psychiatric hospital readmission rate reported in SAMHSA's 2023 Uniform Reporting System tables for Illinois. This indicator helps show how continuity failures in psychiatric care can quickly lead patients back into crisis-level treatment needs.
CMS
- Plain-language name
- Illinois 30-day readmission to any psychiatric hospital
- Why it matters
- Statewide 30-day psychiatric hospital readmission rate reported in SAMHSA's 2023 Uniform Reporting System tables for Illinois. This indicator helps show how continuity failures in psychiatric care can quickly lead patients back into crisis-level treatment needs.
- Geography
- Illinois (state)
- Time period
- 2023
- Source
- SAMHSA Uniform Reporting System
- Value
- 4.50 percent
- Related framework category
- CMS
- Related cases
- Two-Hour Discharge of Suicidal Patient Despite Involuntary Admission Petition
Child welfare oversight
Alameda County child welfare worker vacancy rate
This indicator captures staffing strain inside Alameda County's child welfare system, where the California State Auditor found rising vacancy rates alongside delayed investigations and inconsistent documentation of services for youth.
Local context
- Plain-language name
- Alameda County child welfare worker vacancy rate
- Why it matters
- This indicator captures staffing strain inside Alameda County's child welfare system, where the California State Auditor found rising vacancy rates alongside delayed investigations and inconsistent documentation of services for youth.
- Geography
- Alameda County, CA (county)
- Time period
- FY 2023-24 audit snapshot
- Source
- California State Auditor
- Value
- 35.00 percent
- Related framework category
- Local context
- Related cases
- Sophia Mason, Age 8, Died Following Repeated Child Welfare System Failures and Missed Intervention Opportunities
Community integration
Louisiana adults with serious mental illness served in nursing facilities
This indicator captures the statewide scale of Louisiana's reliance on nursing facilities to serve adults with serious mental illness instead of community-based alternatives.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Louisiana adults with serious mental illness served in nursing facilities
- Why it matters
- This indicator captures the statewide scale of Louisiana's reliance on nursing facilities to serve adults with serious mental illness instead of community-based alternatives.
- Geography
- Louisiana (state)
- Time period
- 2024 DOJ findings
- Source
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Value
- 4000.00 people
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- Louisiana: Systemic Reliance on High-Volume Nursing Facilities for Serious Mental Illness
Community integration
Missouri recent nursing facility admissions with Assertive Community Treatment in place
This indicator captures how rarely recent Missouri nursing facility admissions involving adults with serious mental illness had Assertive Community Treatment services in place before institutional placement.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Missouri recent nursing facility admissions with Assertive Community Treatment in place
- Why it matters
- This indicator captures how rarely recent Missouri nursing facility admissions involving adults with serious mental illness had Assertive Community Treatment services in place before institutional placement.
- Geography
- Missouri (state)
- Time period
- 2024 DOJ findings
- Source
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Value
- 3.00 percent
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- Missouri: DOJ Settlement on Nursing Facility Pipeline for Adults with Serious Mental Illness
Community integration
South Carolinians with serious mental illness unnecessarily segregated in CRCFs
This indicator captures the statewide scale of unnecessary institutionalization alleged by the U.S. Department of Justice. It reflects how many adults with serious mental illness were living in Community Residential Care Facilities because community-based services were not made available to them.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- South Carolinians with serious mental illness unnecessarily segregated in CRCFs
- Why it matters
- This indicator captures the statewide scale of unnecessary institutionalization alleged by the U.S. Department of Justice. It reflects how many adults with serious mental illness were living in Community Residential Care Facilities because community-based services were not made available to them.
- Geography
- South Carolina (state)
- Time period
- 2024 DOJ complaint
- Source
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Value
- 1000.00 people
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- South Carolina DOJ Settlement Over Unnecessary Institutionalization of Adults With Serious Mental Illness
Corporate compliance oversight
UHS facilities with CIA-era reportable events listed by OIG
Count of UHS facilities listed on the HHS OIG Corporate Integrity Agreement page as having CIA-era reportable events during 2023 and 2024. This indicator does not measure all UHS compliance problems, but it does show that multiple facilities generated reportable events while UHS was under a federal integrity agreement.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- UHS facilities with CIA-era reportable events listed by OIG
- Why it matters
- Count of UHS facilities listed on the HHS OIG Corporate Integrity Agreement page as having CIA-era reportable events during 2023 and 2024. This indicator does not measure all UHS compliance problems, but it does show that multiple facilities generated reportable events while UHS was under a federal integrity agreement.
- Geography
- Universal Health Services (company)
- Time period
- 2023-2024
- Source
- HHS Office of Inspector General
- Value
- 6.00 facilities
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- UHS Behavioral Health Oversight Failures During Corporate Integrity Agreement Period
Criminalization
Criminal justice revolving door for people in behavioral or medical crisis
Framing indicator capturing the documented pattern in which people experiencing untreated mental illness or acute behavioral crisis are repeatedly pulled into jail instead of receiving appropriate medical or community-based care. Used here to contextualize the criminalization of a visibly impaired emergency patient.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Criminal justice revolving door for people in behavioral or medical crisis
- Why it matters
- Framing indicator capturing the documented pattern in which people experiencing untreated mental illness or acute behavioral crisis are repeatedly pulled into jail instead of receiving appropriate medical or community-based care. Used here to contextualize the criminalization of a visibly impaired emergency patient.
- Geography
- United States (national)
- Time period
- NCJRS framing source
- Source
- National Criminal Justice Reference Service
- Value
- Framing indicator capturing the documented pattern in which people experiencing untreated mental illness or acute behavioral crisis are repeatedly pulled into jail instead of receiving appropriate medical or community-based care. Used here to contextualize the criminalization of a visibly impaired emergency patient.
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- 17-Year-Old Foster Youth with Mental Health Needs Fatally Shot by Deputies During Crisis Response | Alameda County, California: DOJ Settlement on Crisis Management and Incarceration Integration | Criminalization of Semi-Conscious Medical Emergency
Crisis response capacity
Louisville-area adults with multiple psychiatric hospital admissions in one year
This indicator captures the scale of repeated psychiatric hospitalization in the Louisville and Jefferson County area when community-based crisis services were not available.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Louisville-area adults with multiple psychiatric hospital admissions in one year
- Why it matters
- This indicator captures the scale of repeated psychiatric hospitalization in the Louisville and Jefferson County area when community-based crisis services were not available.
- Geography
- Jefferson County, KY (county)
- Time period
- 2024 DOJ findings
- Source
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Value
- 1000.00 people
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- Kentucky: DOJ Findings on Louisville Psychiatric Hospitalization Revolving Door
Education integration
Georgia students served in segregated GNETS programs
This indicator captures the statewide scale of the Georgia GNETS segregation case, which described thousands of students being served in separate programs instead of mainstream school settings.
Local context
- Plain-language name
- Georgia students served in segregated GNETS programs
- Why it matters
- This indicator captures the statewide scale of the Georgia GNETS segregation case, which described thousands of students being served in separate programs instead of mainstream school settings.
- Geography
- Georgia (state)
- Time period
- 2024 DOJ case framing
- Source
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Value
- 1000.00 students
- Related framework category
- Local context
- Related cases
- Georgia: GNETS Segregation of Students with Behavioral Disabilities
Healthcare affordability
Commercially insured air ambulance transports that were out of network
This indicator helps show that the bill in this case was not just an isolated pricing anomaly. Air ambulance transports were frequently out of network during the study period, and many patients faced large potential balance bills even though they had little control over the transport decision
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Commercially insured air ambulance transports that were out of network
- Why it matters
- This indicator helps show that the bill in this case was not just an isolated pricing anomaly. Air ambulance transports were frequently out of network during the study period, and many patients faced large potential balance bills even though they had little control over the transport decision
- Geography
- Wyoming (national)
- Time period
- 2014-2017 study
- Source
- Milbank Quarterly / PubMed
- Value
- 75.00 percent
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- The Case of the $489,000 Air Ambulance Ride
Healthcare affordability
Commercially insured air ambulance transports that were out of network
Description pending.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Commercially insured air ambulance transports that were out of network
- Why it matters
- This indicator adds measurable context around the case or pattern.
- Geography
- Wyoming (national)
- Time period
- 2014-2017 study
- Source
- Milbank Quarterly / PubMed
- Value
- 75.00 percent
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- No public cases linked yet.
Housing instability
People experiencing homelessness in Columbus and Franklin County
Point-in-Time count of people experiencing homelessness in Columbus and Franklin County. This indicator provides local housing-system context for cases where a hospital discharge plan would have placed a patient with serious mental illness into homelessness or emergency shelter conditions.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- People experiencing homelessness in Columbus and Franklin County
- Why it matters
- Point-in-Time count of people experiencing homelessness in Columbus and Franklin County. This indicator provides local housing-system context for cases where a hospital discharge plan would have placed a patient with serious mental illness into homelessness or emergency shelter conditions.
- Geography
- Franklin County, OH (county)
- Time period
- January 2025
- Source
- Community Shelter Board
- Value
- 2556.00 people
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- Planned discharge to homeless shelter for patient with schizophrenia
Mental health access
Adults ages 18–44 receiving any mental health treatment
National share of adults ages 18 to 44 who received any mental health treatment in the past 12 months. This provides broad context for how many younger adults interact with the mental health system and how common the need for treatment and continuity of care is in this age group.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Adults ages 18–44 receiving any mental health treatment
- Why it matters
- National share of adults ages 18 to 44 who received any mental health treatment in the past 12 months. This provides broad context for how many younger adults interact with the mental health system and how common the need for treatment and continuity of care is in this age group.
- Geography
- United States (national)
- Time period
- 2021
- Source
- CDC National Center for Health Statistics
- Value
- 23.20 percent
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- Mental Health Crisis Discharge to Closed Greyhound Terminal Before Disappearance of T'Montez Hurt
Mental health access
Uninsured adults with any mental illness receiving treatment
National treatment rate for uninsured nonelderly adults with any mental illness. This indicator helps show how lack of insurance is associated with substantially lower access to mental health treatment, which is directly relevant when a psychiatric facility is accused of refusing transfers because patients were uninsured.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Uninsured adults with any mental illness receiving treatment
- Why it matters
- National treatment rate for uninsured nonelderly adults with any mental illness. This indicator helps show how lack of insurance is associated with substantially lower access to mental health treatment, which is directly relevant when a psychiatric facility is accused of refusing transfers because patients were uninsured.
- Geography
- United States (national)
- Time period
- 2023
- Source
- KFF
- Value
- 37.00 percent
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- Brentwood Behavioral Healthcare Denial of Psychiatric Transfers Based on Uninsured Status
Suicide risk
Suicide deaths in the United States
Public health indicator showing how many people die by suicide and how many adults seriously think about suicide in the United States. It helps place a hospital suicide-crisis discharge in the context of a much larger national safety problem.
Local context
- Plain-language name
- Suicide deaths in the United States
- Why it matters
- Public health indicator showing how many people die by suicide and how many adults seriously think about suicide in the United States. It helps place a hospital suicide-crisis discharge in the context of a much larger national safety problem.
- Geography
- United States (national)
- Time period
- 2023 CDC suicide facts
- Source
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Value
- 49316.00 deaths
- Related framework category
- Local context
- Related cases
- AMA Discharge of High-Risk Suicide Patient Without Capacity Assessment
Trauma care access
National trauma system capability documented by the NTDB
Framing indicator showing that trauma care depends on organized hospital systems, specialty coverage, and reliable transfer pathways. The American College of Surgeons National Trauma Data Bank is used here as a public source documenting the national trauma care system and the importance of timely treatment for injured patients.
Local context
- Plain-language name
- National trauma system capability documented by the NTDB
- Why it matters
- Framing indicator showing that trauma care depends on organized hospital systems, specialty coverage, and reliable transfer pathways. The American College of Surgeons National Trauma Data Bank is used here as a public source documenting the national trauma care system and the importance of timely treatment for injured patients.
- Geography
- United States (national)
- Time period
- Current ACS NTDB program page
- Source
- American College of Surgeons
- Value
- Framing indicator showing that trauma care depends on organized hospital systems, specialty coverage, and reliable transfer pathways. The American College of Surgeons National Trauma Data Bank is used here as a public source documenting the national trauma care system and the importance of timely treatment for injured patients.
- Related framework category
- Local context
- Related cases
- Flowers Hospital, Alabama: Transfer Refusal by On-Call Specialist Despite Capability | Refusal of Specialized Trauma Transfer for Vulnerable Patients
Victim-response disparity
Black female homicide rate compared with White female homicide rate
This indicator shows the national disparity between homicide rates for Black females and White females in 2022.
Local context
- Plain-language name
- Black female homicide rate compared with White female homicide rate
- Why it matters
- This indicator shows the national disparity between homicide rates for Black females and White females in 2022.
- Geography
- United States (national)
- Time period
- 2022 NVDRS homicide rates
- Source
- CDC National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)
- Value
- 4.72 ratio
- Related framework category
- Local context
- Related cases
- Lauren Smith-Fields Case and Alleged Investigative Failure in Bridgeport
Victim-response disparity
Black women and girls as a share of female missing-person entries
This indicator shows how often Black women and girls appeared in FBI missing-person entries compared with all female missing-person entries in 2025.
Local context
- Plain-language name
- Black women and girls as a share of female missing-person entries
- Why it matters
- This indicator shows how often Black women and girls appeared in FBI missing-person entries compared with all female missing-person entries in 2025.
- Geography
- United States (national)
- Time period
- 2025 NCIC entries
- Source
- FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
- Value
- 38.89 percent
- Related framework category
- Local context
- Related cases
- Lauren Smith-Fields Case and Alleged Investigative Failure in Bridgeport
Youth behavioral health access
Adolescents with major depressive episode who did not receive treatment
This indicator captures the national treatment gap for adolescents who experienced a major depressive episode, providing context for cases where youth with known psychiatric risk moved through systems without stable mental health care.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Adolescents with major depressive episode who did not receive treatment
- Why it matters
- This indicator captures the national treatment gap for adolescents who experienced a major depressive episode, providing context for cases where youth with known psychiatric risk moved through systems without stable mental health care.
- Geography
- United States (national)
- Time period
- 2021
- Source
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Value
- 59.40 percent
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- Sage Blair, Minor in State Custody, Experienced Abuse and System Failures Following Mental Health and Identity-Related Crisis | 13-Year-Old Jade Smith Died by Suicide Following Child Welfare Placement and Care Coordination Failures
Youth behavioral health access
Nevada youth mental health access ranking
This indicator captures the access context described in the Nevada settlement, where the state was identified as last nationally for youth mental health access while relying too heavily on institutional settings.
Community condition
- Plain-language name
- Nevada youth mental health access ranking
- Why it matters
- This indicator captures the access context described in the Nevada settlement, where the state was identified as last nationally for youth mental health access while relying too heavily on institutional settings.
- Geography
- Nevada (state)
- Time period
- 2025 DOJ settlement
- Source
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Value
- This indicator captures the access context described in the Nevada settlement, where the state was identified as last nationally for youth mental health access while relying too heavily on institutional settings.
- Related framework category
- Community condition
- Related cases
- Nevada: DOJ Settlement on Youth Medicaid Institutionalization