Schatz co-introduces legislation aimed at preventing youth suicide

Hawai‘i Democrat U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz introduced legislation to prevent youth suicide, the second leading cause of death for people age 10 to 24 years old.

The Child Suicide Prevention Act would fund suicide prevention initiatives, ensure healthcare providers receive training to prevent intentional harm and create a centralized hub to provide safety information to at-risk youth and their support networks.

“Youth suicide is a crisis in Hawai‘i and across America, and we need to do everything we can to get young people help when they need it,” said Schatz in a release about the measure. “This bill provides important training and resources to medical professionals who will be able to deliver timely help and prevent these tragedies.”

Specifically, the Child Suicide Prevention Act would:

• Establish a grant program to provide funding for initiatives that offer youth suicide prevention and lethal means safety education, training and resources to health care professionals.
• Establish a grant program to integrate lethal means safety and suicide prevention topics into curricula at health professional schools to ensure that future nurses, doctors and mental and behavioral health care providers received the education and training that will allow them to prevent lethal means injuries, deaths and suicides among their patients.
• Create a centralized hub to provide important lethal means safety and suicide prevention information to at-risk youth and their family members, health professional schools and health care providers.

In addition to Schatz, the legislation is cosponsored by Democrat U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.

Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Democrat U.S. Reps. Lauren Underwood of Illinois and Kim Schrier of Washington state.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show suicide rates among young Americans increased by 52% between 2000 and 2021; nearly 10% of youth reported attempting suicide.

A June 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report also found a significant increase in emergency department visits for suicide attempts among adolescents age 12 to 17 years old during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a spike of more than 50% among adolescent girls.

A critical opportunity to identify young people at risk is in health care settings, but many health care professionals lack the training or resources to do so.

This bill prepares health care professionals to identify and respond to warning signs by training them in evidence-based suicide prevention practices such as lethal means safety, a practice limiting access to objects that can be used for self-directed violence and providing funding to connect at-risk patients with crisis resources.

“I have heard from so many young people about their challenges and struggles with mental health,” said Underwood in the release. “We can and we must do better for our kids, and I want them to know that there is hope.”

The Illinois congresswoman said she and the other sponsors of the companion measures aim to make sure healthcare providers are equipped with life-saving training and interventions back by data.

“Our legislation takes meaningful action so that young people can get the help they need to lead safe and healthy lives,” she said.

The full text of the legislation is available online.