Schatz Introduces Legislation To Prevent Youth Suicide

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) today introduced legislation to prevent youth suicide, the second leading cause of death for people aged 10-24. The Child Suicide Prevention Act would fund suicide prevention initiatives, ensure health care 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 Senator Schatz. "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 have received the education and training that will allow them to prevent lethal means injuries, deaths, and suicides among their patients; and
• 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.

"I have heard from so many young people about their challenges and struggles with mental health. We can and we must do better for our kids, and I want them to know that there is hope," said Representative Underwood. "Representative Schrier, Senator Schatz, and I introduced the Child Suicide Prevention Act to make sure health care providers are equipped with life-saving training and interventions backed by data. Our legislation takes meaningful action so that young people can get the help they need to lead safe and healthy lives."

In addition to Schatz, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). Companion legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Representatives Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) and Kim Schrier (D-Wash).

Suicide rates among young Americans increased by 52 percent between 2000 and 2021 and nearly 10 percent of youth have reported attempting suicide, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A June 2021 CDC report found a significant increase in emergency department visits for suicide attempts among adolescents aged 12-17 during the pandemic, including a spike of more than 50 percent 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 like 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.

The full text of the legislation is available here.

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