Senator Kennedy Wants To Improve Mental Health Services For Students
WASHINGTON – This week, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., introduced the Youth Mental Health Services Act to improve mental health services for students in primary and secondary schools.
“It’s a lot harder being a kid in 2020 than when I was growing up. Young people need helping hands and listening ears as they face new social and societal pressures. Kids deserve reliable access to high-quality mental health resources, and the Youth Mental Health Service Act would make it easier for them to get that support in their communities,” said Kennedy.
The Youth Mental Health Services Act would allow school districts to use Title IV funds authorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act to put in place new mental health resources for students.
The services would follow a model that gives students access to mental health resources in their communities rather than limiting access to schools, which reduces the stigma that often comes with receiving services in a school setting.
The bill also allows states to use their Title IV funds to improve existing mental health services. States would be able to use these funds to do any of the following:
- Promote best practices for mental health first aid, which helps people understand mental illness and supports intervention;
- Help improve and execute emergency planning, which schools often lack;
- Partner with local health agencies to improve the coordination of services; and
- Expand telehealth services through private providers.
Bipartisan companion legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. David Roe, R-Tenn., in early 2019.
The bill text is available here.
In The News
Health
Voting
Mental Health
The Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Online Global Summit, hosted by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, is holding a week-long event, July 20-24, that brings together professionals from sexual abuse and exploitation sectors to discuss how to connect, educate and solve the tangled web of... Read More
In a medical first, researchers harnessed the brain waves of a paralyzed man unable to speak — and turned what he intended to say into sentences on a computer screen. It will take years of additional research but the study, reported Wednesday, marks an important step... Read More
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday that the United States’ aging population will hit the economy “like a ton of bricks” without increased federal aid for at-home elder and disabled care. Raimondo made the comments during an interview with Reuters, in which she also said President... Read More
Feeling constantly under attack? According to a new report on the Mayo Clinic website, it may just be a case of your body naturally treating minor hassles as full-blown threats. But you don’t have to let stress control your life, author Dana Sparks says. When you... Read More
The impact of COVID-19 has been traumatic for many, but for those living with HIV the pandemic may have reawakened feelings of social exclusion and fear with receiving a positive status. “I'm an HIV positive person and I just survived COVID-19 infection. We positive folks can... Read More
WASHINGTON - The House Rules Committee will hold a roundtable examining local innovations in combating hunger on Thursday, at 3:30 p.m. The event is the fifth in a series of committee events highlighting the reality of food insecurity in America and examining the steps Congress and... Read More
