On October 17, 2023, the Youth Mental Health Research Act, legislation developed by APA Services, was introduced in both the House (H.R. 5976opens in new window) and Senate (S. 3060opens in new window). This legislation would authorize $500 million over 5 years for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research partnership, led by the National Institute of Mental Health, that will create a national Youth Mental Health Research Initiative to guide long-term mental health recovery efforts, better target preventive interventions for those at risk of developing mental health challenges, and improve treatments for children. The introduction of this legislation follows the successful direct advocacy of psychologists who educated their members of Congress on the need for investments in science to lead the way out of the youth mental health crisis during APA Services’s June Advocacy Summit.
Primary sponsors in the House are Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-New Jersey), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), Grace Napolitano (D-California), and Thomas Kean (R-New Jersey). Thirty-two House members are listed as cosponsors of H.R. 5976. The companion Senate bill is led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Katie Britt (R-Alabama).
In a joint news releaseopens in new window, House sponsor Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman said, “We have an obligation to ensure a generation of young people receive the help they need. The Youth Mental Health Research Act will help coordinate and encourage collaboration among national research institutes and others to support research in youth mental health that will also focus on social, behavioral, cognitive, and developmental research, while also improving the targeting and delivery of mental health intervention in clinical and community settings, getting care to children where they are.”
Senate sponsor Katie Britt remarked, “Last year, 1 in 3 high school girls said that they considered suicide, and almost 1 in 10 high school students reported actually attempting suicide in the previous 12 months. As a mom, I am proud to introduce this legislation that would support critical research and enable evidence-based solutions to this generational challenge.”
APA CEO Arthur C. Evans, Jr., PhD, was also quoted. “We’ve heard from congressional leaders, the administration, the CDC, the surgeon general and, APA hears from its members every day, about the serious crisis in youth mental health. Science will be critical for leading the way out,” said Evans. “This bipartisan bill will tap the deep expertise in three NIH institutes to develop new knowledge and tools to better prevent and treat mental health disorders in youth, especially for the groups that are most at risk. We thank Senators Klobuchar and Britt, and Representatives Fitzpatrick, Watson Coleman, Kean and Napolitano, the leaders of this bill, for making this research a priority,”
In addition to APA Services, organizations endorsing the bill include the American Psychiatric Association, the Children’s Hospital Association, Mental Health America, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, among others.
Stay tuned for more information from APA Services on how you can encourage your members of Congress to support this legislation. For more information, contact Pat Kobor.