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Floor Speech
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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the bipartisan Early Action and Responsiveness Lifts Youth Minds Act. This legislation would increase access to early intervention and prevention initiatives in children's mental health.
Our bipartisan bill would allow States to use up to 5 percent of their community mental health services block grant funding for prevention and early intervention activties. The community mental health services block grant, MHBG, administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is currently limited to funding services for those with severe, diagnosed mental illnesses.
The bill would also require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, to provide reports to Congress detailing States' efforts to promote early intervention. HHS would report to Congress every 2 years regarding States' efforts to promote early intervention, including comprehensive information on activities undertaken and outcomes achieved.
Over 20 percent of youth have reported seriously considering suicide in the previous year, with 18 percent having developed a suicide plan, which is one of the most significant risk factors that precipitates an actual attempt. Over 40 percent of teens reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, with a shocking 57 percent of girls reporting this. These statistics regarding suicidality and hopelessness are considerably poorer than ten years ago. The evidence is clear: There is a youth mental health crisis, and it is getting worse. Yet many of these youth in distress do not yet have a diagnosed mental health condition, meaning that MHBG funds can't be used to help them and prevent their symptoms from worsening.
Research shows that intervening early with people who are experiencing mental health challenges can help prevent those challenges from turning more serious--and more costly to treat.
States should have the flexibility to use up to 5 percent of mental health block grant funds for prevention and early intervention activities if they so choose. Without this adjustment, the mental health block grant is missing a valuable opportunity to intervene early and save lives.
I would like to thank Senators Tillis, Kaine, and Murkowski for co- leading this legislation, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this bill as soon as possible. ______
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