IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 434 

Declaring a mental health crisis among youth in the United States, and 

expressing the pressing need for historic investments in mental health 

care for students. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2023 

Mr. MOULTON (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. STEWART, Mr. TRONE, 

and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition 

to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Declaring a mental health crisis among youth in the United 

States, and expressing the pressing need for historic 

investments in mental health care for students. 

Whereas over the past few decades and over the course of the 

pandemic, mental health issues amongst young people 

have steadily become worse; 

Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services 

states that about 49.5 percent of adolescents in the 

United States have faced mental health disorders at some 

point in their lives; 


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Whereas the White House states that over the course of the 

pandemic, emergency room visits due to mental health 

reasons for children ages 5 through 11 increased by 24 

percent and for children ages 12 through 17 increased by 

over 30 percent; 

Whereas the Wisconsin Hospital Association Information 

Center states that over a third, or 37 percent, of high 

school students reported that they experienced poor mental health during the COVID–19 pandemic, and 44 percent reported feeling sad or hopeless during the past 

year; 

Whereas the World Health Organization states that suicide 

is the fourth leading cause of death among 15–19 year 

olds and the second leading cause of death for 10–24 

year olds; 

Whereas the National Institute of Mental Health states that 

the consequences of adolescent mental health crises also 

include higher propensity to engage in substance abuse or 

face anxiety, depression, or other related conditions later 

in life; 

Whereas the National Institutes of Health states that mental 

health crises cause immense financial burdens disproportionately affecting those from lower income or rural 

households; 

Whereas current State mental health interventions often remain mismanaged or difficult to fund; 

Whereas high-risk populations in rural or underfunded areas 

are less exposed to knowledge regarding mental health 

conditions; and 

Whereas high-risk populations in rural or underfunded areas 

are often overlooked as places that may face severe menVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:04 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR434.IH HR434

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tal health crises, such that current infrastructure dedicated toward alleviating youth mental health concerns is 

inequitably distributed: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives recog2 nizes that the United States is currently suffering from 

3 a mental health crisis among its youth, and that in order 

4 to begin mitigating the detrimental effects of this crisis, 

5 the Federal Government must— 

6 (1) encourage States, local educational agencies, 

7 schools, and community organizations to support 

8 students suffering from mental health crises at all 

9 grade levels by— 

10 (A) improving the training given to edu11 cators such that they are better equipped to re12 spond to signs and manifestations of mental 

13 health disorders among students that they are 

14 in direct contact with; 

15 (B) recognizing that young children often 

16 go mis- or undiagnosed when it comes to men17 tal health disorders and therefore lack adequate 

18 support when dealing with mental health crises; 

19 (C) investing greater resources toward on20 campus mental health resources that prioritize 

21 recovery over penalizations against students 

22 dealing with mental health difficulties; 


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1 (D) removing support for ‘‘risk assess2 ment’’ teams that have evidently caused harm 

3 to the mental and emotional well-being of chil4 dren in schools and disproportionately affect 

5 students of color by perpetuating existing stig6 mas that only further their engagement with 

7 law enforcement; 

8 (E) evaluating the preservation of con9 tinuity of care for students whose treatment is 

10 interrupted by changes in legal status, such as 

11 when they turn 18; and 

12 (F) recognizing the unique struggles of un13 documented and lower income students whose 

14 legal and economic status may preclude them 

15 from seeking care, and reducing pathways be16 tween mental health care and criminalization 

17 and deportation; 

18 (2) recognize that mental and physical health 

19 are undoubtedly intertwined, so therefore must be 

20 treated together, and that age is not a determinant 

21 for who may suffer from mental illness, in that chil22 dren can face mental health difficulties as early as 

23 elementary school; 

24 (3) recognize the urgency for increasing public 

25 knowledge on mental health disorders through enVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:04 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR434.IH HR434

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1 couraging Federal, State, and local institutions to 

2 disseminate robust resources regarding the effects 

3 and available treatment options for various mental 

4 health disorders; 

5 (4) address the current public, institutional, 

6 and internalized stigmas associated with mental ill7 ness and thereby their accompanied isolating, preju8 dicial, and discriminatory repercussions by urging 

9 States to adopt peer-to-peer mental health treatment 

10 models that prioritize community openness; 

11 (5) create a comprehensive method to contact 

12 high-risk populations and isolated communities with 

13 little access to knowledge about and resources to 

14 support young people suffering from mental health 

15 disorders; and 

16 (6) address detained children in need who have 

17 repeatedly been overlooked by medical professionals 

18 as suffering from developmental, intellectual, or 

19 other disabilities by providing them with specific 

20 educational and health care services tailored to their 

21 needs, such as— 

22 (A) regularly screening juvenile youth for 

23 mental health conditions that may have been 

24 exacerbated by their time in prison; and 


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1 (B) understanding the relationship between 

2 previous childhood trauma and children’s en3 gagement with law enforcement, and creating 

4 individualized care plans based on this under5 standing. 

Æ 


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