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; 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 mental health crises, such that current infrastructure dedicated toward alleviating youth mental health concerns is inequitably distributed: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives recognizes that the United States is currently suffering from a mental health crisis among its youth, and that in order to begin mitigating the detrimental effects of this crisis, the Federal Government must— (1) encourage States, local educational agencies, schools, and community organizations to support students suffering from mental health crises at all grade levels by— (A) improving the training given to educators such that they are better equipped to respond to signs and manifestations of mental health disorders among students that they are in direct contact with; (B) recognizing that young children often go mis- or undiagnosed when it comes to mental health disorders and therefore lack adequate support when dealing with mental health crises; (C) investing greater resources toward on-campus mental health resources that prioritize recovery over penalizations against students dealing with mental health difficulties; (D) removing support for risk assessment (E) evaluating the preservation of continuity of care for students whose treatment is interrupted by changes in legal status, such as when they turn 18; and (F) recognizing the unique struggles of undocumented and lower income students whose legal and economic status may preclude them from seeking care, and reducing pathways between mental health care and criminalization and deportation; (2) recognize that mental and physical health are undoubtedly intertwined, so therefore must be treated together, and that age is not a determinant for who may suffer from mental illness, in that children can face mental health difficulties as early as elementary school; (3) recognize the urgency for increasing public knowledge on mental health disorders through encouraging Federal, State, and local institutions to disseminate robust resources regarding the effects and available treatment options for various mental health disorders; (4) address the current public, institutional, and internalized stigmas associated with mental illness and thereby their accompanied isolating, prejudicial, and discriminatory repercussions by urging States to adopt peer-to-peer mental health treatment models that prioritize community openness; (5) create a comprehensive method to contact high-risk populations and isolated communities with little access to knowledge about and resources to support young people suffering from mental health disorders; and (6) address detained children in need who have repeatedly been overlooked by medical professionals as suffering from developmental, intellectual, or other disabilities by providing them with specific educational and health care services tailored to their needs, such as— (A) regularly screening juvenile youth for mental health conditions that may have been exacerbated by their time in prison; and (B) understanding the relationship between previous childhood trauma and children’s engagement with law enforcement, and creating individualized care plans based on this understanding.

Summary: This resolution recognizes that there is a mental health crisis among youth in the United States and encourages various efforts to address the crisis.