I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4439
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a program for the
prevention of suicide among Latina adolescents.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 11, 2000
Mrs. NAPOLITANO (for herself, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. SERRANO, Mr.
RODRIGUEZ, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. GONZALEZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr.
PASTOR, Mr. HILL of Indiana, Mr. LARSON, Ms. DELAURO, Mr.
BLAGOJEVICH, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. CROW-
LEY, Mr. MOORE, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. BACA, Mr.
GUTIERREZ, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. REYES, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. MARTINEZ,
Ms. CARSON, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. BECERRA, Mr.
UNDERWOOD, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO´, Ms. SANCHEZ, Ms. WATERS, Mr.
HORN, Mr. CALVERT, Mrs. BONO, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. FILNER, Mr. BER-
MAN, and Mr. DREIER) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a pro-
gram for the prevention of suicide among Latina adoles-
cents.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Latina Adolescent Sui-
cide Prevention Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that:
(1) Latina girls now represent the largest mi-
nority group of girls in the country and are expected
to remain so for the next fifty years as the size of
the Hispanic (Latino) population in this country
continues to increase.
(2) Recent data contained in ‘‘The State of
Hispanic Girls’’ indicate that one in three Latina
adolescents has seriously considered suicide—the
highest rate of any racial or ethnic group in the
country. This rate is one and a half times the rate
of their African-American or non-Hispanic white
counterparts.
(3) Even though national suicide rates among
high school girls have decreased in recent years,
Latina adolescents remain most likely to seriously
consider, make a concrete plan and attempt suicide.
(4) Fewer treatment and prevention services
reach them than any other racial or ethnic group in
the nation.
(5) This lack of adequate resources and support
services for Latina adolescents and their families
through community and school-based programs only
exacerbates the severity of this crisis.
(6) Cultural differences and acculturation
issues and conflicts must be considered and ad-
dressed as major factors influencing the suicide
rates among Latina adolescents.
(7) This suicide crisis is further compounded by
the lack of bi-lingual staff trained to deliver cul-
turally competent services and the scarcity of spe-
cific programs that focus on bolstering self-esteem
and self-confidence within this population group.
(8) Innovative and enhanced suicide prevention
outreach services by community-based organizations
(CBOs) and mental health clinics are the most effec-
tive way to deal with this crisis and can be further
strengthened when CBOs initiate and operate
school-based programs in cooperation with local
school systems and provide school personnel with the
basic training to identify depression and other be-
haviors which, left undiagnosed and untreated, may
lead to suicide.
(9) Increased Federal financial support directly
to local programs and services providing early inter-
vention services to ameliorate identified mental
health problems in Latina adolescents should be con-
sidered a major funding priority.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM FOR PREVENTION
OF LATINA ADOLESCENT SUICIDES.
Title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
290aa et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 520B
the following section:
‘‘SEC. 520C. PREVENTION OF LATINA ADOLESCENT SUI-
CIDES.
‘‘(a) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make
awards of grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts to
public and nonprofit private entities for the purpose of re-
ducing suicide attempts and deaths among Latina adoles-
cents.
‘‘(b) COLLABORATION.— The Secretary shall ensure
that the program under this section is developed in col-
laboration with the relevant institutes at the National In-
stitutes of Health, the Health Resources and Services Ad-
ministration, the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion, and the Administration on Children and Families.
‘‘(c) PREFERENCE.—In making awards under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall give preference to appli-
cants that—
‘‘(1) demonstrate a strong linkage with schools
and are actually supported by and operated within
a school facility or associated setting; and
‘‘(2) involve direct services to Latina adoles-
cents.