Proposed bill seeks to address rising suicide rates among black children

Abstract

Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D‐New Jersey) on Dec. 17 introduced the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act of 2019, which proposes over a billion dollars be used to address the suicide rate among black youth, which is increasing faster than among any other racial and ethnic group, CBS News reported. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows suicide attempts by black adolescents rose by 73% between 1991 and 2017, while the rate of injury by attempt rose by 122% for black adolescent boys during that same time period. According to the proposed legislation, the largest sum of money, $650 million, would go to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities — part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — to fund research into mental and physical health disparities between minorities and the rest of the population. Another $100 million would be allotted to the NIH to help build relationships with communities and conduct more patient‐based research. Another $250 million will be used to place more culturally competent mental health services in schools in order to properly treat youth of color. The rest of the money will be used to develop culturally competent curricula for mental health care professionals, help more students of color enter the mental health field and create interprofessional health care teams.