Senate Passes Program To Combat Youth Suicide
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski welcomed Senate passage of legislation that would set up a grant program to states to develop programs to prevent youth suicide.
Murkowski was an original co-sponsor of legislation (S. 2634) that provides grants to states to develop and implement state strategies to reduce both pre-teen, teen and college-age youth suicide rates. The law, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, named in honor of the son of Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, provides funding to education systems, juvenile justice systems, local governments and private, non-profit entities that are engaged in activities focused on mental health outreach and treatment and suicide prevention and intervention.
State and local groups are allowed under the law to fund a variety of programs related to suicide prevention and intervention, including screening programs for youth that identify mental health and behavioral conditions that place youth at risk for suicide. The act also establishes a federal Suicide Technical Assistance Center that will provide guidance to state and local groups to implement state strategies to reduce youth suicide, that aid for data collection and evaluation. The program also provides grants to colleges and universities to establish or improve their mental health outreach and treatment centers to enhance their focus on youth suicide prevention and intervention.
"For a state like Alaska, which leads the nation in youth suicide rates, this program is truly important. It will provide more federal resources so that schools and community groups can do a better job of screening our children who are depressed or mentally at risk of suicidal behavior. This is a vital step to improve teen suicide prevention and intervention efforts," said Murkowski in support of the law that now heads to the House for its review.
The Senator noted that Alaska based on the most recent data has a total suicide rate that is more than double the nation as a whole (25.5 compared to 11.2 per thousand population). Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Alaskans ages 15-24, barely behind all unintentional causes combined (accidents, illness, etc) and the third leading cause for children aged 5 to 14, according to the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics.
The law authorizes $10 million for state grants and $5 million for aid to colleges in FY 2005, $20 million and $7 million grants respectively in 2006, $30 million and $10 million grants respectively in 2007 and more funding in later years, but not to exceed $100 million per year during the life of the suicide prevention program.