OLYMPIA—On Friday 21, the Washington Senate heard a pair of bills, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Callan, D-Issaquah, aimed at combating the escalating rates of youth substance use and suicide in Washington.
“The data is clear, mental health and substance use hurdles are becoming more difficult for our youth to overcome,” said Callan. “We need to step up for our kids and give them the supports they need when and where they need them, so they have the tools they need to navigate the many challenges they face.”
House Bill 2737 broadens the focus of the Children’s Mental Health Work Group to include substance use and suicide prevention and intervention, renaming the organization the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group (CYBHWG). This bill extends the CYBHWG to 2026 and establishes a permanent subcommittee on school-based behavioral health.
House Bill 2589 requires that contact information for the national crisis line is included on student and staff ID cards in public schools. Local or regional intervention and prevention numbers can also be included on these IDs. These hotlines have been shown to provide effective suicide and crisis intervention.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for teens 15 to 19 years old in Washington, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington State Department of Health. Twenty percent of surveyed Washington teens reported thoughts of suicide this past year, and King County has shown a concerning rise in teen death by suicide.
Between mid-June and mid-September of 2019, there were 141 suspected or confirmed deaths by overdose, 32 more than the same period of time in 2018 in King County.