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Davids Introduces Bill to Promote Mental Health, Protect LGBTQ Youth

May 4, 2022

Today, Representative Sharice Davids introduced legislation to improve foster care services and mental health supports for at-risk LGBTQ+ youth. The Pride in Mental Health Act has been endorsed by the Congressional Equality Caucus, The Trevor Project, Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Transgender Equality, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, and GLSEN.

A CDC survey of American teenagers released last month finds that LGBTQ+ students report significantly worse mental health than other students. Nearly half of gay, lesbian and bisexual teens said they considered committing suicide during the pandemic, compared to just 14 percent of their peers.

Additionally, LGBTQ+ youth are overrepresented in foster care—as high as 30.4 percent, according to a 2019 study. The same study found that those kids experienced poorer school performance, higher rates of substance abuse, poorer mental health, and higher rates of suicidal thoughts than non-LGBTQ+ youth. However, there is no comprehensive data on child abuse, neglect, and mental health among this group. The Pride in Mental Health Act addresses those information gaps and works to improve physical and mental health in at-risk youth.

"Mental health is a growing concern for families and communities across the country, and frankly, we are failing many of our most vulnerable children on this issue. When we talk about improving mental health, we're really talking about saving these kids' lives," said Davids. "This bill takes a comprehensive and data-driven approach to tackling the mental health crisis among youth in the LGBTQ+ community."

Specifically, the Pride in Mental Health Act:

  • Closes information gaps by collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in incidences of child abuse and neglect and directing HHS to conduct a survey on the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth specifically.
  • Increases mental health supports for LGBTQ youth by developing mental health resources, training for caregivers, school bullying prevention guidelines and more.
  • Protects at-risk youth by commissioning a report on the mental health and mental health care of LGBTQ+ youth in foster care and other federal social services programs.

The Pride in Mental Health Act is co-sponsored by Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), David Cicilline (RI-01), and Mark Takano (CA-41).

"The Trevor Project applauds the introduction of The Pride in Mental Health Act. This legislation works to protect LGBTQ youth and promote positive mental health among this group that already faces higher risk for negative mental health challenges, including suicide, compared to their peers," said Preston Mitchum (he/him), Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs for The Trevor Project. "We desperately need our federal agencies to better capture the experiences of LGBTQ youth in their research, and this bill calls to do just that. Ultimately, this legislation can help play a crucial role in protecting LGBTQ youth across the country — and advancing both their mental and physical well-being."

"LGBTQ+ youth are overrepresented in the foster care system and among youth that are unstably housed, but the absence of sexual orientation and gender identity measures in data collection makes it challenging to assess the full scope of vulnerabilities and needs of LGBTQ youth including for mental health support," said David Stacy, Government Affairs Director for the Human Rights Campaign. "The Pride in Mental Health Act takes several important steps to address these inequities such as ensuring inclusion of LGBTQ+ youth in research programs and data collection as well as funding training for personnel who work with LGBTQ youth. We are grateful to Rep. Sharice Davids for her leadership in introducing this important legislation."

Davids has focused on improving mental health care since taking office. She has helped secure funding for mental health programs in Wyandotte and Johnson Counties, and has advocated for stronger mental health supports in schools. She also helped get grant funding to local police departments to hire more behavioral health specialists to the force, including the Overland Park Police Department's new Crisis Action Team. This month, she introduced bipartisan legislation to improve opioid misuse prevention among student athletes, who are more often exposed to prescription opioids due to sports-related injuries.