Rep. Watson Coleman Introduces Bipartisan Bicameral Youth Mental Health Research Act
Today, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) announced the introduction of the Youth Mental Health Research Act alongside Reps. Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01). Companion legislation will be introduced in the Senate by Senator Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Britt (R-AL).
Throughout the United States, 40% of high school students reported “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” according to CDC data from 2023. Roughly 20% percent reported “seriously considering attempting suicide,” 16% reported making a suicide plan, and 9% reported attempting suicide in the past year. This is a crisis of despair among young people in our country.
The Youth Mental Health Research Act would require the NIH director to establish and lead a Youth Mental Health Research Initiative, in coordination with directors of related institutes under NIH. The initiative will research and deploy new social, behavioral, developmental, and cognitive treatments in both clinical and community settings. The bill also dedicates $100 million in annual funding to support the initiative.
“We have an obligation to ensure young people in this country have the opportunity to live happy, fulfilling lives,” said Rep. Watson Coleman. “The Youth Mental Health Research Act will help coordinate and encourage collaboration among national research institutes and others to support new developments in youth mental health treatment. It will also improve the availability of these treatments in clinical and community settings, meeting the need where it arises. I am grateful to my colleagues in the House and Senate for their partnership on this important issue, and strongly encourage Congress to pass this critical legislation.”
“Over the past few years, a rising number of young people have experienced mental health challenges. To understand how we can best support them, we must assess the scope of this youth mental health crisis and take steps to promote recovery and healing,” said Senator Klobuchar. “Our bipartisan legislation would create a national research initiative to develop evidence-based mental health resources and treatments to address this crisis and ensure young people have the support they need.”
“There are parents across this country who are counting on Congress to step up and address our growing youth mental health crisis,” said Senator Britt.“According to the CDC, one in three high school girls said that they considered death by suicide in 2021, and almost one in ten high schoolers actually attempted death by suicide. I am proud to introduce this legislation that would support critical research and enable evidence-based solutions to this devastating generational challenge. I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance solutions that will allow our children to flourish and ultimately achieve their American Dream.”
“As Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, I believe we have a responsibility not just to respond to today’s crisis, but to build a long-term foundation for better outcomes,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “The Youth Mental Health Research Act takes a proactive approach—leveraging the full capacity of our federal research institutions to identify what works, close persistent gaps, and deliver real solutions to our youth and families. This is not just an investment in data—it’s an investment in a future where no child is left to struggle alone.”
“Now more than ever, adolescents face growing mental health challenges,” said Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. “As a father, I know that nothing matters more to parents than their children’s well-being. This bipartisan bill reaffirms our commitment to investing in vital research for youth mental health, ensuring a healthier future for our children and our nation.”
The Youth Mental Health Research Act is sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; the American Psychological Association; the Trevor Project; the Children's Hospital Association; The Defensive Line; Girls Inc.; the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research; the National Black Justice Coalition; Promly; Sandy Hook Promise; the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide; Soul Survivors of Chicago; and Wise Chipmunk.
“Parents, schools, and health care providers all agree - the U.S. must do more to improve youth mental health,” said Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, CEO of the American Psychological Association. “The Youth Mental Health Research Act will provide the means for the National Institute of Mental Health, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities to work together to develop the tools to prevent and treat mental health disorders in our youth. A bigger problem demands a larger, more collaborative research approach to achieve the most impactful response. We thank Senators Klobuchar and Britt and Representatives Watson Coleman and Kean for continuing to make this research a priority."
"To address the urgent mental health crisis among young people in the United States, government institutions must invest in more research to meet young people where they are with effective interventions,” said Mark Henson, Director of Federal Government Affairs and Advocacy at The Trevor Project. “Given the historic gaps in research among high risk groups, such as LGBTQ+ youth, this bipartisan effort to increase youth mental health research funding and coordination offers a critical step toward ensuring young people all across the country can lead the happy, healthy lives they deserve."
"The NYU McSilver Institute applauds U.S. Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman on her tireless leadership in responding to the critical needs of youth who face mental health challenges," said Rose Pierre-Louis, Executive Director of the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research. "The reality is that mental health impacts young people throughout this country and the Youth Mental Health Research Act is a solution to bringing much needed resources to better understand the disparate needs of young people, improve behavioral health outcomes through evidence based and trauma informed research and advance new tools and effective prevention models that will provide support to youth when they need it most."
"AFSP is proud to endorse the Youth Mental Health Research Act," said Laurel Stine, J.D., M.A., Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. "This legislation will help fund research to support the mental health of children and youth across the country."
“My wife Martha, son Solomon and myself were forced into the world of mental health. When our daughter Ella died by suicide on January 23 of 2018, we learned firsthand the importance of mental health, but especially mental health equity,” said Chris Thomas, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Defensive Line. “During Ella‘s life, she encountered multiple cases of bias, discrimination, trauma, racial trauma, sexual trauma, and physical and racial abuse. Today too many members of our society are hindered by the viruses of racism, sexism, unconscious and implicit bias, and micro-aggressions. This fuels discrimination, prejudicial, and marginalization and can lead to issues of mental illness, substance abuse, and suicide. We need to establish a culture, society, and environment where mental health discussions, learnings, and platforms are as common as our ABCs. Leadership and efforts by the likes of the honorable Bonnie Watson Coleman can and will save lives. We need this now more than ever.”
The full text of the Youth Mental Health Research Act can be found here.