Governor Phil Murphy has approved a recent legislation mandating schools to document child mental health cases, responding to a rise in teenage mental health issues and suicides in the state.
Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, the sponsor of the law, emphasizes the importance of gaining insight into the challenges faced by children. She believes it is crucial to comprehend the factors contributing to the growing prevalence of depression and other mental health disorders among young individuals.
Finding the most effective strategies to stop suicide is the aim in order to save lives. It “focuses on trying to capture what each of our school districts are actually doing in the schools as it pertains to suicide prevention,” the speaker stated.
She mentions that their goal is to discover effective practices employed by schools and share them with others in order to potentially save lives.
“It really helps to formulate what can you do, what’s in our control to do. And these are the things that are definitely in our control, that we can act upon to minimize the negativity around mental health,” Lampitt stated.
“We need to increase opportunities for people to find mental health providers.”
National figures show that between 2008 and 2020, the suicide rate among children aged 12 to 17 rose by 16%.
