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Mental Health First Aid Act of 2015 passes in House
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Following a motion to reconsider, the Mental Health First Aid Act of 2015 recently passed without objection in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The bipartisan legislation was introduced to the House in April 2015 by Reps. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., and Doris Matsui, D-Calif.
The act amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to award grants to begin and sustain mental health first aid training programs and designates categories of individuals to be trained under the program, including first responders, law enforcement personnel, teachers and school administrators, human resources professionals, faith community leaders, nurses and primary care personnel, students enrolled in school, parents of students and veterans.
Under the bill, mental health first aid programs will be required to train these individuals to safely deescalate crisis situations, recognize signs and symptoms of mental illness and refer individuals with early signs of mental illness to mental health services in a timely fashion.
Mental Health First Aid has been successfully implemented in various areas of the United States, according to the National Council for Behavioral Health.
In 2013, approximately 50% of police shootings in Albuquerque involved individuals with signs of mental illness. Following implementation of Mental Health First Aid in New Mexico, the rate has dropped to 1% in 2016.
Inmates with mental illness are no longer placed in solitary confinement in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, which administers Mental Health First Aid training to staff.
“If Congress passes the Mental Health First Aid Act, more first responders and law enforcement officials will receive this valuable training. Mental Health First Aid is a powerful tool proven to help law enforcement avert tragedy,” the National Council for Behavioral Health wrote in a press release.
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