A Mental Health Bill Everyone Can Agree On

Half of all mental illnesses begin by the time a child turns 14.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 10- to 24-year-olds, and 20% of high school students say they have seriously considered attempting suicide.

Nearly 1 in 5 children in the U.S. lives with a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder.

These aren’t just statistics — they’re signals that we must act earlier, smarter, and with more compassion.

That’s where the EARLY Minds Actcomes in.

This bipartisan bill is a step toward addressing the youth mental health crisis.

Right now, states can only use federal Community Mental Health Block Grant funding for people with severe, diagnosed mental illnesses. The EARLY Minds Act would change that, allowing states to use just 5% of those funds for prevention and early intervention.

That might sound like a small shift, but it could make a big difference.

States would be able to invest in services to identify and help children before their mental health challenges escalate — when support is most effective and least expensive.

Research shows early intervention and prevention efforts improve outcomes, reduce long-term costs, and help kids stay engaged in school, relationships, and life.

Former U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler is urging policymakers to pass the bill and “prioritize smart investments in pediatric mental health, especially for the rural and underserved communities where care is harder to find.”

She says improving access to a full continuum of mental health services for kids is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do.

“We’re not just helping children now,” Herrera Beutler writes. “We’re preventing more costly and complex problems later.”

And when 50% of all mental illnesses start in childhood, we can’t afford to wait.

Read why Jaime Herrera Beutler believes this bipartisan legislation will save kids’ lives and create healthy communities. She is a senior advisor to the Children’s Hospital Association.

The Early Action and Responsiveness Lifts Youth (EARLY) Minds Act was introduced by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Reps. August Pfluger (R-TX), Kathy Castor (D-FL), John Joyce (R-PA), and Kim Schrier (D-WA) to address the growing youth mental health crisis.