Legislation To Increase Awareness for Mental Health Supports For Ohio Youth Signed by the Governor
Legislation that will help high school and college students and their families have greater awareness of the state’s 9-8-8 crisis lifeline number – and access to immediate help in times of urgent need – was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on Wednesday, January 8th. Sponsored by State Representative Andrea White (R-Kettering), House Bill 571 will require high schools, colleges and universities and other higher education institutions to include the national/state suicide and crisis lifeline number, 9-8-8, on student identification cards, student planners and electronic portals they are using. In addition, higher education institutions will now be providing information about the availability of the state’s declaration for mental health treatment form that allows students over the age of 18 and all adults to proactively designate someone they trust to help make decisions for them in the event they are unable to do so due to a mental health crisis.
“In recent years there has been a substantial increase in mental health needs in Ohio, especially for our student population both in the K12 and post-secondary spaces,” said White. “Aside from unintentional injuries, suicide is the leading cause of death for college students. It is the leading cause of death for children ages 10-14 and the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10-19. The most staggering statistic of all is one youth ages 10-24 dies by suicide every 34 hours in the State of Ohio.”
“These losses are devastating for families and communities,” White said. “Providing students and their parents with the knowledge that the beginning of access to much-needed help is literally a phone call or text message away and that they can put a plan in place to get the right treatment has the potential to save countless lives and help individuals in times of crisis.”
Over the last several years, Ohio high school have students reported significant increases in a wide array of mental health concerns including youth who felt sad or hopeless, youth who seriously attempted suicide, youth who made a plan about how they would attempt suicide and youth who attempted suicide. According to the Ohio Youth Environments Survey of high school students, one in three Ohio students reported challenges with anxiety, which is higher than the national average. One third of Ohio students report feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and almost 115,000 high school aged youth in Ohio experience depression. In the past year, 22% of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide and one in 10 attempted suicide.
Research shows about 80% of behavioral health crises can in fact be resolved through a phone conversation. The State of Ohio has made significant investments in recent years to the national suicide and crisis lifeline number, 9-8-8 which was officially launched in July of 2022. Ohio currently has 19 call centers with an average of speed of 21 seconds to answer and 90% of the calls made to 988 in Ohio are answered within the state. According to the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services 2023 annual report, there was an average monthly 11,140 calls, texts and chats and a total of 153,231 call made to the lifeline between June 2022 and June 2023.
“I want to thank one of my constituents, Dr. Sallie Wilson Luther, a staunch long-time advocate for mental health and suicide prevention, who shared with me the idea for this bill based on a similar one that passed in South Carolina a few years ago,” White said. “Including this 9-8-8 resource on materials that students and their parents are interacting with on a regular basis will not only help increase their awareness, but also help enable them to find help in crisis for themselves, a friend or a loved one. Additionally, helping ensure college students who are at higher risk for experiencing significant mental health challenges can proactively designate someone to speak into their care as adults will help increase their chances of getting the timely interventions they need in crisis.”
H.B. 571 was amended into Senate Bill 234 late last year and was overwhelmingly passed by both chambers. The bill will take effect the first week of April 2025.