BILL REQ. #:  S-0695.2 

Read first time 01/28/13.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to mental health first aid; adding a new section to chapter 71.24 RCW; creating a new section; and making an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that a lack of information about mental health problems amongst the general public leads to stigmatizing attitudes and prevents people from seeking help early and seeking the best sort of help. It also prevents people from providing support to family members, friends, and colleagues because they might not know what to do. This lack of knowledge about mental health problems limits the initial accessibility of evidence-based treatments and leads to a lack of support for people with a mental disorder from family, friends, and other members of the community.
     (2) The focus on training for teachers and educational staff is intended to provide opportunities for early intervention when the first signs of developing mental illness may be recognized in children, teens, and young adults, so that appropriate referrals may be made to evidence-based behavioral health services.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 71.24 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall provide funds for mental health first-aid training targeted at teachers and educational staff. The training will follow the model developed by the department of psychology in Melbourne, Australia. Instruction provided will describe common mental disorders that arise in youth, their possible causes and risk factors, the availability of evidence-based medical, psychological, and alternative treatments, processes for making referrals for behavioral health services, and methods to effectively render assistance in both initial intervention and crisis situations. The department shall collaborate with the office of the superintendent of public school instruction to identify sites and methods of instruction that leverage local resources to the extent possible for the purpose of making the mental health first-aid training broadly available.
     (2) The sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the purposes of this section.