TEEN WELLNESS: The City Council passed a package of bills on Thursday to boost teen mental health. The package would require the police department to notify the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health after a traumatic incident and for the office to disseminate information about available mental health resources like the city’s suicide hotline. Other parts of the package would create a two-year pilot to bring mental health care students, like licensed social worker candidates, into wellness programs in middle and high schools. Other bills would require mental health resources and training for students to create school clubs focused on healthy practices.
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID: Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state is soliciting a vendor to operate a $10 million youth “mental health first aid” program for children and teens experiencing a psychiatric or substance use crisis. The money, administered through the state Office of Mental Health over five years, will go to a nonprofit to develop a certification program to train caregivers, school staff and health and human service workers in responding to emotional distress or overdose among children 12 to 18. The money was included in the state Fiscal Year 2025 budget and a request for proposals was issued in December.
ABORTION PROVIDER PROTECTION: State lawmakers are seeking to protect abortion providers with a bill passed Thursday to shield their identities. The legislation, sponsored by state Senator Shelley Mayer and Assemblywoman Karines Reyes, allows pharmacies to use the provider’s practice name on the label, rather than the provider’s name, when filling prescriptions for abortion medication. The legislation, which must still go to the governor’s desk, is part of Democrats’ efforts to bolster reproductive rights in the state following the end of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
