U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced the Kid PROOF Act to improve suicide and overdose prevention for youth.

This legislation would modify an existing grant program to allow health care providers to purchase and distribute lethal means safety supplies (lockboxes or safes) to parents of children at risk of suicide or overdose. In recent years, youth suicide and overdose have increased dramatically across the United States.

The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey show an alarming increase in high school students who report having persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, poor mental health, and having seriously considered attempting suicide. Families across the country need support to prevent their children from making a tragic decision.

Lethal means safety is an evidence-based approach to suicide prevention that focuses on securing the means that a child is considering utilizing for suicide—for example, opioids or a knife. Research shows that when the means of suicidal ideation is properly stored, 95 percent of individuals do not go on to die by suicide, saving lives. The Kid PROOF Act updates the Youth Prevention and Recovery Program in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act to include funding for health care providers to purchase lethal means safety supplies to protect kids at risk of suicide or overdose. Under this legislation, no new grant programs are created and no new funding is added to the program.

“Tragically, our country is in the middle of mental health crisis that has caused a dramatic increase in youth suicide and overdose. As the number of high school students experiencing feelings of sadness and loneliness continues to rise, we must be focused on and intentional about saving lives,” Sen. Luján said. “That’s why I am introducing this bipartisan legislation to protect youth by allowing health care providers to purchase suicide prevention tools to properly store items that can be used for harm. This evidence-based approach is a much-needed guardrail that has been proven to save lives, and it’s critical that we use every tool available to support suicide prevention.”

“Every day, more than 3000 American high schoolers attempt suicide. We have a responsibility to address this critical issue. The Kid PROOF Act would equip more families with effective tools to protect our youth from this preventable tragedy,” Sen. Rubio said.

“Today, members of Congress took an important step to help prevent tragedies at home. The ‘Kid PROOF Act’ will give parents and families the support they need to protect kids by giving grants for lockboxes and safes to keep potentially lethal items away from children and teens. With the grants provided by children’s health care providers, the ‘Kid PROOF Act’ will support families in addressing rising rates of youth suicide and overdose. We commend Senators Ben Ray Luján and Marco Rubio for their leadership in introducing this bipartisan bill. In doing so, they are prioritizing our children and taking an important step to stem violence and youth suicide,” Mark Barden said, co-founder and CEO of the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund.

“AFSP is proud to support the Kid PROOF Act, critical legislation to reduce access to lethal means for our youngest and most vulnerable populations,” Laurel Stine said, J.D., M.A., American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer. “Youth and young adults experience a heightened risk of suicide; according to the CDC, suicide was the third leading cause of death for youth ages 10-19 in 2021. Helping families and communities keep environments safe from lethal means, as an essential and effective component of suicide prevention, is a priority for AFSP, and we stand ready to advocate for the enactment of the Kid PROOF Act.”

“We’re pleased to support the Kid PROOF Act, a vital piece of legislation that would further the safety of children by giving parents the means and tools to store potentially harmful objects,” Christy Gleason said, Vice President of Policy, Advocacy & Campaigns for Save the Children. “Far too often, children face harm that is easily preventable, inhibiting them from living their lives to the fullest. Save the Children believes every child has the right to a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm – and the Kid PROOF Act is important to realizing this bright future for kids.”

“The national emergency in youth mental health continues to put too many children and teens at risk of self-injury, suicide and overdose. Children’s hospitals support the bipartisan Kid PROOF Act, which will help to provide parents and guardians with the resources and tools that they need to keep their children safe, especially during a mental health crisis,” Matthew Cook said, CEO Children’s Hospital Association.

Full text of the bill is available HERE. One pager is available HERE.