Bill Would Put $32 Million To School Mental Health
Feb 28, 2019, 10:10 PM | Updated: Mar 11, 2019, 9:55 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — House bill 373, sponsored by Representative Steve Eliason, (R) of Sandy, would put over 32-million dollars from the state education budget toward mental health.
Dr. Greg Hudnall, director of Hope 4 Utah, a suicide prevention group, said the help is urgently needed.
“There’s a lot of challenges that our young people are facing, with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, mental illnesses,” Hudnall said. “Schools need help.”
Hudnall, who worked with legislators to push the bill, says teens, and even elementary school children, are dealing with more mental health issues than ever before.
“There will never be enough money, so I think there’s a balance,” Hudnall said. “There are things that schools could and should do. There are things that communities need to do, and then there are things that families need to do.”
Representative Steve Eliason says the bill would also support grants for additional counseling families may need outside of school, and would help improve the SafeUT app.
HB 373 passed favorably through a committee Thursday.