Latino Youth Mental Health Empowerment Act

A national push to reach Latino youth on mental health — school screenings, parent training, and two public studies.

More about this bill

If you are a Latino parent, teen, or teacher, you could see new mental health outreach aimed at your family or school. The federal health department's mental health office would run a national campaign for Hispanic and Latino youth. It would teach the warning signs of mental illness and work to cut the shame around getting help. It could bring workshops and mental health screenings to schools and community centers. Parents, teachers, and school staff could get youth mental health first aid training. Materials would point people to the 988 suicide and crisis line. First, the office would study which past campaign messages worked best, within a year. Congress would allow up to $5 million a year for the campaign, from 2026 through 2030. That money still has to be approved in later spending bills. Two more studies would get $1 million each in 2026. One looks at Latino youth mental health, suicide, and use of the 988 line. The other counts Latino mental health workers and looks at ways to train more. Both reports would be made public within a year of the bill becoming law. Their data would be broken down by group while keeping people's privacy.