By Joseph Claypoole
WNPA News Group
OLYMPIC —Legislation to form a Washington Youth Suicide Review Team has reached the House floor.
Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, D-Goldendale, is the prime sponsor of the bill, HB 1354, which was introduced Feb. 1. After collaborating with advocacy groups and concerned citizens, two substitute versions have been reviewed and the bill is now before the House.
Mosbrucker’s bill would establish the team to review the circumstances of suicides occurring among youth up to age 24.
The team would review medical records, conduct voluntary home interviews with parents and use other strategies to discover if any common factors exist among young people who commit suicide.
“The goal of the bill is to literally lay out every suicide case under 24 in the state of Washington during 2020,” Mosbrucker said. “And to figure out what’s the nexus because kids are struggling … far more than they used to.”
Changes to the bill focused on increasing privacy protections around medical records and other documents.
The substitute bill also requires the team to increase the range of youth for possible review to 25 and adds a review of access to lethal means to their analysis.
The addition of access to lethal means alongside autopsy reports and other review strategies are extremely important for suicide prevention, Mosbrucker said.
Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, said the Washington Legislative Youth Advisory Council was in strong support of the substitute bill, but asked that youth be included in the review team.
“Very clearly, they just said, ‘This is about us and we need to have a voice,’” Ortiz-Self said.
However, finding a youth tied to the issue who wants to participate is going to be difficult, Mosbrucker said.
“(SHB 1354) says that we can add an additional member and it will be voted on by the team,” Mosbrucker said. “We don’t want to re-trigger (anyone), so that’s my only concern … but, we want to make sure their voice is heard.”
Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, said he thought some Republicans might have concerns about the cost of the program.
Mosbrucker said her team is working on revising costs and expects to present an acceptable proposal when the bill gets to the House Appropriations Committee.
