Governor’s Ongoing Investment Expands Access to Innovative Youth Mental Health First Aid Training To Help Parents and School Staff Support Young People Struggling With Mental Health and Substance Use Issues

Governor Continues Push for Nation-Leading Legislation To Combat Addictive Social Media Feeds and Protect Kids Online in Final Days of Legislative Session

Governor Kathy Hochul on May 28th, met with advocates from the Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS) to highlight her ongoing investments in mental health resources for young New Yorkers, including expanded access to innovative youth and teen Mental Health First Aid training programs. The Governor reiterated her commitment to enacting nation-leading legislation addressing online safety and the harmful impacts of social media in the final weeks of the 2024 State Legislative Session.

“We are working closely with mental health advocates and service providers to ensure young New Yorkers have access to the support they need,” Governor Hochul said. “But even as we continue making progress, I know we still have more work to do. Meeting with advocates and families across the state has only reinforced my commitment to advance legislation to combat addictive social media feeds and protect kids online.”

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On May 28th, at MHANYS’ headquarters, Governor Hochul highlighted her investments to support Mental Health First Aid training programs offered by MHANYS and other organizations statewide to enable New Yorkers to assist friends, family or other community members who experience challenges with mental health or substance use. The State Office of Mental Health has provided $1.5 million to support the organization’s youth and teen Mental Health First Aid programs, which offer age-specific training to either adults or teens so they can support young people who may be facing challenges with mental health or addiction.

As part of her discussion with MHANYS leadership, the Governor also continued to hear about the challenges facing young people today due to excessive and unhealthy use of social media. The Governor is focused on advancing two pieces of legislation by the end of the legislative session in June, including the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act to restrict the addictive features of social media, and the New York Child Data Protection Act to restrict the collection of minors’ personal data by online sites.

This commitment is part of the Governor’s broader effort to address the youth mental health crisis and ensure that young people can get the care and resources they need.

Meeting with advocates and families across the state has only reinforced my commitment to advance legislation to combat addictive social media feeds and protect kids online.”

Governor Kathy Hochul

Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said, “New York State is again leading the way by educating youth to the harmful impact of social media and by holding these companies accountable for their actions. Likewise, we are ensuring our state has robust mental health services and supports our young people can access when they need them. I commend Governor Hochul for her continued focus on youth mental well-being and for strengthening the programs and initiatives young New Yorkers can rely on when they face challenges to their behavioral health.”

CEO of the Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS) Glenn Liebman said,“Governor Hochul’s deep commitment to mental health programming has had transformative impacts for young New Yorkers in our community and throughout the state. As we continue our work, we hear often from young people and their families about the challenges regarding excessive social media use – and we applaud the Governor’s focus on addressing this issue as quickly as possible.”

NAMI New York State Executive Director Sharon Horton said, “Governor Hochul's leadership to improve mental health care for all New Yorkers, including our most vulnerable population, our youth, is exemplary. We are proud to support the Governor’s efforts, as New York sets the national standard to address the pervasive issues arising from social media use and barriers to accessing mental health services. NAMI-NYS stands unified with Governor Hochul in our joint commitment to work toward a future where every young person lives a healthy, fulfilling life supported by a community that cares.”

Just as physical first aid training such as CPR helps to assist someone having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid enables New Yorkers to assist friends, family or other community members who experience challenges with mental health or substance use. Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches individuals how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among children and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18, while teen Mental Health First Aid focuses on teaching teens between the ages 15 and 18 on how to support a friend or classmate with this evidence-based curriculum.

The work with MHANYS has resulted in the certification of 42 new youth instructors for the youth Mental Health First Aid, with an additional 16 expected to be trained by the end of June and the ability to reach more than 5,000 adults with this curriculum. The organization will have also trained nearly 30 new instructors for the teen Mental Health First Aid curriculum.

OMH is also investing $200,000 to develop a pilot program to educate 48 trainers in Mental Health First Aid for Higher Education at up to a half dozen college campuses across New York State. These trainers will be able to teach this curriculum to roughly 4,300 others at these colleges, including students, staff and faculty.

Additionally, as part of Governor Hochul’s focus on youth mental health, OMH is developing social media resources for youth and caregivers to support young people and the adults in their lives in navigating this modern tool and its effects. These educational resources will include an evidence-based educational series around digital wellness tailored for caregivers, as well as resources for students that cover critical topics such as the risks of social media use, understanding privacy and protecting personal information, and reporting cyberbullying and online abuse and exploitation.

In the FY25 Enacted Budget, Governor Hochul expanded mental health support for children across the state, fulfilling an agenda she outlined in her State of the State address in January. This new state investment provides $2 million to expand peer-to-peer mental wellness efforts among young people across the state, including training programs like Mental Health First Aid.

The Budget also provides $20 million in start-up funding for school-based mental health clinics and a rolling application process to expedite these awards, which were previously secured through the state procurement process. This initiative builds on the $5.1 million in state funding awarded in November to support 137 new school-based clinics –including 82 at high-needs schools –and bringing the total number to more than 1,200 statewide.

Governor Hochul also conducted a state-wide listening tour with young New Yorkers and hosted the first-ever state Summit on Youth Mental Health. Following the June 2023 summit, the state released a Youth Mental Health Listening Tour Report, which highlighted some of the key themes incorporated in the recommendations provided by more than 200 participants statewide.