Catania Pledges to Bring Real Change To Youth Mental Health and Truancy Systems.

Washington, D.C. – Today, the District Council’s Committee of the Whole held a hearing on the landmark truancy and youth mental health legislation, “The South Capitol Street Tragedy Memorial Act of 2011.” The legislation would create the most comprehensive school-based youth behavioral health screening system in the nation, as well as improve truancy regulations and prevention processes in the District’s public and public charter school systems.
The legislation is named in memory of the four young people killed in the mass shooting in the 4000 block of South Capitol Street, S.E. on March 30, 2010. Nardyne Jefferies lost her 16-year-old daughter Brishell Jones in the shooting. Shortly after her daughter’s death, she partnered with Councilmember David Catania to begin work on what became a year-long process of crafting the legislation.
“The deaths of Brishell Jones, William Jones III, DeVaughn Boyd, and Tavon Nelson, along with death of Jordan Howe, should serve as a wake-up call,” said Catania. “This bill is an attempt to finally develop solutions to issues which have we, as public officials, have let languish for too long. The interrelated issues of unaddressed mental health disorders, truancy, and youth violence deserve a system-wide focused effort. Our current patchwork system of efforts to address these issues is not working. And in my 13 years on the Council, I have not seen these issues receive the focus they deserve. This is why I authored this legislation, and I look forward to working on it over the next several years.”
Nardyne Jefferies said her advocacy for the legislation was a continuation of her advocacy for her daughter during Brishell’s lifetime. Jefferies called for early interventions of effective behavioral health services in young people’s lives. Councilmember Catania put the stakes plainly: “What we’re fighting for is to give all young people something that has been denied to so many: a future.”
The legislation focuses on two of the leading precursors to crime by young people: truancy and unaddressed youth behavioral health needs. The legislation would implement a youth behavioral health screening system in the District’s public and public charter schools. The screening system would empower teachers, giving them the tools and resources they need to identify and refer students with unmet behavioral health needs. Research shows teachers are the most effective screeners for mental health treatment needs in young people due to their day-to-day interaction with and knowledge of individual students.
For more information on the legislation, visit www.SouthCapitolAct.com.
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