Even before Garrett Smith died, two different U.S. senators were working on getting more funding for mental health services for children and teens. After Garrett's death, they offered to let Garrett's father, Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., sponsor the legislation.
In the end, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act passed the Senate unanimously but was held up in the House by a coalition of Republicans. Smith was disappointed and angry with these members of his own party.
Recently, though, Smith told the Deseret Morning News that he is no longer hurt. After all, he said, the bill did pass. Smith came to believe, "Some people just don't understand mental illness and they are probably no different than I was before we lost Garrett."
In the final bill, S. 2634, Congress not only authorized $82 million over the next three years but also made a long list of findings, including:
More children and young adults die from suicide each year than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke and chronic lung disease combined.
Over 4,000 children and young adults tragically take their lives every year, making suicide the third overall cause of death between the ages of 10 and 24.
From 1952 to 1995, the rate of suicide in children and young adults has tripled.
From 1980 to 1997, the rate of suicide among children ages 10 to 14 increased 109 percent.
The International Association of Counseling Services' accreditation standards recommend one counselor per 1,000 to 1,500 students. According to the 2003 Gallagher's Survey of Counseling Center Directors, the ratio of counselors to students is as high as one counselor per 2,400 students at institutions of higher education with more than 15,000 students.