Dear Senator Book,
My name is ( name ). I am a student at ( university name ) pursuing a master's degree in nursing ( state/jurisdiction ). I am writing to request your apport and the approval for the bill called "Substance Abuse and Mental Health" (CS/SB7012). The legislation advocates for:
the expansion of suicide prevention services.
The creation of coordinated specialty programs.
The criminal justice system to share medical information belonging to specific defendants to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
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The maintenance of psychosis medication pertaining to specific defendants.
The establishment of coordinated specialty care programs.
As an advanced practice registered nurse, our priority is to save lives. The establishment of first-episode psychosis programs in the state will ensure that youths and families have access to the services that they need. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), suicide is the second-leading cause of death among individuals aged 10 to 24 (Gattamorta et al., 2016) . The Florida Health Department reported that more than 800 people aged 10 to 24 died from suicide from 2011 to 2013 (Perez et al., 2016) . Today many of our children are being exposed to stressors such as cyberbullying more than any other children in previous generations. They are also growing faster, which leads to them feeling depressed and helpless (Perez et al., 2016) . The passage of this bill will enable the work of the Department of Children and Families to cut across multiple systems such as adolescents involved in the foster care and the juvenile justice system, LGBTQ youth, survivors of suicide attempts, and young adults in mental health, inpatient psychiatric settings, and substance abuse treatment (Gattamorta et al., 2016) . Increased care coordination and collaboration will ensure that every child is receiving the care that they need.
Unpleasant childhood experiences encompass forms of abuse, and particular dysfunctional household settings can influence the development of children in numerous ways (Gattamorta et al., 2016) . These developmental changes may generate compounding adverse effects of the life of children and increase dysfunctional behaviors, including teenage suicidal behaviors. Recent studies estimate that most children suffer from at least one distressing experience (Perez et al., 2016) . These encounters can range from traumatically maladaptive household environments arising from divorce, incarceration, family violence, and drug abuse to distinct types of maltreatment such as abuse or neglect. According to Desrosiers et al., (2018) , adolescents who experience maltreatment or some adverse treatment have been predicted to have challenges in developing personal relationships, school adaptations, and various psychopathic traits through life.
In the U.S., substance abuse remains prevalent among adolescents aged 18 to 25. Empirical research among young adults is vital because the rates of substance abuse are peak during this development period, and early initiation of drug use is linked with greater chances of forming drug dependence (Desrosiers et al., 2018) . Young adults encounter a variety of developmental changes such as social, physical, and cognitive that influences their emotional experience and engagement in dangerous behavior (Perez et al., 2016) . During this time, the affective reactions in emerging adults are enhanced, the impetus for positive arousal increases, and the cognitive control for behavior and emotion is not fully developed. The combination of these factors creates a high propensity for substance abuse in emerging adults to cope with amplified positive or negative emotions (Desrosiers et al., 2018) . Young adults from ethnic minorities may experience increased stress due to exposure to the environment and social stressors such as poverty, stereotyping, violence, and discrimination (Perez et al., 2016) . These may lead to children from ethnic minorities having an increased severity of substance abuse. Hence, it is vital for us as health practitioners to consider the moderation of perceived stressors in substance abuse that is enhancement-related and coping-related.
In recent years, high rates of alcohol consumption have been reported in young adults. According to research, emerging adults who indulge in heavy alcohol consumption experienced more physical and mental concerns such as suicidal ideation, financial hardships, interpersonal behaviors, academic problems, and risky sexual behaviors (Perez et al., 2016) . When compared to light or non-drinkers, young adults who heavily consume alcohol have been found to engage in suicidal behaviors, experience academic problems, and engage in delinquent and aggressive behaviors (Desrosiers et al., 2018) . Our ability as nurses to treat adolescents would be enhanced by understating the factors that may contribute to more severe use. Increased funding in coordinated specialty programs would play a critical role in understanding the unique profiles of heavy alcohol and substance users.
The legislation of this bill will facilitate the initiation of appropriate intervention programs to help with the prevention of the commencement of any childhood adversity. Since childhood experienced, arise from problematic adolescent behaviors, the ability of healthcare practitioners to prevent adverse childhood conditions should be of high priority (Perez et al., 2016) . The prevention of various traumatic experiences early in the life of children, they should be able to develop more positively whole being equipped to avoid problematic behavioral outcomes (Desrosiers et al., 2018) . The proposed provisions of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Bill support the need for proper treatment and intervention programs among adolescents and young adults that focus on co-occurring psychiatric disorders and motivational components that determine motivators or personal reasons to use (Perez et al., 2016) .
I urge you to support the "Substance Abuse and Mental Health" (SB7012) to improve the requirements of health care in the state of Florida Please contact me with any questions you may have about this issue.
Sincerely,
References
Desrosiers, A., Vine, V., & Kershaw, T. (2018). “R U Mad?”: Computerized text analysis of affect in social media relates to stress and substance use among ethnic minority emerging adult males. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping , 32 (1), 109-123. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2018.1539964
Gattamorta, K., Varela, A., McCabe, B., Mena, M., & Santisteban, D. (2016). Psychiatric Symptoms, Parental Attachment, and Reasons for Use as Correlates of Heavy Substance Use Among Treatment-Seeking Hispanic Adolescents. Substance Use & Misuse , 52 (3), 392-400. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2016.1229338
Perez, N., Jennings, W., Piquero, A., & Baglivio, M. (2016). Adverse Childhood Experiences and Suicide Attempts: The Mediating Influence of Personality Development and Problem Behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 45 (8), 1527-1545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0519-x
