At-large D.C. Councilman David Catania is introducing an ambitious, comprehensive bill that’s meant to prevent youth violence by cracking down on truancy and requiring mental health screening for the District’s children starting in preschool. Catania announced the bill Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of a mass shooting on South Capitol Street that left four teenagers dead. It was found that some of the accused killers were wards of the city’s juvenile justice agency when they allegedly pulled the trigger. Catania said the shooting and the persistence of a mother who lost her child that day inspired him to develop the legislation, which, if passed, will link the city’s patchwork of youth mental health programs and tighten policies on students who skip school.
“The District’s legacy of failure in these areas created the conditions that made tragedy like the one that occurred a year ago possible,” Catania said. “The bill will create the most comprehensive and sophisticated youth mental health screening system in the country and will at long last ensure real enforcement of existing truancy laws.”
