Meta’s recent settlement with 47 states comes after years of young people and families speaking out about harms they experienced, and state attorneys general seeking greater accountability from social media companies. The settlement gives states substantial new resources that can be directed toward youth mental health, including crisis intervention, suicide prevention, afterschool and summer programming, digital well-being, outdoor activities, and more.
JED’s experience working with schools and communities across the country has shown that protecting youth mental health and preventing suicide requires a comprehensive approach. This includes strengthening the factors and skills that protect young people before they are struggling, making it easier to recognize and respond when they need help, making sure the environment is safe, ensuring access to effective care, and having strong systems in place when a crisis occurs. We believe states should apply that same approach to these settlement dollars.
States should invest in the capacity of schools, school districts, youth-serving community-based organizations (CBOs), and municipalities to develop comprehensive mental health and suicide prevention strategic plans grounded in best practices. A strategic planning process helps communities build coordinated systems, and align policies, programs, and practices across sectors. This planning also builds durability and strengthens the environments where young people live, learn, and grow, even as staff and leadership change over time.
Invest in connection and belonging as core mental health and suicide prevention strategies. Afterschool and summer programs, mentoring, sports, arts, outdoor activities, and other opportunities for young people to spend meaningful time with peers and trusted adults can strengthen connection, belonging, life skills, and purpose, which research shows helps prevent suicide. States should intentionally invest in these opportunities, particularly in communities where young people have the least access to them, helping these organizations build purposeful plans for protecting the mental health of the youth they serve and reducing their risk for suicide.
Expand the network of people equipped to support young people. Strengthen the capacity of schools and CBOs; equip parents, educators, coaches, mentors, and other trusted adults to recognize and respond to distress. This should also include expanding near-peer approaches that provide connection, early support, and a bridge to additional help when needed.
Improve access to help. Investments in early identification should be paired with clear pathways to support and effective care. States should strengthen services and coordination within and among schools, families, CBOs, mental health care providers, and crisis support, so that when a young person needs help, they actually receive it.
Strengthen crisis and suicide prevention systems, not only crisis services. States should invest in effective crisis response in schools and youth-serving CBOs while also strengthening the systems that can prevent young people from reaching a crisis. This includes suicide prevention planning, postvention, and efforts to reduce access to lethal means.
Use digital well-being investments to build skills and support around young people. The settlement appropriately places responsibility on Meta to implement new safeguards on Facebook and Instagram, though there is still more to do. States should use the settlement’s digital well-being provisions to help young people navigate technology in ways that support their mental health, while equipping families, educators, and other trusted adults to help. That should include practical digital and AI literacy education and skill-building, like healthier technology habits, recognizing when digital experiences are affecting well-being, and knowing when and how to seek support.
Leverage these dollars to build lasting capacity. States and communities should form an interdisciplinary team to oversee the work, assess existing assets and gaps, and identify where settlement dollars can strengthen the systems around young people. These funds should expand, not replace, existing state and local investments in youth mental health and well-being, closing gaps, expanding capacity, and strengthening systems and supports that are already working. Young people should have a meaningful role in those decisions. States should set clear outcomes from the outset, collect data to evaluate outcomes, and use what they learn to strengthen their strategies over time.
The scale of this settlement gives states the chance to create a stronger, more strategic safety net around young people, helping to prevent suicide and protect the emotional well-being of young people across the nation.
There are many examples of this kind of system-strengthening work across the country. The examples below highlight several efforts JED has been involved in across states, education systems, municipalities, and youth-serving organizations:
State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO)
 Education-focused examples
Municipality exampleÂ
CBO examplesÂ
If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, text, call, or chat 988 Lifeline, or text HOME (or HOLA) to 741-741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.
