Iowa Senator Tom Harkin has introduced a bill he says will address the need for major improvements in mental health care highlighted by the school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. Harkin, a Democrat, says the bill will reauthorize programs that focus on awareness, prevention and early indetification of mental health conditions, with a focus on schools. “We haven’t really trained teachers and other school people to recognize early onset of mental health problems and to seek appropriate services,” Harkin says. “The kid who is disruptive in school and may be disciplined maybe really does need some mental health services, in terms of what is happening at home or stresses and other things that may affect their lives.”

Harkin introduced the bill in the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pension Comittee he chairs. “The focus on schools I think is appropriate, but my bill doesn’t just do that — I would say the major emphasis is on schools — but it also spills out into other aspects of society also,” Harkin says. He says schools are where the problems may first surface, but there is also training for others who may come into contact with those who need some help. “The other part of my bill also responds by focusing on first responders and training them to recognize mental health problems, and getting them adequately trained,” Harkin explains. “A lot of people just don’t know how to recognize those symptoms.”

Harkin says the “Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act” passed the committee with support from both parties. He says most people can recover from mental health issues with the proper identification and treatment.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald is urging Republican Governor Terry Branstad and state lawmakers to expand Medicaid in Iowa. Fitzgerald, a Democrat, said yesterday that a Medicaid expansion would cost the state less than an alternate plan proposed by Branstad. Fitzgerald is basing his analysis on data from the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency and Senate Democrats’ data.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) during an upcoming trade trip to China. In a press release announcing the Monday meeting, Branstad says he is looking forward to the visit with an “old friend.” Branstad’s ties to Xi date back to a 1985 diplomatic trip that Xi took to Iowa, during Branstad’s first stint as governor. Xi returned to Iowa last February for stops in Muscatine and the Des Moines area.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in eastern Iowa say one person has died in a head-on collision between an ambulance and a vehicle. Yesterday morning’s crash in Davenport involved a Hyundai Tiburon and a medic ambulance. The ambulance was in a non-emergency mode but it was carrying two medics and a patient. Police have not released the deceased driver’s name.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two people face prostitution charges after fighting about payment for a sex act. Twenty-three-year-old Alysia Talbert and 27-year-old Hamed El Mohamd were arrested Wednesday after police received a report about a dispute.