“To address mental health issues for youth, particularly youth of color, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section amends the Primary and Behavioral Health Care grant program (i.e., grants to community health centers, rural health clinics, and other primary care settings to promote integration of substance use disorder and mental health treatment with primary care) by (1) authorizing the Secretary, as appropriate, to give special consideration in grant awards to entities serving a high proportion of racial and ethnic minority groups; (2) redesignating subsections (d) through (i) as subsections (e) through (j) and making conforming changes to cross-references; and (3) increasing authorized funding to $60 million for FY2025 and $80 million for each of FY2026 through 2031 (from $60 million for each of FY2023 through 2027).
This section directs the Director of the National Institutes of Health, in consultation with the Directors of the National Institute of Mental Health and National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, to enter into an arrangement not later than 9 months after enactment with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (or, if they decline, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute or another entity) to conduct a study on mental health disparities research gaps in racial and ethnic minority groups (as defined in section 1707(g) of the Public Health Service Act) and submit a report to Congress. The report must include (1) a compilation of information on the prevalence of mental health outcomes in such groups, (2) an assessment of the impact of exposure to community violence, adverse childhood experiences, structural bias, and other psychological traumas on mental health outcomes in such groups, and (3) potential recommendations to remedy the research gap. If no arrangement is made, the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality must conduct the study and submit the report.
This section revises the Minority Fellowship Program—under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services awards fellowships, including stipends, for postbaccalaureate training (e.g., master's and doctoral degrees) to increase culturally competent mental and substance use disorder professionals serving racial and ethnic minority populations—by (1) authorizing use of program funds for activities to develop and disseminate best practices or core competencies addressing mental health disparities among such populations, including forming expert committees or working groups from accredited health professions schools, planning national workshops for public input, promoting their use in undergraduate and graduate training programs nationwide, and establishing external advisory boards; and (2) extending authorization of appropriations of $25 million annually through FY2031 (from FY2027).
This section establishes a behavioral and mental health outreach and education strategy for racial and ethnic minority groups (as defined in section 1707(g) of the Public Health Service Act). The Secretary of Health and Human Services must develop and implement the strategy, in consultation with relevant advocacy and behavioral and mental health organizations, to promote behavioral and mental health, reduce stigma associated with mental health conditions and substance use disorders, and meet diverse cultural, linguistic, developmental, and age-related needs of such groups. The strategy must (1) increase awareness of common mental illness symptoms within at-risk subgroups; (2) provide information on evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions and treatments; (3) engage service recipients, community members (including adolescents and young adults), and others in materials development and implementation; and (4) promote a comprehensive public health approach addressing the intersection of behavioral and physical health. Beginning one year after enactment, and annually thereafter for five years, the Secretary must report to Congress and publicly on the strategy's impact on relevant behavioral and mental health outcomes. The section authorizes $20 million for each of FY2026 through FY2031.
This section authorizes appropriations of $150 million for the National Institutes of Health for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031, in addition to amounts otherwise authorized, to (1) build relations with communities and conduct or support clinical research, including clinical research on racial or ethnic disparities in physical and mental health; and (2) carry out the Strategic Framework for Addressing Youth Mental Health Disparities developed by the National Institute of Mental Health. In this section, clinical research has the meaning given the term in section 409 of the Public Health Service Act (i.e., patient-oriented clinical research conducted with human subjects, or research on the causes and consequences of disease in human populations involving material of human origin).
This section authorizes an additional $750 million for the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031.