New Mental Health Legislation Signed Into Law
The omnibus spending package signed into law on December 29 includes a package of mental health and substance use disorder programs and initiatives called the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022.
Enactment of this legislation followed months of bipartisan work in both the House and Senate. The House passed related legislation (H.R. 7666) on June 22 by a vote of 402-20. The Senate Finance Committee held several hearings and released several bipartisan drafts of related legislation, much of which made it into the final package. It was a big win for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), who spoke about the issue during VFA’s mental health briefing on November 29.
Although the legislation does not address the specific needs of foster and adoptive youth, a majority of children in foster care suffer from a mental health disorder and will thus benefit from the new law. The mental health provisions include the following:
Mental Health Parity Enforcement: The new law authorizes $10 million per year for five years starting in FY 2024 for grants to states to enforce and ensure compliance with federal mental health and substance use disorder parity laws (Sec. 1331).
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: Authorizes $50 million per year for HHS to provide grants or contracts for technical assistance to infant and early childhood mental health programs (Sec. 1402).
School-based Mental Health: Directs HHS to issue a report that identifies best practices for behavioral and mental health intervention teams in schools and institutions of higher education (Sec. 1404). Authorizes HHS to provide grants or contracts for technical assistance to school-based health centers (Sec. 1401).
Community-based Mental Health: Reauthorizes the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, increasing spending from $533 to $858 million per year (Sec. 1141). Increases SAMHSA funding for children with serious emotional disturbances from $119 to $125 million per year (Sec. 1411).
Mental Health Workforce: Reauthorizes a variety of HHS training grants (Sec. 1311) and authorizes $13 million per year for a new Peer-supported Mental Health Services grant program (Sec. 1151).
Integrated Primary and Behavioral Health Care: Updates SAMHSA’s Integration Incentive Grants program (Sec. 1301).
Crisis Continuum of Care and Coordination: Helps support behavioral health crisis care by: (a) establishing a Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office at SAMHSA (Sec. 1101); (b) directing HHS to publish best practices for a crisis response continuum of care (Sec. 1102); and (c) authorizing $10 million per year for a pilot program to divert the response for mental health and substance use disorder crises from law enforcement to mobile crisis teams (Sec. 1122).
Mental Health Innovation: Authorizes $10 million per year for a National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory (Sec. 1121).
Serious Mental Illness: Authorizes $9 million per year for the Assertive Community Treatment Grant Program and $22 million per year for assisted outpatient treatment (Sec. 1123) and directs HHS to conduct a study on the direct and indirect costs of serious mental illness, including health-related costs, homelessness, and criminal justice-related costs (Sec. 1124).
Voice for Adoption will track the new law’s implementation and provide feedback to the administration as it rolls out.
To keep up with this and other important adoption-related news, subscribe to Voice for Adoption’s free monthly public policy newsletter.
