Grant program for community mental wellness and resilience programs

Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 317U (42 U.S.C. 247b–23) the following:

317V.

Grant program for community wellness and resilience programs

(a)

Grants

(1)

Program grants

(A)

Awards

The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall carry out a program of awarding grants to eligible entities, on a competitive basis, for the purpose of establishing, operating, or expanding community mental wellness and resilience programs. (B)

Amount

The amount of a grant under subparagraph (A) shall not exceed $4,000,000. (2)

Planning grants

(A)

Awards

The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall award grants to entities— (i)to organize a consortium that meets the requirements of subsection (c); (ii)to perform assessments of need with respect to community mental wellness and resilience; and (iii)to prepare an application for a grant under paragraph (1). (B)

Amount

The amount of a grant under subparagraph (A), with respect to any consortium to be organized for applying for a grant under paragraph (1), shall not exceed $15,000. (b)

Program requirements

A community mental wellness and resilience program funded pursuant to a grant under subsection (a)(1) shall take a public health approach to mental health to strengthen the entire community’s psychological and emotional wellness and resilience, including by— (1)collecting and analyzing information from residents as well as quantitative data to identify— (A)protective factors that enhance and sustain the community’s capacity for mental wellness and resilience; and (B)risk factors that undermine such capacity; (2)strengthening such protective factors and addressing such risk factors; (3)building awareness, skills, tools, and leadership in the community to— (A)facilitate using a public health approach to mental health; and (B)heal mental health and psychosocial problems among all adults and youth; and (4)developing, implementing, and continually evaluating and improving a comprehensive strategic plan for carrying out the activities described in paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) that includes— (A)evidence-based or promising best practices for— (i)enhancing local economic and environmental conditions, including with respect to the built environment; (ii)becoming trauma-informed and learning simple self-administrable mental wellness and resilience skills; (iii)engaging in community activities that strengthen mental wellness and resilience; (iv)partaking in nonclinical group and community-minded recovery and healing programs; and (v)other activities to promote mental wellness and resilience and heal individual and community traumas; and (B)age-appropriate and culturally appropriate methods to engage people in building social connections. (c)

Eligible entities

(1)

In general

To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a)(1), an applicant shall be a consortium of entities including 1 or more representatives from at least 7 of the categories listed in paragraph (2). (2)

Categories

The categories listed in this paragraph are the following: (A)Grassroots groups, neighborhood associations, and volunteer civic organizations. (B)Elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher education including community colleges, job-training programs, and other education or training agencies or organizations. (C)Youth after-school and summer programs. (D)Family and early childhood education programs. (E)Faith and spirituality organizations. (F)Senior care organizations. (G)Climate change mitigation and adaptation, and environmental conservation, groups and organizations. (H)Social and environmental justice groups and organizations. (I)Disaster preparedness and response groups and organizations. (J)Businesses and business associations. (K)Police, fire, and other agencies and organizations involved with community safety, security, and the justice system. (L)Social work, mental health, behavioral health, substance use, physical health, and public health professionals; public health agencies and institutions; and mental health, behavioral health, social work, and other professionals, groups, organizations, agencies, and institutions in the health and human services fields. (M)The general public, including individuals who have experienced mental health or psychosocial problems who can represent and engage with populations relevant to the community. (d)

Priority

In awarding a grant under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2), the Secretary shall give priority to applicants proposing to carry out a community mental wellness and resilience program that uses a public health approach to mental health to develop, implement, and continually evaluate and improve age and culturally appropriate education, skills training, and other services that use a strength-based approach to enhance the capacity for mental wellness and resilience for all types of toxic stresses and traumas among all adults and youth in the community. (e)

Report

(1)

Submission

Not later than the end of calendar year 2028, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress on the results of the grants under subsection (a)(1). (2)

Contents

Such report shall include a summary of the best practices used by grantees in establishing, operating, or expanding community mental wellness and resilience programs. (f)

Definitions

In this section: (1)The term public health approach to mental health refers to methods that— (A)take a population-level approach to promote mental wellness and resilience to prevent problems before they emerge and heal them when they do appear, not merely treating individuals one at a time after symptoms of pathology appear; and (B)address mental health and psychosocial problems by— (i)identifying and strengthening existing protective factors, and forming new ones, that buffer people from and enhance their capacity for psychological and emotional resilience; and (ii)taking a holistic systems perspective that recognizes that most mental health and psychosocial problems result from numerous interrelated personal, family, social, economic, and environmental factors that require multipronged community-based interventions. (2)The term community means people, groups, and organizations that reside in or work within a specific geographic area, such as a city, neighborhood, subdivision, urban, suburban, or rural locale. (3)The term community trauma means a blow to the basic fabric of social life that damages the bonds attaching people together, impairs their prevailing sense of community, undermines their fundamental sense of safety, justice, equity, and security, and heightens individual and collective fears and feelings of vulnerability. (4)The term protective factors means strengths, skills, resources, and characteristics that— (A)are associated with a lower likelihood of negative outcomes of adversities; or (B)reduce the impact on people of toxic stresses or a traumatic experience. (5)The term mental wellness means a state of well-being in which an individual can— (A)realize their own potential; (B)constructively cope with the stresses of life; (C)work productively and fruitfully; and (D)make a contribution to their community. (6)The term psychosocial problem refers to how an individual’s mental health or behavioral health problem disturbs others such as children, families, communities, or society. (7)The term resilience means that people develop cognitive, psychological, emotional capabilities and social connections that enable them to calm their body, mind, emotions, and behaviors during toxic stresses or traumatic experiences in ways that enable them to— (A)respond without negative consequences for themselves or others; and (B)use the experiences as catalysts to develop a constructive new sense of meaning, purpose, and hope. (8)The term toxic stress means exposure to a persistent overwhelming traumatic and stressful situations. (g)

Authorization of appropriations

To carry out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.